7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

12 ounce can into pint glass; no can dating, but was just released. Pours fairly crystal clear deep ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, spicy rye, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, dark fruit, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/roast/brown/rye malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, spicy rye, toasted biscuit, and nuttiness; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, dark fruit, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal, floral, grassy, peppery hop; roast bitterness, and rye spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, spicy rye, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, herbal, floral, grass, pepper, and yeast/roast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/brown/rye malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, and lightly sticky/chalky mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 5.8%. Overall this is a very nice American brown ale. All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/roast/brown/rye malts and light earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Nicely rich and well rounded English malt complexity; mild fruity yeast and earthy hop balance against sweetness. Not overly roasty or bitter. A very enjoyable offering, and spot on classic tasting style example. Reminds me of Bells Best a lot.