Tommyknocker Imperial Nut Brown Ale

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

Bottle. Small fizzy off-white head that mostly diminished. Fair lacing. Clear flat looking body with a mahogany color. Aroma of light caramel, nutty, molasses, roasted notes, rye bread. Also floral, elderflower, brown sugar and some fruity notes as well. Very full bodied with an average carbonation and somewhat sticky and alcoholic texture. Moderated sweet flavor with light bitterness. Somewhat bitter finish.

Dark brown red tone with thin tan head that dwindles. Burnt chocolate malts on a brown ale base with sugar notes and a mild but noticeable alcohol tone. Good but not too much more exciting than TK’s regular maple nut brown. Another "birthday beer" enjoyed on the train to Glenwood.

Bottle. Great aroma of sweet nuts and mild hops. Deep, dark brown color with a small tan head. Definitely a good looking/smelling beer. The taste was also solid, but more muted than I hoped. Decent sweetness, very mild hoppy undertones for a brown ale, and a warm alcohol finish. A good, drinkable, sweet beer, but nothing amazing.

20060812 Bottle shared at Mel’s Madness. This one reminded me of HW Baltus and not in the best ways. Thin bodied and tart palate. Sweet at first glance but followed by an odd combination of apple/pear flavors and mild roast. Quite astringent to finish. Nothing about this suggests nut brown, let alone super nut brown.

Bomber in Atlanta, shared with Clinton, served cold in a wine glass. MA04/07.

App.: Fairly deep cola with some light transmission, clear with a small tan head. Aroma: sweet treacle and molasses, fruit (raisins, prunes, figs); light hazelnut and earthiness, some bubble gum esters; an odd chemical smell on swirling (like ammonia); rootbeer with vanilla. Palate: Medium body (expected more) and fairly soft carbonation. Flav.: Cherries, raisins, hazelnuts, other assorted fruits, brown sugar; slight sweetness, fairly soft finish with residual smokiness; alcohol is well-concealed.

I would rather celebrate a 10th anniversary with this than with jewellery.

pours dark brown with a bubbly head. malty aroma with a bit of rootbeer. taste is crisp and pronouced alcohol note with some earthy, nutty body to it. Some vanilla in there as well. very crisp and dry, with only alcohol lingering.

The description sounded great, but I was not that impressed. Aroma was weak, a bit nutty, some soy sauce. Poured dark brown, not much head. Flavor was bland, some mild roasts, caramel, but not much of anything. Thin bodied.

2007 bomber shared with SuIIy on 4/26/07
Light tan head gushes up, only to recede rather quickly back to cover. Moderate retention at that point, minimal lacing. Filtered and all, with a dark cola-mahogany brown body.
I must say, for a maple beer, I was expecting a lot more odd esters and phenols and surprisingly enough, it’s quite clean in the nose. Seems a bit meaty at first, making me think of DMS, but if that is indeed what it is, it’s fully passing after 30 or so seconds. Leafy/soily/earthy hops are the extent of hop aromatics, with reserved bitterness. Light coffee layered atop chocolate and dry maple with a firm acidity on the end. A bit stale/oxidized already, probably owing to the filtration and medium malts. Not overly hard, despite the more dry, bready malts; lots of residual base malt sweetness is there, creating some stickiness on the nose. Cinnamon-like phenols are lightly noted on the finish, while alcohol is mostly contained. Medium strength of aroma.
Lots of caramel dumped in, with more a brown sugar flavor from the maple (and combination of caramel and base malt). Sweet, vanilla cream flavors slowly meld in to a strong maple fudginess that grows quite sweet and has some stickiness to it, despite also carrying a trace of thinning on the finish. Flavors do not last long, as they are cut short by a coffeecake dryness that adds breadiness and acidity. A bit stale overall, no doubt suffering from the filtration. Carbonation, though forced, isn’t obnoxious, and while it’s not overly tight, it also isnt too loose. No alcohol perceived. Almost finished my glass, but not quite.