Cherry Brown Ale
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Reviewed from notes. This was poured into a pint glass. The appearance was a dark brown color with a bar pour’s kind of slim white head that dissipated after the first sip. The smell had the cherries up front - crisp and sweet. However, then a nice light milk chocolate comes to bring more sweetness. The taste was mainly sweet through the chocolate and cherries but nothing really else going on. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a fair sessionability about it. The carbonation was moderately substantial and good. There’s a decent rolling sweet smoothness over my tongue. Overall, this was a pretty good beer worthy of having again. It sounded like a blend of brown ale to fruit ale and Iron Hill did it correctly.

 

 

On tap at Iron Hill Lancaster on 7/18/10.

A - Dark brown ale with burgundy and reddish tones and a swirly off-white head that reduced to a patchy film and some spotty lace.

S - Pretty typical brown ale nose with a dominant roasted malt character. Not getting a lot of cherry in the nose, however, although there is a slight tartness in the background. Very roasty and malty aroma overall.

T - Roasted malt flavor up front with hints of chocolate and subtle coffee notes. As with the aroma, the cherry flavor is very faint overall and imparts just a pinch of tartness in the middle. Finishes with a light leafy hop character, which complements the roasty character nicely.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a hint of bristly texture. Finishes with a hint of sourness paired with a slight bitter bite on the palate.

D - While this is a very good brown ale in its own right, I just didn't get a whole lot of cherry character. With that said, although it fell short of my expectations, it is still a fine brown ale despite the lack of cherry attributes.

a: This was a clear, moderately dark brown with dark cherry edges. It was served to me with a smallish, fizzy, light tan colored head.

s: Very nice balance. The tart cherries are pronounced but don't overwhelm the toasted, almost coffee like grain of the brown ale.

t: Quite balanced here as well, I like it. Up front I tasted toasty, mildly bitter grains. The finish of tart, delicious cherries adds to rather than overwhelms the other elements of this beer.

m: This feels juicy and pleasantly viscous. The carbonation is pretty lively.

d: I've never had anything quite like this. Another winner from Paul, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nitro-tap at the brewpub - this is a normal English Brown aged in oak barrels - my waiter wasn't sure what type of barrels but I would have to guess they were used to hold some type of red wine. Listed as an American Brown due to the barrel aging.

Pours a hazy brown color with a 1.5-finger off-white head. The head slowly settles into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of faint toasted malts with hints of toffee along with mild amounts of tart medium fruits.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Toasted malt flavors up front with hints of caramel and toffee segue into light amounts of tart fruits - cherries and berries. The fruit flavors fade right before a mildly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a solid thickness with soft carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I finished my glass without a problem and could have another.

Overall I thought this was a good beer but thought it suffered quite a bit from the nitrous as it glossed over a lot of the nuances. Still, worth a shot.