Big Sky Moose Drool Brown Ale

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Missoula, Montana USA

bottle. pours a dark cola color with a thick brown head. has a light malty aroma, but not overpowering. has a roasted peanut flavor with a nice warm carmel finish. very good.

Re-rate. Last bottle was whacked out. Aroma is fresh, clean and sweet. Nice dark color with small head. Malty sweet, hint of chocolate, hint of smoke, slight hops. Ok, but nothing to get excited about.

On Tap at Taphouse. Pours a clear reddish brown with tan head and mild caramel aroma. Get a mild sweet roasted nut flavor and a little bitterness. Far more carbonated than I remember and relatively mild overall (palate change?)

Tap at Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. There were some rarer, more local offerings on tap, but somehow I’d never managed to try this most rated beer from Montana so I figured it was time. The guy told me it was a stout, which seems like a simple enough error until you realize that at this high end restaurant, they don’t bother educating their servers about the beers they serve at all, and they end up making these silly mistakes of calling any dark beer Stout.

The beer poured darkish brown (not black), filtered, with little head. Lightly bitter, husky and molasses notes are present, with a mildly grassy, chocolate body. Fairly simple but quite close to style. I’m getting no hop notes though, British or American. Not a bad beer.

Draft. Dark brown with caramel highlights and quick-fading head. Tons of juicy malt backbone... and a clean but serious bitterness to balance the malty depth. Aromatic notes of chocolate, roast, root beer. Light sweetness. A little dry, bitter-roasty aftertaste. Big flavor but absolutely quaffable. Easy to see why this has become an American craft beer classic.

Bottle. Poured brown with an off-white head. Aroma consists of malts and some sweet chocolate present as well. Starts a bit malty and builds to a sweet chocolate finish. Enjoyable.

Pours brown with a smallish tan head. Aroma is a blend of light and roasted malts with hints of chocolate coming through. Flavor is big caramel malt with a little bit of chocolate and a very slight hop presence. Not bad.

Pours cola brown with a small head and no lacing. Aroma is chocolate, whole-leaf tobacco, very mild lemon notes, and slight cherry. Flavor is very reflective of the aroma, in the same order, but with a roasted nutty section folowing, and a dry finish. Palate just a hair thin. A very nice dry brown ale that avoids becoming too similar to a porter as many American brown ales do.