Acme California Brown Ale

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

I don’t remember that much about this one, other than that the generic name fit it. An average brown, perhaps a bit thin, but inoffensive.

Love the concept of these beers. Decent American Brown. Slightly nutty, slightly fruity, but nothing that packs a punch, Slight water.

Definitely fruit on the nose, way more than anticipated. Very nice, actually. Cherries, malts. Hazy, reddish brown, some particulate matter, thin tan head. The flavor was subsequently weaker than anticipated, fruity, cherry, malts, slightly watery. The finish is sweet fruit. Wierd. None of the nuttyness or hoppyness of a standard brown ale. Thin/medium mouthfeel. Zero hop presence. Ok, not great.

Brown ales are always so flavorless to me. You take a look at one and think it’d be chock full of goodness, only to be let down. The beer pours out a slightly hazy, reddish-brown color with a minial head 1/2" head. Aroma consists of earthy hops, sweet malts and a bit of sourness. Light roasted notes, a touch of bitterness, some bready sweetness. Mouthfeel is lifeless and thin. I think NC’s master brewer took the night off on this one. Either that or they used up all the old ingredients.

bottle..smooth flavour throughout.. not the best brown..but easy to drink.. hazy brown..amber nice hop end

I’m a sucker for cool retro art and advertising and Acme pulls it off magnificently with California Brown. Bright old yellow with a swinging gal of the 50s who is also quite happy with her beer selection. Far more interesting and appealing to me than 99% of all modern advertising, but I digress.
California Brown pours a rich, hazy brown with a hint of amber around the edges of the glass. A decent head coats the surface, fading into a poufy ring around my glass with a few foam-rafts floating around. It looks like a thick, heavy brown ale, but upon my first quaff, I am pleasantly surprised by how light and smooth the overall body of California Brown is. There is some weight there from the malts, but not overpowering as in some other brown ales I have drank, especially Belgians. Sweet with a bit of sour, malts, nuts, and yeast tickle my nose before satiated my palate. Again, light, clean, with sweet nutty malts and a hint of lemon and spice in the background. North Coast doesn’t even make the California Brown under its Acme label anymore, so the proof of this beer is in both its excellent brown ale palate, and in its durability to stand up to time and remain fresh. As I delve deeper into her luscious body, caramel mingles with the nuts and light earthy spice later on. Interestingly enough, a bit more body and depth to the mouth feel also comes into play as California Brown warms, creating a nice fusion between the overall malty, nutty, caramelly palate that ends with a spicy zing.
I’m rather impressed. I wish I had more to quaff at the moment, but one will do. Once again, good job, North Coast Brewing.

12oz bottle from BevMo, had this in my fridge for a while. Amber color with a slight off white head. The taste is sweet with a dry malty body. Nice light hoppy palate.

Bottle at Cockney Pub, Århus. A slightly hazy brown beer with a small, beige head. Lovely chocolate and roasted aroma with some fruityness to give it some balance. Chocolate start on the flavor, with some roasted malt showing up quickly, and getting company of a nice balancing fruityness with some citrus. Not much bitterness. Smooth, medium mouthfeel, quite low on co2. Really pleasant, smooth and easy to drink. (080517)