Callys Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by Cally’s Restaurant & Brewing Co. (formerly Calhoun’s)
Style: Brown Ale
Harrisonburg, Virginia USA

on tap-pours a creamy light brown head with dark brown-red color. Aroma is malt, sweet. Taste is malt, sweet, good secondary hops, nutty. Good carbonation.

Sparkling clear, deep ruby ale with a small, creamy, beige head. The aroma and flavor are of milk chocolate and toasted nuts. The flavor is a bit thin, but the balance is perfect. Medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Malty, dry finish. It’s all about the chocolate. Very nice nut brown ale.

Growler at the very end of the DCVAMD Gathering. They were about to throw these away and I felt bad for the beer, so I quickly tried a large sample of the remaining calhoun brews, this included. Medium brown clear, with some lighter amber-auburn hues and a small but solid beige head. Aroma of dry yeast, nuts and light milkiness. Flavor is a bit on the low side as hopscotch notes, but the body is smooth, creamy, if not somewhat watery and there is a very good drinkability to this beer. Low carbonation, nuts, chocolate and very very lightly roasted notes. I could sit down with a growler of this on Sundays and finish it pretty quickly and enjoyably. Nothing incredible, but a good effort.

On tap at the brewpub on 11/21/2008. Dark brown body with ruby highlights. Sweet caramel and molassas aroma with some sweet nuttiness. Nutty flavor, light molassas and chocolate and hints of caramel. Medium body with moderately light carbonation.

From a sampler at the brewpub. Pours a dark ruby red color with a medium head and nice lacing. Big aroma of caramel, toffee and roasted malts. Taste is roasted malts, coffee, caramel and dark fruits. Medium bodied.

As usual, big thanks to Rob for hauling down a growler of this for me. I would normally complain about half of the growler having already been consumed, but since I’m not paying for it, and he brought two other growlers, I really should just shut up. This is a very nice brown ale. Dark brown with a ruby tint, decent head (despite the half full growler, ahem), from a distance it could be mistaken for a stout. Nice roasty nose, but not over the top or astringent. The flavor is clearly malt oriented, with a pleasant roasted note and a bit of chocolate. This is a brown ale with actual flavor. Some brewers go for flavor in a brown ale and overdo the roast, resulting in an astringent, almost sour note as a result. Others put in additional hops, but forget the malt body that needs to back it. Calhouns has the malty version down nicely, medium bodied and easy drinking, yet full flavored without astringency. A delicate balancing act that has been well executed.

Draught at the brewpub. Pours deep reddish mahogany with small tight beige head. The aroma is chocolate, raisin, pistacchio, some green bark. Flavor is creamy with chocolate at first, then some more nut husk tones. The finish is quick and smooth. No depth, but ok.

On tap at the brewpub. Deep black pour with a thin layer of tan head. Nose was nutty with roasted notes. Flavor was full of chocolate and rye. Hops add some zing and bitterness. A nice brown ale aided by that brewpub freshness.