Pilot Program: Maple Brown
Athletic Brewing Co.

 

Had this on 2021-11-23 near Pittsburgh, PA from a 12 canned on 2021-11-05

A - Ruby-brown with a 2.5-finger tan head that sticks around leaving very good lace

S - Maple, medium roasted grain, coffee

T - Toasted sorghum bread initially and then a nice balance of brown sugar and maple, with their combined sweet flavors continuing into the non-cloying finish. There's a bit of light bitterness for balance.

M - Medium body and light-medium carbonation. Very good feel.

O - This is a fine beer, which I enjoyed more than their year-round All Out Extra Dark

12 Oz can Package date 2/10/2021. Part of a 24 can stout variety case. Allowed to warm a bit then poured into a nonic pint glass.

Pours a nearly clear copper brown with lots of reddish highlights. Light beige head. Some retention and a few specks of lacing.

Smell is maple brown sugar. In this case the familiar NA wort scent helps to bring this BBQ scent out. I'm also getting notes of smoke and nuts. Overall scent was fairly prominent!

Taste follows with lots of brown sugar sweetness.

Nice full feel. Well carbonated.

Overall a well done take on NA stouts. The wort actually contributed to the flavor of the beer.

Look: Dark brown with some red highlights. Translucent. Densely packed beige head that settles with some lacing on the glass. No visible carbonation.

Smell: This has less of that woody, nutty uncooked grain smell than the stout. It’s toned down by a hint of maple sweetness.

Taste: Woody and nutty. There’s definitely some added sweetness on the back end, which I like. It’s a got little maple sugar candy sweetness thing going on.

Feel: Pretty nice like most of the Athletic beers. Well carbonated. Sweet finish.

Overall: This one is pretty good and with some added sweetness makes for a nice alternative to the All Out Stout. The maple masks some of the typical aromas and flavors that come along with some of Athletic’s dark beers and I like that.

Pours a dark brown with hints of burgundy and blood-red. Head is two fingers of light-tan foam. Aroma is brown sugar, maple, caramel, and bready and toasty malts. There is a twinge of burnt char at the back, just before a swell of worty sweetness to wrap it up. Flavor profile is brown sugar, maple, caramel, toffee, and bready and toasty malts. It maintains a better flavor profile, as far as being beer-centric, than the aroma. Wort flavor is better tailored within the malty confines. Mouth feel has a touch of abrasive effervescence right up front, and then fellows out to a silty, bubble wrap texture. Thickness is medium. Overall, punchy sweetness right up front with a mellow malt presence behind it, all with a favorable texture for sipping and savoring. Solid NA brown ale rendition.

Pours clear, chestnut brown in color with 1/4 inch head. Taste is a nice combination of maple and chocolate malt. Medium bodied, sweet, with moderate carbonation. A lot of maple beers can be too sweet. This one is nice because it has a good brown ale base to hold up to the sweetness. Excellently done.