Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale

Brewed by Tommyknocker Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Idaho Springs, Colorado USA

Poured a dark brown with no head, but a decent carbonation. Smells malty with hints of caramel and chocolate, maybe some coffee in there. Tastes malty, and caramelly, there is just a hint of maple in this beer which I found to be very interesting. Very hot with alcohol, it is not masked very well which is a flaw in my opinion. Initially there was a bit of sourness to the beer. Finished with a slight nuttiness, found that interesting as well. Almost no hoppiness throughout but a little bitterness comes through in the end. Overall it was a OK beer for me, just not my thing.

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark brown, with no head. Oily/slick look, as carbonation skips across the top of the beer. Aroma is light, Nestle Quik chocolate, and a bit of maple. Flavor is mostly a strong alcohol, with tends to overpower it. Again with the Nestle Quik flavor which reminds of the Coco Porter mixed with a bottle of MD 40/40. No balance as this one is mostly malt. Palate is smooth and slick. Overall a poor Brown ale from a flavor standpoint.

Off tap at Capital Ale House. Roasty aroma with hint of nuttiness. Very dark amber brown with small tan head. Deep carmelized nutty malt flavor with some wood and slight sour fruits. Dry slightly sour astringeent finish with a touch of lasting bitterness.

A Mes rate: bottle at GBBF.
A gorgeous looking red amber colour with a good beige head. A wheaty brown ale with strong maple notes. Some bacon fat. Quite tart and fruity in the malt. Not too great but the alcohol is hidden impressively well.

Bottle at home, side by side with maple nut brown ... Both Very Clear reddish copper...sweet toffee and little meaty ... smoother deeper and slicker ...Given the huge difference in % its ncie to see that i concur in a side by side all be it that i the gap is smaller and that i quite like both of them ... little caramel ... again a little mayble but again it doesnt overpower ... ittle woodynesss... all in all i think this one wins over the maple nut due to a slightly sweeter edge and a better mouthfeeel and depth rather than on any other characterisitics.... Though wife realy didnt like the maple nut but did like the imperial... It would appear that im the weirdo liking both .

Nut Brown Ale’s always sound so good. The Tommyknocker Imperial is a middle of the road Nut Brown Ale. The aroma doesn’t live up to the description of the beer, Its very light on the nose with suttle hints of maple and chocolate. The appearance is dark, not as dark as a stout, but close. The palate of the beer is probably the best feature of it, very velvety smooth on the tounge. The taste has the obvious maple/nutty taste but at first it follows with a bitter after taste. The bitter after taste wears off throughout the beer. The KEY FEATURE of this beer is the nice 9.0% Alcohol percentage.... and the taste isn’t all that bad. But judging by the description I expected more.

355ml bottle (Beertopia, NE) - thanks Anna’s parents!
Very dark brown, brief off-white head, fades to nothing very quickly. Sweet coconut and slightly fruity aroma, alcohol too. Anna says barley-winey and a hint of blueberry and chocolate. Syrupy palate, gentle carbonation, gentle hop tingle. Sickly sweet initial taste, leaves the mouth feeling sticky with sugar too. Bucketloads of tingly hops in the finish, very zingy in the mouth. Probably the hops and sugar are there to try and cover the alcohol, but it does fight its way through occasionally, in particular in the finish - boozy a few times. I think there were some roasted malts in there too, but am not so sure - the sugar and slightly acrid bitterness dominate too much. Later I get a bit of wet sheep, and slimy stickiness. Not particularly sophisticated, mostly due to the cloying slimy sweetness. Rein that in a bit, and it might be a pretty OK brew. Yet again a US brewer uses ’imperial’ to mean ’turn a tasty well-balanced style into something obnoxious’. Don’t do that, please.

Bottled@GBBF2008. Deep amber colour, small brown head. Aroma is syrup, oak and malts with some nutty hints. Flavour is syrup, wood and caramel malts. Sweet, but good. Warming alcohol in finish.