James Page Burly Brown Ale

Brewed by Stevens Point Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Stevens Point, Wisconsin USA

12oz bottle. Poured a medium copper color with a small sized off white head. Light aromas of toasted malts, caramel light nuts and very light chocolate. Tastes of toasted malts, chocolate and caramel. Tastes on the weaker side. Body on the thin side too.

(Bottle) Pours a clear brown body with a small off-white head. Aroma of toasted malt, caramel, and nuts. Flavor of roastiness, sweet chocolate, and mild hops.

Pours brown with a thin off white lacing that doesn’t stick around long. Smells of coffee, sugar, caramel and bread. Tastes of caramel, toffee, and honey with a bitter finish.

When pouring out this deep amber colored ale, I had to do a double-take on the label. "Brown," it reads. Nice creamy beige head; good lacing. Another double-take on the aroma. Fruity with sweet malts. "Brown," it reads. A light, toasty malt makes up most of the flavor, but half way through some chocolate emerged. Nice earthy, bitter finish, but over all this comes across as an Amber/Brown hybrid. Drinkable.

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Brown with a hint of orange when held to the light. Fluffly tall light tan head. Sweet whole grain toast, brown sugar and light molassas in the aroma. Light undertone of vanilla as well. Light and crisp palate. Not as sweet as the aroma would have you believe. Cocoa seems to be my most predominent flavor detected. Seems to gain favor the longer I sit with this. A touch of peat and smoke, some leather. Some real Bamberg qualities. A good BBQ brew.

Bottled (most recently). Nutty, yes, but sort of in an alcoholic way -- like, wine-soaked nuts or something. More vinous and rich than a brown ale usually tends to be, thicker though I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say "stout"-like as some have. An uncommonly good brown, at any rate.

I agree with the previous rating. A boring beer, even for a brown ale. Not fatally flawed, just nothing to make it stand out. Original rating follows. The color is dark orange with hints of copper. The lightest brown ale I have ever seen. The fluffy head is slightly off white. Iced tea is the main smell with hints of caramel and Red Delicious apples. The taste is light peanuts with some roasted caramel and a bit of bread crust. The body is thin and watery. This is a decent brown ale, but even for the style, it is boring.

Bottle and served in my Flossmoor pint glass:

Pours more ruby than brown with a fading frothy head and surprisingly good lacing. The aroma has the standards brown ale characteristics of walnut, carmel and toasted malting, grassy hops. This one also has some pear, cherry, and dusty yeast esters. The taste leaves something to be desired with a strange mix of sweet malt and finish of lactic sourness and acidic fruits. The off flavors seem to mask any nutty or caramel goodness that could have been underneath. The palate is watery and harsh, yeasty dry. I will take a pass if offered this brew again.