KLB Nut Brown Ale
Kawartha Lakes Brewing Company Ltd.

 

 

Cioccolato brown with brasil nut casing. Its sandy-toned carbonation is enduring enough to preserve some conformation of the beer but no real head. All this conjures to mind are tantalizing, mouth-watering thoughts of fine grated chocolate and gooey, melted fondue fountains of the same thing. I hope this tastes as delicious as it looks!

It smells like it must have been made south of the 49th parallel, normally Canadian and British nut browns don't offer such dynamic aromas. This is a deliciously nutty scent with full-bodied notes of sweet, lightly caramelized malts and a very forward roast. It smells as though they must have melted in a whole factory's worth of bakers chocolate - this smells outstanding.

And it tastes almost as chocolaty as it looks and smells. To be clear, this isn't the kind of decadent, rich dessert quality chocolate that you'd find in an Imperial Stout. It's far more subtle, it resembles chocolate covered almonds or a chocolate milk shake. There may be a hint of coffee, probably stemming from the same character and level of roast coffee beans would share with these malts. This is a beer I'd be elated to find on cask.

The taste is wonderful but its mouthfeel is a huge let-down by comparison. It simply doesn't have the body to support nor the textures to match these strong flavours. The carbonation and bitterness are fine, I would think the only solution is to add more malt. This was batting an awfully high percentage before mouthfeel stepped up to the plate; a little more malt and this would have been a home-run.

This is extremely good - for what it is. It seems Ontario craft brewers have found their niche in replicating classic British style ales and some of them do it quite well. There are better individual examples but between this and Black Oak's offering, I'd say this province (as a whole) may have the best portfolio of brown ales in the country, maybe even the continent?

Very dark, not quite opaque, but resembles a porter or stout more than a brown ale. Two finger tan head off the pour with nice lacing and some staying power, looks good. Aromas of roast malt and nutty chocolate further the initial good impression. Voila, the taste doesn't disappoint either with a bitter chocolate presence, hints of cocoa and a subtle candied dark-fruit backdrop, either dates or figs or stewed prunes, on the sweeter side. Slight astrigency with a brazil nut finish restores a good balance. Overall, a nice surprize with solid taste, more complex than I expected to find from KLB and nothing metallic about this sample. I'm not sure how true to the style it is but I enjoyed it and just might keep a few of these in the cellar fridge.

Bottle purchased from the Amsterdam brewery, which owns KLB.

Very dark brown body throws up a short lived tan head that rapidly fades to a spotty film. Nuts, grassy hops and rye bread aroma. Taste has some nice roastiness. The nuts are present as is a brown breadiness, but a slight metallic tang is offputting. Medium-light body with medium carbonation. Like KLB's other beers this is not good enough to revisit.

341 ml bottle from the beer store

pours dark brown almost black. depending on your poor you can generate some head with this one but it is often short lived and fizzy.

the aroma is of coffee and chocolate.

the flavours is dark malt driven with chocolate and coffee. the flavours arent big but there is quite a punch compared to other brown ales. when served at room temp from a snifter you might actually mistake it for a porter.

overall this is a solid offering that drinks really nice in the fall season.

Got the last case of this in my hometown. I don't know how this could happen, but as a result I'm moving back into Ottawa. Can't live in a place with so little choice in beer.

So... A rich brown colour - gold and amber highlights where it catches the light. Head comes up light and large-bubbled. It doesn't always hang around, but that's no fault in an English-style beer.

Nose brings nuts, yes, and another quality that I just couldn't place... it's very familiar, and a little surprising given the style, but entirely suitable in effect. Tasting reveals that hops are sufficiently present to show a pleasant counterpoint to the strong malting. Thickness abounds - not excessive, of course.

Goes down far too well - I bought this initially so that I wouldn't drink too much at a friend's cottage party (and because it's a good beer... I always have to buy good beer) - but I ended up drinking more than may have been advisable.

What is it? It's a New World interpretation of a British beer. It packs more flavour and character than most British offerings (trust me on this), without feeling the need to overreach like many New World beers. Well-balanced and crafted. I like.

Tap - Dark brew with medium head that disapeared a tad too quickly. Great aroma of nut. Taste of nut is very present and enjoyable in this brew. Also present is a taste of coffee or bunt malts. Body is a bit thin for my liking. Probably one of the best from the Kawartha Lakes brewery.