Big River Grille Sweet Magnolia American Brown Ale

Brewed by Big River Grille & Brewing Works Chattanooga (Gordon Biersch)
Style: Brown Ale
Chattanooga, Tennessee USA

This was actually a pretty decent brown ale. nutty like walnuts and almonds (are what i got) and nice perfect brown color but not as much head as i would have liked to see. amd was there some vanilla going on or was it just me?

This is a light to medium bodied brown ale with a mild flavor. nothing bad, nothing outstanding. just average

Nothing really special about this brew: brown, with mild flavors of sweet malts, a hint of hops, and nuts. Quite thin.

On Tap at the Chattanooga Big river (1/05). Slightly sweet and very malty aroma. Nothing special about the appearance (what you would expect a brown ale to look like). Flavor was not as good was the Vienna Lager but had a distinct nutty brown ale flavor (toasted malts). My second choice while I was at their establishment.

No aroma. I had a somewhat stuffy nose that evening and I could smell nothing all night. I figured it was the beer, but where there were hops, I could smell them. Deep mahogany in color. Very little head or lace. Nice roasted malt. A quality brew. These guys know what they are doing. Too thin to be more highly rated. Still, no flaws.

Judging by the high marks from everybody else, I’m thinking I might have gotten a bad batch at the Nashville location. Nice red-tinged brown with a thin white head, and a good malty, nutty aroma. Flavor was pretty good at first, when the glass was cold, but as it warmed, a bitter, completely unappealing strong yeastiness became apparent (This was the same flavor that has plagued some of my homebrews, in particular the batches that I brewed without using a secondary fementer, so the wort spent the entire fermentation on top of the spent yeast). The initial flavor of this brown ale was quite nice, a smooth, lightly toasted sweet nuttiness, but all of that goodness suffered because of the off-flavors in this brew. I plan on trying again and re-rating, but for now, I’m very unhappy.

Atlanta. On tap at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in Buckhead. Wow! What a great ale! One of the best American brown ales that I’ve ever had. It is quite complex, with sweetness and nuttiness. A wonderfully dark complexion makes you want to try this one; and, trust me, you won’t be disappointed in the least. A good, good beer.

Aroma is nutty and mild. Appearance is the usual brown ale, with a minimal head and lacing. Flavor is of hazelnut and milk chocolate (a good sweet combination). There is nothing especially rich or malt here, just sweet and a little thin. There is some lingering astringency. Not bad at all for 5% ABV.