Upland Hideaway Brown

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with atpayne, thanks Adam!) This is a somewhat unusual brown ale. It smells like pumpernickel bread, "winter" spices, caramel and brown sugar. The flavor is quite sweet and caramely, again with brown sugar and mild winter spices, and I’m getting a hint of maple syrup and maybe even a bit of vanilla. Body is a little thin, however, despite the sweetness sticking to my mouth, and that’s my only real complaint for this beer. Carbonation is light, which helps make for a softer mouthfeel. Dark brown color is one of the darkest brown ales I’ve seen. It shows ruddy highlights at the edges and is topped by a small, somewhat fizzy, light tan head that fades to a thin ring. Add some body and this would be quite a good beer. It’s still tasty though.

12oz - Aroma is mild toffee, carmel, and roasted malts. Pours dark brown with a small ring for head and good lacing. Flavor is also mild matching aroma. The roastyness stands out more I guess. Palate is dry and watery. Generic and boring.

Thanks to atpayne for sending me this brown!

The body is a awesome hew of amber brown… a fatty head. The aroma and flavor bring large doses of toffee, caramel, hint of maple syrup, and buttermilk waffles. The flavor is has some chocolaty submissions to hit, it’s a bit bland and could be more pronounced. A respectable brown!

One of the darkest browns I’ve ever sampled. A little creamy tan head and moderate lacing. Aroma of a fresh loaf of bread, malt and a little coffee. The flavor is slightly smokey and malted and also a little sweetness. Some of the smoke charaster is slightly coffee based. There is an overall British character and a light finish. This is an interestering concept, the winner of a Beer Geek competition got to brew his own recipe at Upland and have it distributed. Limited to a single batch.