eXile X-11: Mesquite Smoked Brown Ale
DuClaw Brewing Co.

Pours a deep tawny brown with slight reddish hue with a thick off white head that settles slowly into a frothy mass.Sweet smoke stands out in the nose with a little brown sugar but not overly sweet.The smoke is pretty strong on the palate with a hefty caramel sweetness in the finish,not much hop presence except for an ever so light earthy note in the finish.A little sharp and thin in the mouth.Not a huge fan of mesquite wood and it's pretty strong here as is the sweetness,eh...

Poured from a bomber into a tulip.

L: Pours a clear dark mahogany brown... reddish notes as I hold it up to the light. Thin tannish head... modest lacing.

S: Smoked mesquite and malts. Caramel.

T/F: Smokey malts... caramel candy and faint vanilla. The mesquite comes through pretty nicely but isn't overpowering. Too thin on the mouthfeel... almost watery with reasonable carbonation. Finish is dry with a touch of hops and some more smoke.

O: Interesting beer... not bad, and a good nut brown ale. The smokiness works well... and I like that it's not overpowering. Wish it had a bit more oomph... a bit thin for my taste but overall solid. Worth a try. Wouldn't seek it out again.

Found a bomber of this on a trip to Austintown Ohio for 5 bucks!

A - Looks excellent a 1/2 inch of opaque colored head atop a very dark brown colored beer. Head takes a minute to dissipate
S - MMM thats smokey! Hints of pepper and brown malt on the nose
T - Well it's smokey but balanced great level of brown and chocolate malts it really mends well with the base beer.
M - Balanced and smooth very easy to drink

Overall I should have gotten two this is a very tasty smoked beer in fact one of the first smoked browns I can remember having! Try it!

**
07/23/2016

#1 of 6 at brown ale tasting.

LOOK: dark brown big off white head.
AROMA: pepper, smoke, malt.
TASTE: tangy, malty, smoke, vinegar.
FEEL: smooth. Medium carbonation.
Really good brown ale.

Side by side Brown Ale tasting:
1. DuClaw x11 Mesquite Smoked Brown Ale
2. Rogue Hazelnut Nectar
3. Clown Shoes Brown Angel
4. Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale
5. DuClaw Euforia
6. Voodoo Wynonna's Big Brown Ale
**

22 ounce bottle into pint glass, bottled on 1/12/2016. Pours clear reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big wood smoke, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of chocolate, coffee, nuttiness, vanilla, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big wood smoke, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and toasted biscuit; with lighter notes of chocolate, coffee, nuttiness, vanilla, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy hop and roast bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of wood smoke, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light chocolate/nuttiness, herbal, pepper, and roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light dryness from hop/roast bitterness as well. medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and slightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 6%. Overall this is a very nice smoked American brown ale! All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready/smoked malt and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

Pours clear, dark amber in color, with 1/3 inch head. Taste is smoke, toasted malt, and vanilla..slight barky hops as well. Medium bodied and mostly sweet. Really good domestic smoke beer. One of the better offerings from the exile series that I have had.

 

 

 

Pours out with a nice thick two finger head. Aroma is pretty darn sweet, hints of vanilla, molasses and ashes. Taste follows with more sugary sweetness, and more smoke. While it has some of the nice rauchbier characteristics, the sweetness is a bit off-putting.

 

Great nose and stellar drinkability for a rauchbier/smoked beer.

 

A great smoked beer from an American brewery. As always, with all smoked beers, your mileage may vary.

Personally, I think this balanced smoke with malt well, without being the smoked but also not being too subtle to fit the classification.

Like eating ham vs eating triple smoked ham