Carlyle Berry Brown

On tap at the brewpub
Carlyle has developed a unique flavor profile for its fruit beers that is slightly tart, pleasantly sweet but not artificially so, and surprisingly spicy. It’s a formula that worked well for the raspberry wheat (provided you were among the "love it" half of the love-it-or-hate-it dichtomy that beer produced) and it works even better here with the Berry Brown. Light roasted malt, berries and some chocolate evident in the aroma. Appearance was a dark not-quite-opaque reddish brown with a perfect white head. Flavor is both dry from the roasted malt and a touch sweet from the berries, with a dash of almost peppery spice. Not a heavy beer at all, it goes down with a thin palate. Nice beer from a quality brewpub that gives Rockford a desparately needed dose of civilization.

Very dark brown, bordering on black, with a small, off-white head. Chocolate-covered raspberry aroma is so striking that it is nearly unbelievable - it smells exactly like that raspberry chocolate candy that you smack on the table to break into small pieces (whatever it was called). Sure, the aroma is definitely artificial, but it just smelled SO good. Subdued raspberry liquor flavor, medium-to-light-bodied, with chocolate malt, straw and malt-balls. Rather bland flavor - I think the great aroma built me up only to knock me down.