Breckenridge 471 Small Batch Mighty Brown

Reddish-brown pour with a thin light brown head. Aroma of caramel, toasted malt, slight sweetness. Nice tasting brown- sweet, malty, caramel, slight roasted malt, low carbonation. Easy to drink. A nice tasty beer I like.

A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three-finger thick, nicely browned, dark tan colored head. The beer is a dark brown color that shows a deep, brilliantly clear, richly ruby hued color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite fruity smelling; it is mostly hop derived but some malt seems to accentuate the fruit character too. There is a distinct currant aroma here that mixes with notes of candied orange zest, concentrated tangerine, and a bright (almost blindingly so at times) berry character. All of this is anchored by a toasted malt character that contributes notes of caramelized grain sugars (which definitely boosts the fruit notes), browned whole-grain cracker aromatics, deeply browned & sharp smelling bread crust notes and biscuit driven malt. The nose of this beer has a nice mix of dominant hop character with a quite noticeable, yet supporting rich malt character.

The rich berry notes continue in the flavor; dark, caramelized grain notes really seem to accentuate this side of the hops. The hops are still dominant in the flavor, but there is a lot of malt here that is just tailing by a fraction of a second. The beer is rich bodied, though not thick, there is enough heft to cling to the palate though. The toasted malt and caramel notes linger on the palate along with a rich berry / citrus note. The fruit notes bring out notes of bergamot, infused blackberry, ruby-red grapefruit, currant and even some notes of lychee. There is a solid bitterness here that can be a touch biting and it does provide a solid anchor in the finish to the fruit and malt that is found up front. The hop character really contributes to the perceived sweetness here, while the malt character provides a richness to the overall palate effect despite the omnipresent hop character.

This is perhaps not the most complex beer, but it is very enjoyable; almost a marriage of an IPA and a big, malty Brown Ale. This works quite well as there is not enough roast malt to get in the way of the ample hop character, but it still has a rich maltiness to it. I would be quite happy to drink quite a few pints of this.

In the bomber bottle at the 2009 Crescent Moon Summer Beer Festival. An odd name because this beer is mighty black. However, it is mighty good. This has an intense maltiness that totally pushes the limits of "brown" ale. Simply a great beer. Chicory, licorice and anise. Heavy syrup and molasses. Thick, rich and delicious.

Bomber. Moderate sweet malt hits the nose, along with some smoke and nuts. Brown body with decent head but by the time I got around to looking at it was gone. Hevey brew to drink as it fills the body with warmth on a chilly 70 degree morning here in the desert. Sweet molasas and roasted nuts were good flavor for the brew. Good brew.

Bottle. Brown pour. Light head. Very malty aroma. Caramel, roasted nuts, light hops and light chocolate. Flavor is loaded with malt, nuts and chocolate. Good brew.

22oz bottle -> English Pint glass (fresh out of the dimpled mugs). Looked promising. Poured an appropriate dark mahogany, with a very light and thin head, and showed minimal lacing. Smelled immediately of cinnamon and sourness. Tasted mostly sour, with a bit of malt in the background. Overall, sour. Judging from the other posts, I had a bad bottle. Will re-rate if given the opportunity.

22oz bottle. Pours a deep brown body with a finger-width, creamy, brown head that whisps away quickly and leaves a good amount of streaky lacing. Aroma is rich and sweet caramels, milk chocolate, nuts, raspberry and blackberry, and a very light roast. Flavor is interesting. There is an abundant amount of overlying blackberry taste unlike most brown ales. At the same time the other half of this flavor is rich caramels, milk chocolate, and a light roast. No real bitterness or hop taste to this. Finishes rich with a light roast and more of that blackberry taste. Slightly dry after a medium, smooth body. The aftertaste is mostly rich caramels and chocolate as well as a light roast without the blackberry taste. Overall, I really like the rich and roasty brown ale flavor of this beer, but the blackberry taste is a little off puting. It gets a little better as it warms, but it still gives off a weird berry taste that I’m not digging. Some hops would be nice as well.

Compared to other Browns I have had, this is very good. I am not looking for it to stand up to a Porter. Light chocolate malt nose. Very clean flavors, nutty coco. Not too sweet. Clean dry finish. Good Brown.