Consider for a moment the poor, neglected, forgotten Brown Ale. Other than Newcastle, or maybe Lost Coast, how many do you see on the store shelves? Or on tap at your favorite establishment?
Not many, at least in my experience. And that’s a shame. In a world where it seems more and more brews are competing to see how many hops they can stuff into a barrel, a great Brown Ale offers a nice alternative.
Most of what you do find are what the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) defines as the Northern English Brown Ale. According to the BJCP, common characteristics include a “light, sweet malt aroma with toffee, nutty and/or caramel notes … Dark amber to reddish-brown color. Clear. Low to moderate off-white to light tan head … Gentle to moderate malt sweetness, with a nutty, lightly caramelly character and a medium-dry to dry finish.”
In other words, yum.
I’ve had a couple of examples recently, one excellent, one okay.
Elevation 66’s Two Beagles Brown Ale definitely had that nutty character, with just the right amount of bitterness to finish clean. Light bodied, moderate carbonation, eminently drinkable. Outstanding. And as I’ve mentioned here before, the food is amazing. I had the Wagyu Beef burger on my last trip, and it was one of the best I’ve ever had.
Mission Street’s 2013Anniversary Ale is a bit of a mystery. Mission Street is, of course, a Trader Joe’s house brand contract-brewed by Firestone Walker, which gives it some street cred. Even more impressively, the Mission Street brand has won Gold Medals for their Pale Ale at the 2008 and 2010 GABFs.
Artwork courtesy Beer Street Journal.
The mystery lies in its origins. The label states that it’s “a blend of three incredible brews carefully blended for maximum aroma and flavor. We affectionately call this brew an Imperial Brown Ale.”. This being contract-brewed (see this for an interesting discussion about the ethics of contract brewing), you’d need a FOIA request to get any kind of actual specs. So, what three beers were actually blended to create this product remain classified. At least to me.
Maybe as a result, the beer seems murky to me. It does pour a dank copper-brown, which gives them enough license to call it a Brown Ale, I suppose. Mouthfeel is fairly full, with too much Carmel malt sweetness for my taste. Not a bad brew overall, just not really my style.
Maybe I haven’t really stated my case with that last example, but still, it seems the style has fallen out of favor of late. It’d be nice to see a bit more of them on shelves and tap lists. Whaddya say guys (and gals)?