Brau Brothers Sheep Head Ale

Brewed by Brau Brothers Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Lucan, Minnesota USA

Bottled. Poured milky, yet healthy golden with a short cap of off-white head. The aroma was fragrant and very enjoyable with earthy and light citrus hoppage over thick biscuits and caramel.. the malts actually stole the show, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The flavor had the same biscuit and caramel malts at the core, surrounded by a bit different bitter hop array than the nose (white pepper, resiny pine, and earth present here).. finished with thicker sweetness and sufficient residual bitterness. Medium-bodied with fluffy carboation on the palate.. sweeter than it was bitter, but balance was there.. a bit slick at times, which impeded the flow slightly. This was by far the best brew I’ve tried from these guys.

From a 12 oz bottle into a glass. Nice copperish color with a nice malty nose. The taste (like the aroma) started very malty but ended with a nice hop kick similar to an IPA.

12 oz. bottle in pint glass. Light amber in color, without much head. Nice hop complexity and well balanced, with some caramelly sweetness. Tastes a little thin with burnt maltiness at first, but flavor lingers and develops more with additional sips. Hoppier than many american pales, more like an IPA. My favorite Brau beer.

Pours copper with a thin tan head. Smells of caramel, some earth, tea, spice. Tastes resiny and sticky sweet with some earthiness on the finish.

Pours hazy burnt orange with a 3 finger off white head that has great retention. Aroma is caramel, pine, citrus, brown sugar, sugar cookies and sweet graininess. Flavor is caramel, toffee, citrus, light woodiness, brown sugar, biscuit, woody notes and a little pine. Finish is mild grapefruit, some pine, lingering brown sugar, biscuit and mild bitter hops. Palate is lightish bodied with a slightly dry entry and slightly more dry finish, smooth feel and moderate carbonation. I found this to be a nice, hoppy, very drinkable beer the best I have had from Brau Bros. so far.

Pours a copper color with a frothy white head. Nice pale ale hoppy taste and finish.

At St Paul Summer Beer Fest 2009. Poured hazy yellow with a nice white head, smelled of faint hops and had a good hop profile in the taste. Nothing crazy, but a solid beer.

A murky hazy redish orange, decent hop nose, quickly receding head. Carmel malt sweetness, slightly astringent bitterness. Hop profile a bit muddled, overwhelms the pallet/malt after a few sips. Not a bad beer, nothing spectular. This brewery could definitely be more. The malt profile to me scans more as an amber ale or more than an APA, but still a nice beer.