McNeills Professor Brewheads Brown Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

660ml bottle, hazy dark brown hue, with a small beige head, the nose is one of toasted malts, with a nutty accent, toffe note, sweet caramel and a hint of chocolate, dried plums and sultanas fruitiness in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a crisp chocolatey and toasted malt character, hint of nuttiness, dark roasted coffee beans bitterness, note of yeastiness, leading towards a nicely hops bittering finish.

Bottle. Pours an intense murky brown color with a thin, cream colored head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of licorice, anise, and caramel. Lightly carbonated with a velvety mouthfeel and a very smooth finish. Very subtle aftertaste that’s slightly bitter. Overall, not bad, but lacks some of the signature punch that McNeill’s beers usually have.

Draught pint at McNeill’s, 2/18/06 with Muzzlehatch. Dark, drab, olivine brown colored body with a small sandy to light tan colored head that immediately runs to the edges, providing no lacing. Fairly hazy body, though the longer it sits, it settles out and is not opaque. The nose smells of dark, dried plums, strong, wet straw that has begun to get moldy and light peanut skins. Notes of light cola sweetness (faint) and a rather dirty yeastiness, I don’t want to say lactobacillius, but then maybe I do. . .
The flavor, unfortunately, is almost fully attenuated, with dry, soily and moldy hay-like notes. The carbonation has not vanished, though, with still a low, tingling bit of bubbles remaining to bolster the sagging mouthfeel. Used tea leaf-like dryness/astringency, with a spreading grapiness that seems to eventually dominate. Some type of infection in the beginning to middle stages has caught on which is mildly lactic and beginning to hint at light balsamic vinegar notes. Did not finish my pint. Yay, my first infected draught from McNeill’s! I feel like a proud parent.

(draft) Clear dark brwn body with beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, some chocolate, light grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, orange, caramel, some chocolate, earthy. Watery light-medium body, very drinkable. Quite an enjoyable session beer.

Label marked best before last day of November. Poured a darker and cloudy brown color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of nuts and caramel with lihgt chocolate. Taste of nuts and roasted malts with light hops in the background. Somewhat of a watery body.

carmel, licorice, rather thin. Easy drink on hot summer night with dinner and nuts and fruit dessert. Much on the sweet side, an average brown for me. Reasonably well hopped though. Wasn’t that satisfied so went for a porter chaser.

Brown with ruby highlights,a small off-white head and large loose bubbles.Nutty, roasted t,chocolate, sweet tangy malt. Low carbonation like cask ale, a nice brown session ale.

The Lure:
Grapey fruitiness and charred caramel reach the surface of these odd perfumes. Smells slightly foreboding.

The Festivities:
Burnt bark efficiently moves into hop bitterness, but is halted by a metallic guardrail. Pickle oil frightens the palate at its passage, as does the onset of cardboard-y dryness. At least the quaffable body and sweet fruitiness are still apparent.

Transcendence:
One of my professors once scared the hell out of me when he walked into class wearing socks in his sandals and a shrunken, stained T-shirt.