Spanish Peaks Nut Brown Ale

Formerly brewed at Spanish Peaks Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
Bozeman, Montana USA

Bottle... Clear, very dark, copper ale with a small, creamy, lightly tanned head. Great retention. Mild nose with notes of chocolate, toasted nuts and a waft of hickory smoke. Decently balanced flavor. Malty, chocolatey and lightly sweet. Medium-bodied with a creamy mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Finishes, light bitter and medium sweet.

Perhaps the most chocolatey brown ale that I’ve had to date. It pours a deep, opaque brown with red highlights and sports a slender tan head. The aroma is quite malty, full of chocolate, a bit of caramel, and a light nutty bitterness. Very thick and smooth to drink, the chocolate becomes more pronounced in the flavor, accompanied by lightly roasted malts, caramel, and an even lighter nuttiness. Good stuff.

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Dark brown color, with a hint of copper when held to the light. Small lid of tan bubbles. Sweet grainy aromas, with sorghum and cocoa wafting about. Flavors seem to follow directly with the aromas. Grainy and light sweet, with dark chocolate and mild molasses. Quite dry in the finish. Thin and somewhat fizzy in feel.

Bottle. Poured dark brown with an average light brown head that diminished slowly. Light sweet malty aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture. Good sweet malt flavor with a medium spice finish of average duration.

It’s got the gritty brown texture; the mouthfeel you hope for in a brown. A bit malty, but aren’t most of them. Chocolate was hardly noticeable. A good beer when you need a break from excessive IBUs.

Very dark brown with amber highlights. The thin head is slightly off white. The aroma is heavy malt with molasses and old fall leaves. There is also dark bread and a little chocolate. The taste is peanuts and roasted chocolate. Finishes dry and slightly salty. Actually a chewy and interesting brown, something that is hard to find.

Reddish brown with a quickly disappearing bubbly head. Slight sweet aroma. The flavors are sweet wood and a hint of cocoa. Quite drinkable, yet undistinguished.

2005 bottle consumed on 12/16/2005. Pours a highly filtered chocolate and tan brown colored body, with a fizzy burnt-beige head that fairly rapidly dissipates to just a ring, leaving no lacing. Aroma of light earth, notes of buttertoffee and sweet chocolate. Rather straightforward, with light spiciness. The flavor boasts of pale malt sugariness, backed by an unwavering note of light chocolate. Instead of softening, it first gets lightly spicy/earthy (toasted grains and light rye), and then finishes with vapid, hard crystal malt (lightly sweet). Carbonation is moderate, perhaps a little high (and forced, of course), with a mostly watery texture and a medium body overall. No alcohol apparency. Quite simple, but as usual from Mendocino, lacking of any off-notes.