Why no love for brown ales?

I like brown ales. Old Brown Dog by smuttynose is my favorite. Smooooooth, the way andy giffith would say it. With those extra syllables on the vowel. Palo santo marron is a brown ale that will blow you away with it's depth. I mean it develops in the glass and every time you sip it it's better than the time before. Browns don't get much attention because they are too easy to drink. They don't make you squint and curl up your toes from bitter. If you saw a person with a mouthful of brown ale in a photograph per se , you wouldn't be tempted to attribute the look on their face to a bowling ball recently dropped on the foot.

 

I've always found brown ales to be boring when compared to other styles. I've never had one and thought "Wow!", except for maybe Pretty Thing's St. Botolph's Town. I've tried other top rated ones (Samuel Smith Nut Brown for example) and was underwhelmed every time.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/69894/

One of the best beers I've ever had and I'd give a leg to be able to drink it on the regular.

 

Until someone decides to take a brown ale, imperialize it, add coconut shavings, a drizzle of salted caramel and then age the whole shebang in PVW barrels, while keeping it at a 150 bottle count, brewery only release the style will get no respect. There is no .rar in Samuel Smith Nut Brown.

 

Jackie O's Chomo-Lung-Ma
Smuttynose Old Brown Dog
Port Board Meeting (I would drink this every week if I could get it regularly)
Dogfish Head Indian Brown

All good stuff - I'm a sucker for brown ales!

 

I love a good brown, but it's a style I tend to have with food more so than other styles. Especially BBQ, grilling...

Edit: I don't mean I always pick it over styles to pair with dinner, just that the majority of my brown ale drinking tends to be with food...where other styles, such as IPA, I tend to drink on its own.

 

So many of them lack character to me. Just kind of bland, but I do like Clown Shoes Brown Angel and DFH Indian Brown.

 

Brown ales don't get a ton of love because they aren't on an extreme of the flavor spectrum and because they can't compete in popularity with DIPAs and barrel aged stouts. And frankly, I think too many breweries make sub-par brown ales.

But I will say this. If I lived closer to Minnesota, I'd have Surly Coffee Bender in my fridge at all times!

 

Oh, I like Brown Ales so much I created the Rec Some Eccentric Brown Ales thread.

Surly Coffee Bender
Tyranena Rocky's Revenge
Quaff Bros Brown Chicken Brown Cow

are some that I really enjoy.

 

I really enjoy them for an everyday drinking style with a great malt profile. They tend to be forgotten among BA's (like most milder English styles) because they don't hit you over the head with something new or bold.

 

Because Americans are not known for their appreciation of the subtler things in life.

 

I blame beeradvocate's primarily American user base for the under-representation of brown ales.

 

One thing I love about Cigar City is that they take their base brown ale, Maduro, which is superb in its own right, and they do dozens, if not hundreds, of treatments to it, like Cubano Espresso, Good Gourd, Vanilla Choc Maduro, Choc Almond Maduro, Cherry Almond Maduro, etc.
There is always a maduro treatment on tap, and usually one seasonal available based on it. Never had one I didn't like.

 

I really enjoy the style. Though it may not be extreme enough for many.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/486/1647/?sort=latest&start=50

This one does the trick for me. Thankfully, the brewery's only 5 mins away from me.

 

I like browns, not my favorite style, but I do like them. I agree they are really versatile with food pairings, although I think saison/farmhouse are more versatile.

One of my favs. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/41/138

 

And I agree, part of the reason for now love...they're not limited.