Late Afternoon
Moonlight Brewing Company

On tap at Beachwood BBQ. I've had 3-4 pints of this so far - it's tasty and unique.

This brown ale starts with a tasty brown malt base. Obviously some sweetness from this is back there, but is nicely balanced by two things. Hops and tartness. First off, the hops. A nice bit of woodsy hops give this just the right bite (and alone keep it from being just another boring brown). But, to make things even better, it also has just a bit of tartness. This perfectly balances out the sweetness and complements the hops.

A very unique brown ale, indeed. I have to recommend this one. The brown ale is all too often a boring style - glad to see an interesting one from Moonlight. Well done.

On tap at Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach.

The beer poured a very light amber/brown with a nice off-white head that formed a tenacious lace.

The aroma of the beer was nicely malty with notes of chocolate malt and spicy hops.

The flavor of the beer was assertively bitter with a spicy floral and somewhat citrusy hop profile. The maltiness was lightly caramelly with a slightly chocolatey finish. Billed as a "tart brown ale," it did have a nice piquancy that complimented the floral hop snap. As with all Moonlight beers, it was very nuanced and clearly crafted by a master brewer.

The carbonation was spot on and the mouthfeel was good, although a skosh on the thin side. I'm not sure what the ABV was on this beer, but I'm inclined to say on the higher side of 7% as it had a nicely warm finish.

I was told by the owner of Beachwood that this was a one-off batch and only 2-3 kegs were ever made available. Cheers to him for so enthusiastically putting it on tap.