Why no love for brown ales?

Those are two of the few brown ales that I'd buy again - they seem to be less watery and didn't have that powdery film that I find in a lot of browns. Smuttynose Durty (borderline brown ale/black IPA) was another that I really liked.

 

As others have said it isn't apparantly obvious, extreme, cool, hip, trendy enough to be taken by a good majority who frequent this site.

Enjoy a good brown both English or American, there's some good regular ones out there for me I can grab on a regular basis.

 

Personally Brown Ales are my favorite style. Easily sessionable but still flavorful. Food pairing opportunities are numerous as well. The thing with Brown Ales is they're about being subtle. IMO when you drink a Brown Ale its not to have some kind of taste revelation ,and be bombarded with huge hops flavors and belgian phenols, its to relax and enjoy a decent beer, even though they can to the previous as well.

Some craft drinkers are so obsessed with 14% BA stouts and Barley Wines that they forget to enjoy the little, subtle things in life like Brown Ales, Pilseners, Bitters and other sessionable strength beers.

Edit: Just my opinion BTW.

 

Generally, brown ales are not hoppy or high ABV, which are flavors that people on this site appear to favor. It's the same reason pale ales are constantly overlooked. I think the brown ale category also overlaps significanty with "lighter" porters/stouts, so I suspect there is some beer naming bias among brewers too. Although any bias from brewers could just be a response to consumers' purchasing bias.

 

Two of my favorites have already been mentioned: DFH Indian Brown and Palo Santo Marron. In fact, those are probably my two favorite DFH beers. I should buy them more.

Otherwise? I'd probably rather have a porter, and I'm not even all that crazy about most of those. Brown ales often seem to be a little too thin and watered-down for my taste. Generally I want a big roasty porter or stout; a refreshing IPA, saison, or sour; or a really nice Belgian something or other.

 

I love brown ales, they're pretty much my favorite session beers (except those higher ABV examples, I'm looking at you Dogfish Head!) I particularly enjoy:

American Brown Ales:
Avery’s Ellie’s Brown Ale
Brooklyn Brown Ale
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron
Goose Island’s Nut Brown
Port Brewing’s Board Meeting
Sierra Nevada’s Tumbler
Williamsburg Alewerks Tavern Ale

English & English-Style Brown Ales:
Abita Turbodog
Alesmith’s Nut Brown Ale
DuClaw’s Euphoria
Legend’s Brown Ale
Newcastle
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown

 

Surly opened a taproom on site at their brewery a month or so ago, and has put Cacao Bender on tap regularly. If you are like me and love vanilla, chocolate(cacao in this instance), and coffee it is a fabulous alternative to heavy stouts and hot BA stouts in the summer heat. I love stouts, but not in the summer. It is hands down my favorite brown ale, and changed my perceptions about that style of beer.

I've never tried Moe's Bender by Surly, but many have told me that it is better than Cacao Bender. It sounds like the same flavors as Cacao Bender, but aged on Cherry and Birch.

 

as an overbroad generalization, i find them too sweet.

 

I was never a fan of Brown Ales if find them to be to much on the sweet side. I enyoy a low abv stout or porter along with pale ales and pilsners but I also like IPA's and hop bombs and the higher ABV beers also. It is just something about the style I do not like. I would takje a PBR over a brown ale any style anyday.

 

dog fish is supposed to be coming out with an IBA> india brown.
sam smith's is ok if you like old flat beer out of clear bottles.
just tried slumbrew's brown ale. a 8.5% choco brown. It was fresh but syrupy.

 

And this may be the only way that brown ales will get any notice in this culture.
What is all that stuff and what business does it have in a brown ale?

 

I will get into brown ale as soon as the cooler weather comes. Only really had Newcastle, which was OK, but I know there's better.

 

The one thing I hate about Cigar City is that they are in Florida where I am not! If more breweries were to brew as solid of a Brown ale as Maduro and do even one or two variations of it, it would get the style much more love.

As much business as those things have being in any other beer of any other style. Why would you be against breweries putting those things in any beer, especially a Brown ale, if it makes the beer better/more interesting?

 

Generally speaking it is a style that doesn't really have its place in our drinking habits. When one thinks of certain beers they are thought of as going well in a certain season, in a certain setting, with certain foods, or has attributes that certain folks are really in favor of enjoying, or that folks get cravings for. It is the sort of plain jane that has no defects but no great appeal either. If it was the only style we would love it, if it was one of a few styles it would get respect, but as one of a hundred different styles on shelf it gets lost in its own mediocrity.

 

Maduro is a wonderful brown that I just had the pleasure of trying a few weeks ago when I visited Sanibel Island. Very easy to drink, but flavorful ale. I'd love to try all of the variants. Cigar City rules.

 

I really enjoy them, but I just find that there are significantly fewer brown ales that I want to buy as often as other styles. Whereas I could name dozens of pales, IPAs, DIPAs, stouts, porters, wild ales, belgians, and such that i covet, there are only a few brown ales that I enjoy as much as, say, Hop Drop and Roll or Wake and Bake.

Port Board Meeting was mentioned earlier - that's my favorite brown ale by a longshot. I also would have it on hand at all times if I could. I also really enjoy Brown Angel, Mikkeller Jackie Brown, Coffee Bender, Legend Brown, Ellie's, Old Brown Dog, and Turbodog.

 

Not a fan of the style, thought Alesmith but brown was good but not cheap enough for repeat buys.

Newkie brown is about as rough as it gets dreadful stuff.

 

Alesmith But Brown... i'll pass

 

There are a couple good ones, but I've been completely unimpressed with 90% of them. Because of that, I rarely gamble on them anymore. It's not that they're bad... just have never had one wow me.

 

Not a huge fan of the style myself. I'm all for subtlety and balance in my beer, but something about most browns rub me the wrong way. I have had a few good ones though (CC Maduro comes to mind).

Incidentally, my favorite brown is Coffee Bender - which is little more than coffee with a splash of beer in it. Tells you everything about my thoughts on the style.