Swag And Tails English Brown Ale
Red Star Brewery & Grill

Appearence: A nice, clear dark brown with a decent, creamy tan head, dwindling down to a collar soon after pouring. Nice, slow moving carbonation.

Smell: Nutty, roasted malts greet the nose nicely with a mild amount of hop bitterness rounding everything out. Chocolate and coffee notes are present, with a simple, sweet background of caramel.

Taste and Mouthfeel: Bittersweet chocolate and roasted, almost porter-type malts at first, followed by complex, creamy, lucious nuttiness, and finishing clean, crisp and dry with long lingering coffee and roasted malt notes. The mouthfeel is full and creamy.

Drinkability and Overall: While I'm not a big fan of brown ales, Red Star did this one right. Probably close to the best of the browns I've had in my experience. The nutty flavors are perfect, complex, and oh so intruiging. Definitly one I highly recommend on a trip to Red Star.

Served in a little sample glass at Red Star. The color was brown, with a nice foamy head. The smell was a slight dry malt. The taste started with a semi-dry maltiness, and then finished with the nutty bitterness. Mouthfeel was average. As for drinkability, with it's low ABV, this could session somewhat nicely.

Well, I'm just not a fan of the Brown Ales since unfortunately they don't have a whole lot going for them, taste-wise. This was a solid example of a brown ale, though. Red Star certainly has other beers that I'd go for first, but I wouldn't complain if I was drinking this one.

Served with a decent, light tan head atop a medium brown body. This beer gives off a sweet, nutty aroma with a hint of hops. The taste is sweet malt with a touch of caramel and chocolate. There is a very nice nuttiness in the flavor as well. The malt is well balanced with the hops, with a slight bitterness on the finish. The aftertaste brings to mind fresh roasted peanuts. The mouthfeel is decent, but not as full as some brown ales. The drinkability is excellent, with the perfect amount of carbonation in the mouthfeel making this well balanced brown slide down easily. With the lower ABV, this is a great session beer. Great offering from Red Star.