AleSmith Nautical Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by AleSmith Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
San Diego, California USA

tap@Liars Club: Dark brown with a reddish tint. Aroma and flavor similiar, especially after drinking for 12 hours and having a fuego. Malty with notes of toffee, fruit, and nuts. Tasty. Thats about I can say and read.

On tap at O’Brien’s. Poured medium-deep brown with nice clarity and a fine cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up sweet toasted caramel and nutty notes with a very subtle hint of smoke.. the back picked up some cola. The flavor found dry darker chocolate and nutty notes capped by a dusting of cocoa.. a bit weak on the back leaving some grainy husk on the finish. Dry and light-medium bodied on the palate with a lightly sour, grainy finish.

Dark brown color. Medium head. Aroma is nutty and slightly sweet. A medium bodied nut brown ale. Malts are nutty and slightly sweet. Hops are slightly spicy. Well balanced. Smooth full flavor. Very nice beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Poured a dark amber color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of caramel malts, chocolate and roasted malts. Taste of much of the same, with nuts, and a light hoppiness in the finish.

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.

Darkish red/brown head, nice and hoppy for a brown. A little sweet for my taste, but a nice ale. Thanks!

on tap. Sampled at the San Diego Festival of Beers 2006 9/22/06. I’ve had this beer a few times at the brewery and it always seemed a little thin. This time it tasted just right. No scent with little to no head, though I believe it was merely the fault of the pourer as my friend got one with a nice head. The color is nice and deep dark brown and the taste is exactly what you’d expect from something of that color. It was deep dark malty and delicious.

On tap at The Local in SD. This was my first AleSmith beer ever. Garnet in color with an off white head. Has a toasted nutty aroma. Delicious malt body that is just too rich for the style- that’s why I liked it. Has a subtle sourness to the finish. Yummy!