Harbor City Main Street Brown Ale

Harbor City Brewing Company
Brewed at Sand Creek Brewing Co. (Pioneer/Wisconsin Brewing Co.)
Style: Brown Ale
Port Washington, Wisconsin USA

Dark red color with a thin head. Oddly citrus filled nose. Citrus in a brown? Hmmm... Malty taste with a bitter finish.

Fruity, caramel, butterscotch aroma. Buttery, but not diacetyl. Really nice nose. Reddish, brown amber in color (mostly red). Not much visible carbonation, but it’s there. Thin layer of white head. Not much lace. Initial mouthfeel is nice, but it doesn’t finish very well. Fruity with a hint of hops. Slightly tart. I like it better than Louie’s Demise, which I had just before. This somewhat more balanced with at least some hop profile. There is something in the aftertaste I like that I can’t identify. Finishes well.

Pours a transparent copper mahogany with a thin white head. Aroma is very subtle with a touch of sugary, earthy caramel and mild hops. Body starts full and lightly sweet, turning more grainy, thin and bitter toward the sticky, confused finish. A boring and uninspired beer that could either use some more malty sweetness or more of a crisp finish.

Bottle: Deep amber hue with okay head and good lace. The aroma has notes of orange zest, piney and grassy hops, carmel and bready malts, light walnut and dusty yeast esters. The taste starts with a fine balance of citric twang and malty sweetness. Nutty and mildly bitter finish. The feel is smooth and easy, not much depth of palate (but this is truw of most brown ales). Overall, the citrus nature makes this brown ale a step above most of the genre, quaffable.

pours a dark amber color wi th a nice tan head. smells a bit fruity for a brown ale, but includes a nice malty sweetness and characteristic nutty aroma. The flavor does not differ much from the aroma including the same fruity notes and nutty, sweet malt. Seems a bit too sweet for a brown but overall is average.

Head is ok. Mahogony colored body. Coffee-flavored chocolate aroma, maybe a bit of toffee and some citrus. Smooth feel in the mouth. Good flavor, but not much depth. I detect some nutty hops in the flavor. Hard to pinpoint. Has a light, slightly hopped coffee aftertaste. Overall, not bad.

Bottled. Tasted like a brown. Looked like a brown. Nothing special.

A beer best served cold. It seemed to lose its smoothness at warmer temps. Rich and dark with nice foam, with a taste of coffee and chocolate.