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Indian Brown Ale
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer Geek Stats
| Print Shelf Talker
- From:
- Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
- Delaware, United States
- Style:
- American Brown Ale
Ranked #26 - ABV:
- 7.2%
- Score:
- 91
Ranked #6,464 - Avg:
- 4.09 | pDev: 10.76%
- Reviews:
- 2,105
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 31, 2024
- Added:
- Aug 07, 2001
- Wants:
- 393
- Gots:
- 1,286
Also known as Indian Brown Dark IPA
Forget about the car companies, this is the original hybrid. A cross between a Scotch Ale, an India Pale Ale and an American Brown, Indian Brown Ale is well-hopped and malty at the same time (It's magical!).
The beer has characteristics of each style that inspired it: the color of an American Brown, the caramel notes of a Scotch Ale, and the hopping regiment of an India Pale Ale. We dry-hop the Indian Brown Ale in a similar fashion to our 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA. This beer is brewed with Aromatic barley and organic brown sugar.
50 IBU
Forget about the car companies, this is the original hybrid. A cross between a Scotch Ale, an India Pale Ale and an American Brown, Indian Brown Ale is well-hopped and malty at the same time (It's magical!).
The beer has characteristics of each style that inspired it: the color of an American Brown, the caramel notes of a Scotch Ale, and the hopping regiment of an India Pale Ale. We dry-hop the Indian Brown Ale in a similar fashion to our 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA. This beer is brewed with Aromatic barley and organic brown sugar.
50 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by marvin213:
Reviewed by marvin213 from North Carolina
4.17/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.17/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
This beer, like all DFH productions, looks good. Even poured into a seashell-embossed (enjoying this one at the beach) Pilsner-type glass, this brew looks appealing like dark, rich chocolate. A 1/4" head turns into a thin, patchy layer of bubbles with lacing apparent on the glass sides even before the first sip. Interestingly, the very bottom 1/4" of this pour is a much lighter brown--almost like a caramel glaze (but on the bottom).
The aroma is sugary hops, and I like it! I can smell the hops with a tinge of alcohol, and the malty "aromatic" barley prompts me to expand my nostrils so as to engulf this waft of beer aroma. A very neat, unique, and enjoyable smell--something I've come to expect from the brewmasters at Dogfish Head.
The taste, quite simply, is good. Unlike other beers, I think I smell more than I taste. The barley definitely offers a malted milkball-like quality that is (obviously) very pleasant. I taste the caramelized sugar most in the aftertaste, after I've swallowed and I collect remnants of the sip from my teeth and inner cheeks. I'm not sure why, but this beer experience continually conjures up images of caramelized onions on a big, Waffle House-style flat grill/griddle. In line with this thinking, this liquid is fulfilling like an order of hash browns scattered, covered, and chunked--there's lots of interesting components to the serving that all assemble to form a simple yet tasteful delight. Looking for a potential negative, I think the barley may be a tad overwhelming. The hops provide a nice balance, though I must say I can't distinguish Liberty from Goldings. The caramelized sugar really contributes to a nice effect on the palate.
The mouthfeel is really good. The hop combo offers a bit of that enamel-pulling characteristic while the barley contributes some of that aforementioned milkball yumminess. I think it's the sugar that really makes the feel better than good--it's why, after each sip, I suck my teeth like a teenager given a directive he/she doesn't like. For me and this beer, however, there's no dissension.
The drinkability is good--yet another mass-produced but still unique beverage from DFH Brewery. It's beers like this--hardly mentioned even in discussions specifically about DFH, that solidify in my mind that this brewery really is on top of this game. Though I won't follow this one with another of it's kind, I'd like to keep this one around so as to always be able to enjoy it.
Apr 12, 2009The aroma is sugary hops, and I like it! I can smell the hops with a tinge of alcohol, and the malty "aromatic" barley prompts me to expand my nostrils so as to engulf this waft of beer aroma. A very neat, unique, and enjoyable smell--something I've come to expect from the brewmasters at Dogfish Head.
The taste, quite simply, is good. Unlike other beers, I think I smell more than I taste. The barley definitely offers a malted milkball-like quality that is (obviously) very pleasant. I taste the caramelized sugar most in the aftertaste, after I've swallowed and I collect remnants of the sip from my teeth and inner cheeks. I'm not sure why, but this beer experience continually conjures up images of caramelized onions on a big, Waffle House-style flat grill/griddle. In line with this thinking, this liquid is fulfilling like an order of hash browns scattered, covered, and chunked--there's lots of interesting components to the serving that all assemble to form a simple yet tasteful delight. Looking for a potential negative, I think the barley may be a tad overwhelming. The hops provide a nice balance, though I must say I can't distinguish Liberty from Goldings. The caramelized sugar really contributes to a nice effect on the palate.
The mouthfeel is really good. The hop combo offers a bit of that enamel-pulling characteristic while the barley contributes some of that aforementioned milkball yumminess. I think it's the sugar that really makes the feel better than good--it's why, after each sip, I suck my teeth like a teenager given a directive he/she doesn't like. For me and this beer, however, there's no dissension.
The drinkability is good--yet another mass-produced but still unique beverage from DFH Brewery. It's beers like this--hardly mentioned even in discussions specifically about DFH, that solidify in my mind that this brewery really is on top of this game. Though I won't follow this one with another of it's kind, I'd like to keep this one around so as to always be able to enjoy it.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Shiredave from New York
4.08/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.08/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Innovative, hybrid style part robust porter, part IPA all Brown Ale.
Deep, chocolate brown with a frothy, pale tan head of sticky foam.
Aroma is brown sugar and leather, chocolate malted milk and whiff of phenolic esters.
Flavor is robust for a brown ale and firmly bittered but not IPA IBU's, full of dark and caramel grain character.
Medium plus body with great balance of sweet and herb bite though a little bit cloying as it warms.
This reminds me of Ubu Ale and Turbo Dog but bigger and better - with a hint of Kick Ass Brown hopiness.
Like most DFH beers, unique, off-style and memorable.
Jun 08, 2023Deep, chocolate brown with a frothy, pale tan head of sticky foam.
Aroma is brown sugar and leather, chocolate malted milk and whiff of phenolic esters.
Flavor is robust for a brown ale and firmly bittered but not IPA IBU's, full of dark and caramel grain character.
Medium plus body with great balance of sweet and herb bite though a little bit cloying as it warms.
This reminds me of Ubu Ale and Turbo Dog but bigger and better - with a hint of Kick Ass Brown hopiness.
Like most DFH beers, unique, off-style and memorable.
Reviewed by eameslover from Michigan
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
First time I had ever seen this style...Really good! No joke, I could taste a stout, an IPA (not a lot but some distinctive hops) and a good brown ale. Mostly the first and last but it wasn't entirely one if the aforementioned styles. I really enjoyed it
Apr 28, 2021
Indian Brown Ale from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating:
91 out of
100 with
6281 ratings
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