Sheepscot Valley Damariscotta Double Brown Ale

Brewed by Sheepscot Valley Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Whitefield, Maine USA

B4K. Very dark brown body with very light brown head. Nose shows toffee, some toast, and a hint of caramel. Some butterscotch and citrus hop in there as well. Overall the beer is sweet. Quite yeasty – almost Belgian in character. Slightly astringent roastiness clashing with the sweet finish detracts from what overall is a pretty good brew.

Dark chestnut. Creamy head. Sour with a little countering sweetness and heavy Belgian yeastiness. Medium body. Another disappointment.

On tap Maine Brewers Fest 2002: Dark brown color, rich nose. Full bodied, starts and ends sour and acidic. Tasted more like a Belgian brown than an American one.

I’d never heard of a double brown ale (doppelbraun?), but this lived up to its calling. Not really a Bock, this did in fact retain a lot of brown ale character but was very, very malty. I was really impressed!