5 Seasons North Decadent Brown Ale

Brewed by 5 Seasons North
Style: Brown Ale
Alpharetta, Georgia USA

Date: December 13, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2007
Appearance: muddy brown with ruby edges, lasting dense creamy tan head, sheets of drippy lace
Aroma: nutty chocolate aroma with lots of toasted, earthy and citrus hops kick in on the second pint
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich chocolate malt flavor with lots of nutty character, a hint of growing caramel and toffee sweetness, light roasted, plenty of hops stay in the background to keep the balance, second pint picks up more of the earthy hops with a citrus twist

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: **4

Date: June 11, 2009
Mode: Firkin
Source: Brewpub
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: slow cascade leaves behind a muddy brown beer with a dense creamy beige head, as you drink the beer down it leaves behind lots of lace
Aroma: chocolate aroma, touch of toasted, kept dry by earthy hops
Flavor: rich chocolate malt flavor, light caramel, bit of toasted, well balanced with a nice and non agressive hoppy character, breadyness comes out as it warms

Date: June 30, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub westside
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: muddy brown, fine beige head, bits of drippy lace
Aroma: hoppy chocolate aroma, light earthyness
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of balancing hops and earthyness, nice toasted and nutty character
Overall: a bit thin and mild compared to the northern version

Date: July 22, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub westside
Vintage: 2009
rhe richness has returned with rich toasted chocolate and caramel

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

on tap-pours a tan head and cloudy brown color. Aroma is medium malt-chocolate/cocoa, earthy. Dry. Taste is medium/dark malt-chocolate/cocoa/molasses, secondary earthy/spice hops. Comes across fairly light, although medium body. Dryish. OK carbonation.

Tap. Brown pour. Beige head. Very toasty and a bit nutty on the nose. Flavor is pretty sweet and malty with a decent dose of some lightly roasted nuts. Hops are present very slightly. Good beer.

Appearance: Pours an opaque, dark brown body with reddish-tinted edges and a tall, though diminishing off-white head. Smell: Expressive, malty nose offers toasted nuts, bakers chocolate, dark caramel, anise, and a hint of roast. Notes of citrus fruits, flowers, and spice. Taste: Rich dark caramel and melted bakers chocolate with a subtle, nutty sweetness. Hint of spicy anise. Citrus and floral hop flavors with a balancing earthy bitterness. Notes of unsweetened chocolate intensify on the finish. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Mild carbonation. Drinkability: I’m always happy to stand up and applaud a well-crafted, simple brown ale, but this is anything but, it’s rich, flavorful, and chock-full of malt complexity.

Draft. Deep dark brown ale. Aroma of roasted malts. Flavor is a huge malt body. Roasty malts, toffee, chocolate, nutty flavor. Hop bitterness is very well balanced with the malt. Super flavorful. Perfectly made Beer!

On tap at the brewpub with KieferUGA. Poured a dark, reddish brown. Aroma was good with chocolate, caramel and nuts. Flavor was very assertive and good for the style. Medium bodied and was slightly soft on the palate. A really good version for the style.

Decadent is a great term here not only for the 10 malts but for the sweet caramel kick this has. Decadent and rich nut and caramel flavors are the dominant experiences. There is some faint hops here but only enough to remind you it is a beer. Pour is a rich brown color and overall a pretty tasty beer.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours an extremely murky dark brown, like pressed coffee, with a big beige head that hangs around for ages as a bubbly collar and leaves spotty lacing. The aroma is a mix of dark roasted malts, sweet caramel and some toasted nuts. The hops that I get are more earthy than anything and don’t stand out too much in the nose. For me, the taste is better than the aroma and it’s definitely got a sweeter leaning. The chocolate malts are the most prevalent feature with the roasted character taking a back seat to some degree. There is a bit of coffee bitterness, especially in the finish which is also fairly dry and nutty. The hops are also present but much more secondary. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with good carbonation and is an interesting combination of sweetness on the palate with a dry finish. This is an excellent brown ale and probably the best beer I’ve had at 5SW so far. It’s got lots of sweetness but plenty of roasted character and some hops to balance things out. Highly recommended.