The Brown Bess
Artillery Brewing Company

 

 

(16 oz can, canned on 01/15/25; purchased cold at Pinocchio's two weeks ago, kept at cellar temp... poured into a nonic)

L: clear, light-chestnut brown liquid; short, stunted, but dense foam build... nary a cap or collar to gaze upon

S: chocolate malt, roasted nut mix, wet earth, toasty molasses cookie, hints of dark caramel and brown leather... overall, pretty standard aromas for a Brown Ale but, even with its 7-month age, packs a bold intensity

T: taste pretty much a carbon copy of the aromas, especially as far as the roasted/toasted character... not getting much residual sweetness in the aftertaste; could be the Maillard and hops snuffing out the full perception of sugars... toasty, chocolate malt aftertaste... near halfway through, and a faint herbal amaro note creeps in

F: lower end of light-medium bodied, with a slight amount of viscousness in a slow drag across the palate in the aft... dry enough at the back; a touch lip-smacky with the dribblins pasted along the inner jowls

O: yeah, it tastes like a recipe copied from a gold-medal NHC winner in the category (though it's got an American bent to the grain flavors), but it checks the right boxes, to my satisfaction (2434)