Big Ben Nut Brown
Barley and Hops

 

 

Another slight disappointment, could be better.

A= medium-dark brown, little head, a slightly watery appearance (fair warning).

S= whiffs of sweetness, floral hops, roasted caramel, nothing unusual.

T= watery version of the Scent described above; modest carbonation.

M= watery; modest syrupy-sweet residuals and hints of hop florals.

D= probably very drinkable if you just want refreshment without a lot of carbonation, although somewhat disappointing if you're exploring.

Poured a great, nut brown color and smelled a bit like toffee and caramel. The beer however was not a great interpretation of the style and I felt that it was bland and watered down. I enjoyed their Stout and Red Ale far more than this offering. It may have been the batch I had though. The beer just didn't have an oomph behind it, as I would expect from a nut brown.

Served on tap at Barley and Hops. Nice dark brown appearance with a decent amount of head. It had a very faint aroma, even though it was served at the proper temperature. Mostly malt with a hint of sweetness that was really hard to define.

The taste was some malt, which was sadly overpowered by the same sweetness, almost a caramel candy flavor. It was really hard to describe, it didn't taste awful, but it was simply to sweet for the malt flavors to come out correctly. By far the sweetest Nut Brown I've ever tasted.

The mouthfeel was decent, I'm pretty sure it was served using a beer engine so it was light on carbonation which definitely aided the overall feel.

Overall drinkability was sub par due to the overpowering sugary sweetness the just dominated throughout. The malt flavor probably would have shone through nicely if they could just find a way to strip sugar out of the beer.

From a flip-top bottle purchased at the brewpub in Frederick. Yep, it’s brown all right. Theres a bit of a fizzy, soda-like head on top. It gives a very sweet aroma, almost like a dark corn syrup. Pretty sweet palate, too, damn near like a alcoholic root beer. Had better brown ales and had better beers at Barley and Hops. (#2723, 2/19/2007)

This beer had a nice brown color and left a nice band of lace on the glass. Not much aroma from the small sampler glass. The flavor was filled with malt and light fruit on the finish. A nice example of the style. A very drinkable beer at 4.5%abv. Looking forward to another visit.

Nice brown color not watery like NC and a good white head that hangs out before lacing my glass. Smells of nutty slight caramel malts with a dash of citrus. Nice full taste but just shy of real balance as the malts were a little too sweet. A nice brown for sure delicate yet full and a easy drinker.

When I got to Barley and Hops booth at the Oktoberfest I was pleased to see a Nut Brown Ale offered.

It poured brown with a tan head. The aroma was of good dark malt. The taste was rich malt and it had the right amount of hop finish. The feel was medium and had a clean finish. This was a nice malty beer and I do hope to get out to Frederick and sample it again.