Sierra Nevada Brown Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Chico, California USA

Bottle: I didn’t ever expect SN to bottle this but glad they did. Aroma has some small sign of caramel and light notes of grain or hay. A light color brown with a diminishing head that leaves some lace of foam. Flavor delivers well with a direct hop character with signs of nuts and coffee. I’m usually very impressed with all of styles of beer SN brews but this brown ale fell a little short.

Dark mohogany color with a medium light beige head. Aroma is nutty with a hint of cocoa. Flavor starts lightly sweet and nutty followed by a light tangy bitterness, finishing lightly dry with the slightest hint of coffee. Medium bodied and smooth with lively carbonation.

Bottle: Drank a bunch of these things in hopes I could sit down with one at a computer, but I never got that far. It always poured a brownish mahogany color, decent head. The nose is lightly toasty with some bread and dough notes. The flavor actually has a nice hop floralness along with the light chewy brown malts. Not very to the point in any department, just balanced. Almost like a nutty amber ale. Eh, not bad.

2006 Bottle. Brown with hints of orange and cherry when held to the light. Smaller but stable and dense head of tan bubbles. Malty aromas with dry toast and just a hint of wood and lightly roasted coffee. Fairly light, but quite pleasant and soothing, especially for a brown ale. Fuller feel that does seem a touch light later in the swizzle. Light roasted malt jump around with a touch of cookie dough and a mild hop bite in the finish. This is a fall type ale that seem to hit right now. Easy to drink. I could see this becoming one of my favorites this fall, as I have been less than pleased with the batches of Oktoberfest brews so far.

out of the bottle. dark red color, with very much of a thick head. taste is of chocolate.

2006 bottle... Deep reddish brown color, clear. Mild carbonation. Huge foamy head. Aroma is malt, caramel, and a faint roastiness. Flavor is the same with some hints of darker grains and chocolate, balanced by a nice hop bitterness. An all around good brown ale. 12 oz bottle, $1.71 from Belmont Party Supply.

bottle. Had a lot of malty flavor and, being Sierra Nevada, quite a bit of a hoppy taste.

When I poured this Brown Ale out of the signature stubby bottle, I got nearly a half a mug full of foam at first. Continued pored caused the foam to crown above the rim, making room for the clear, reddish brown liquid. Aromatically, there was quite a slap of hops and roasted malt up front, making this beer smell quite a bit like an American Stout. There was some faint maltyness in the smell as well. The first sip indicated that a good amount of earthy and spicy hops were used in the making of this. The hops very nearly overpowered the sweet malt, and revealed almost none of the typical nutty character present in the beers of this style. Being a hophead, I enjoyed this quite a bit, but someone looking for an authentic Brown Ale would be disappointed.