7.8

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

Draught at the brewery, 4/14/17.
Clear, though dark chestnut-to-dark amber body is topped by a medium-sized, dark beige head showing moderate retention.
Light cinnamon-like spiciness in the nose balances a rich, malty caramel and toffee character with light brown bread behind it. Fresh yeast lightens things and there is light red and yellow fruitiness lying underneath. No sign of alcohol or flaw.
Moderately sweet with sweet cream, toffee and light butter (not diacetyl) all giving a good malt base with reasonable complexity. What it doesn’t have is an overabundance of specialty malt character that is lacking the proper base malt softness; nope this thing is pretty soft and inviting for an 8.2% brown ale with spice. Speaking of spice, cinnamon and very light clove provide the balance here in place of hops (there may be a dusting of light herbal and mildly citric hops) and aren’t overdone in the least. At first sip, I thought it might be a tad too sweet, but as it warmed and breathed, it really came together. It actually dries out considerably on the finish and with the light breadiness from the specialty malt and acidity from the spice, leaves a lingering dryness that makes every subsequent malty sip that much more enjoyable. Very nice stuff, about as good as you’re going to get for a not overdone, Strong Brown ale.