AleSmith Nautical Nut Brown Ale

On tap at Stone. Good deep brown color, faint sweet malt aroma, good roastiness and nut flavor with a slightly bitter/sweet finish.

Roasted grains smell (at a good level, not too strong or overpowering). OK lacing and head. A little dry (I prefer sweet). Actually a good mild beer, but too strong my non-beergeek friends, and too mild for me. Hmmm. 7,3,7,3,15:3.5 Tried again at PP Carlsbad, 12/19/07: 6,3,5,3,13: 3.0

Nose of candied, iced tea laden nuts. Dry and soft on the palate with less depth than expected from the color and initial nose. Clean crips and dry finish that dissapears at mid palate.

draft at alesmith - a tale of 2 beers. immediately at first taste i think of an american brown ale. slightly nutty and sweet toffee-like maltiness with a bit of hop bite. nothing over the top, but prominent. however, as the beer warmed the hop flavor disappeared and the soft nuttiness and sweetness you get from an english brown became more and more prevalent. nice sessionable beer.

Draught samples at the brewery on 3/23/07
Mildly hazy medium-brown with darker cola tints and a bit of chestnut. Beige head is medium-sized, leaving light lacing and showing moderate-to-strong retention.
Crusty bread fills in the small gaps left in the sweet, richly extracted maltiness. Definitely nutty and filled with light chocolate, faint bits of mild roast and a lingering note of vanilla and light fruitiness (dark fruits). Warming allows more of the fruitiness to emerge, giving more of a poignant, slightly bitter note and leaning the balance more on the dry side, but the malt never falters and lightly sweet chocolate and caramel continue to soften things and provide a great backbone. No flaws or alcohol noted, medium to medium-high strength of aroma.
Dry, lightly milky chocolate notes combine with soft caramel and light cola/fruit suggestions to give a strong balance to the flavor. A lightly roasted, almost hazelnut-like flavor adds intrigue through the middle and the beer finishes on a dry note, with some breadiness/toastiness and a dry caramel maltiness, with light suggestions of fresh, green hoppiness that is minimally bitter. Leafy and with a mild floral/citric quality to it, it adds more complexity without detracting from the main show of the malt. Very supple texture, as always, from AleSmith, with medium-low carbonation and no flaws or alcohol. Perhaps a bit too much dry nuttiness/toastiness, but only a minimal complaint. Otherwise this stuff is very drinkable and very well-done. AleSmith gets so much attention for their big beers, but their lower gravity stuff is every bit as solid.

On tap at Stone Beer Gardens and at AleSmith brewery pours a dark caramel brown, very nutty in flavor, excellent brown ale, very smooth, good flavor all the way through, probably the best tasting brown ale i have ever had

Tap: Displays a caramel hue with a surprising white head and very nice lace. The aroma is as advertised, extreme toasted hazelnut, walnut and wheat bread along with hints of milk chocolate, molasses, and other husky esters. The taste is a smooth malty overtone with backing qualities of chocolate syrup (but the beer is NOT syrupy) and a quick hit of plum like twangy flavors. The finish has a note of herbal and piney hops along with a slap of espresso bitterness. The mouth feel is lush and dry, outstanding for a brown ale. This is a solid session beer I could enjoy over and over again.

On tap at the brewery. Thanks again guys. Pours nutty brown with a light white head. Kind of a nutty smell to it, some really light chocolate and dark malts. Its a brown ale, so it wont knock you off your feet, but overall a good representation of one. Semi-sweet malty taste mixed with light caramel and roasted nuts. Another good job buy a subperb brewery.