Left Hand Deep Cover Brown Ale

Hazy brown pour with aroma of malts and nuts. Molasses, malts and a slight twist of hops

Releasing the cap with a lengthy pssst gives a surprisingly light almost reddish-brown color and a nice puffy cloud of light tan head. Sweet nose with a hint of hops. Body is nice and smooth with noticeable carbonation. Taste is caramel and bready malts with just enough hops to balance it out. Solid brown ale.

OK, but not great. Pours a nice red color with an overly active, large bubble head. It’s a sweet, nutty flavor, but the body makes this beer a little too cola-like and thin in the finish.

My first brown ale experience, when I first started dabbling outside the usual boring, tasteless domestic beers was Newcastle Brown Ale. Since then, I am always on the look-out for a fine brown ale.
This brings me today to the delicious Deep Cover Brown Ale from Left Hand Brewing. I may be a righty, but in this case, I’ll take a lefty any day.
A small head, which I have found to be typical of brown ales. Deep brown with a tinge of amber where the light peeks through. Sweet milk chocolate and caramel malts in the nose, almost like caramelized pecans. Clean and smooth, with definite malt sweetness. Bubbles zip to the top as I take a quaff. Mild hops lemons on the side, but overall, it is the smooth, slightly crisp malts which bring Deep Cover Brown out of the shadows. Caramelized almonds, a hint of fruit (cherry), and sweet toffee carry my taste buds away to brown ale bliss. Overall, not too heavy a body. Just enough weight to remind me that she is a brown ale, and should be enjoyed as such. I’ve tasted heavier, fuller body brown ales so Deep Cover strikes a nice balance in the middle. Not as heavy as a Corsendonk Abbey Brown but not as weak as a Newcastle. My malty goodness is definitely up front, with the hops giving it a wee bit of lemony kick from the background, sneaking out more as Deep Cover warms and my glass grows empty.

Pours a deep orange-brown with two fingers of frothy beige head that diminishes to a thin cap. The nose is of toasted, malty, dark caramel and bready notes. Light to medium-bodied and creamy-slick with a sweet, mildly burnt and astringent finish. Sweet dark caramel and bready malt transition to a lightly dry and toasty finish. A sweet and malty brew; it’s nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it’s a decent brown.

Foggy brown pour. Smells of some nut and light malt. Some roasted malt molasses with descent carbonation. Not real complex to say the least. Clean finish, drinkable. Probably not a bad beer if you’re planning on having many.

12 oz bottle from the Teeter...Pours reddish brown with a head, slightly creamy, that dissipates quickly. Aroma of chocolate, caramel, slight fruit. Taste has similar traits, sweet and malty, with a hint of smoke. The mouthfeel is slightly thin and watery, like someone left some extra water in the glass before the pour. Carbonation is thin and sharp. Low alcohol content and decent taste makes this a decent beer for multiple continuous consumptions in a day/evening, but the thinness keeps it from being a top line brown.

I’m a bit shocked at the relatively low scores for this one. I loved it. Pours a clear brown/amber color with a small ivory head...no lacing. Aroma is odd when cold, but it takes on an excellent malty dark chocolate scent as it warms. Flavor is great...malty, nutty, wtih a bit of chocolate and coffee. Some hops, but just a touch. Palate is slick and smooth, with just a touch of fiz. Overall this is VERY drinkable brown, one of my favorites in the style, and an excellent session beer.