Drakes Hoppy Ass Brown

Formerly brewed at Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
San Leandro, California USA

Bottle shared courtesy of Jasonmech77. Poured a medium brown color with a small sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, citrus, pine, toasted malts, and some wood. Tastes of caramel, wood, pine, and citrus. A nice ’mistake’ from the brewery.

Tap: Brown, off-white head and light lacing. Nose of fresh caramel and hops, fresh and spicy. Nice earthy grassy, citrusy malty. Very nice like a strong ale. Creamy malty finish. Nice hoppy brown. Hoppy ass?

Bottle courtesy of hopdog! Poured a lovely shade of hazy burnt plum/light-ish mahogany with a majestic, well-retained beige head and some tiny floaties. The nose was spot-on for the beer’s namesake... fresh pine and citrus on top of nutty and caramel sweetness... aggressive yet soft... great combination!
Bitter pine graces the tip of the tongue before transitioning smoothly into a sweet middle of nutty malts, bittersweet chocolate, some darker fruit and figs... citrus rises and the pine returns for a triumphant, rather bitter finish... sweet, refreshing, and it left me wanting more! Excellent stuff!

2006 bonus bottle from Stoutlover72 drunk on 3/8/07
My first bottle of Drakes. It’s been a long time coming. Fantastic appearance. One of those beers that initially looks like it’s going to pour a small, rapidly dissipating head, but then the head just keeps growing even after you’re finished pouring. Sloppy lacing all over the glass and very strong retention complete the picture. Head is a light coffee-brown atop a very dark tan body with some slight maroon-mahogany tints on the edges. Clarity is high with some light sediment left at the bottom of the bottle.
This was definitely one of the more unique beers I’ve had in terms of contrast between aroma and flavor. The aroma is dry, moderately bitter, floral and citric hops with a splash of pine tar, lightly juicy, but mostly crisp and dry. It leaves almost no trace of malt sweetness or even dark malts. Just a pinch of coffee aroma with warming, with a little bit of crusty brown bread. Definitely smells like an IPA and I wouldnt even guess the beer to be dark if I was smelling it blindly. Perhaps a bit too dry and leafy, overall, for my preferences. I’d like a bit more juiciness or fruitiness from the hops. But it’s still very sniffable and well-done.
Flavor. Wow, this is 180 degrees different than the aroma would suggest. Deep, deep, sumptuous maltiness for a brown ale. Rich chocolate, caramel and coffee notes all collect on the palate, with a very creamy, malty texture. Hops don’t dominate, yet are apparent enough in the flavor, without adding any overdone bitterness/acidity. Lightly juicy floral notes and some soft citrus tones all help add complexity and give it a distinctly West coast feel. Crunchy coffee and vanilla notes with just a slight bit of molasses dryness continue on the finish, with soft pale malt sugars lingering as well. If all Drakes beers are this well-malted and balanced in flavor, I’m in for a treat. No alcohol/flaws noted.

Thanks to Jasonmech77. Pours a translucent brown with lots of ruby red coming through and a smaller off white bubbly head that left some lacing. Aroma of lots of up front hops, citrus, some pine, yet a nice toasty malt, some caramel, nutty and some vanilla. Flavor of the same...but less. Kind of thin, with that nutty/toasty malts, nice hop bitterness, some grapefruit.

Thanks to Odeed for sharing this hand bottle from aspidites! Thanks Jake and Mike! Nose of hops, not the usual citrus, floral or pine, just hops, with a little caramel; Transparent brown with a medium brown head; Flavor of grapefruit and hop bitterness, then some caramel and molasses sneak into the medium body. The hop bitterness lasts to the finish.

Handbottle from Moejuck. Hoppy Ass nose, pumelled with pumello and pine, kiwi seeds and wet sacks of grain. Craigy head. Good balance between soft, oaty, roasty flavor, with tropical fruit type hops. Palate is very soft and drinkable, though the alcohol % seems like its probably pretty high.

note: The Drakes was not a handbottle, I double evac filled it on a one head filler for rating purposes.
-aspidites

Had on tap last week at Bill and Steiny’s 10th and Final beer party. Maybe this was made especially for that party? Don’t know. A really hoppy aroma, this beer is not what you’d expect from a brown, except that it tells you that it’s really hoppy in the name. If all browns were this way, I’d like them a lot more. No nuttiness.