American Brown Ale - Tasting Notes

This is my first attempt at an American Brown Ale which seems to essentially be a slightly more malty version of the American Pale Ale.  This beer was very hoppy a month ago but has mellowed a bit.  I used a friends home grown Cascades for this batch for a heavy dry hop.  His plants produce a pleasant spicy and herbal aroma which make for a nice beer.

This was the product of a pretty crappy brew day back in September (notes here).  I spilled about a gallon of mash water and opted to add some grain to have so hope of hitting the desired OG.  It turned out I overshot the OG actually.  I think the beer turned out very nicely despite the brew day problems.

I don't drink commercial beer very often as a home brewer.  I haven't actually had many beers of this style and haven't had one for quite some time (Moose Drool maybe 8 years ago).  I have to say I find it pretty pleasant.  The slightly toasty malt makes for an interesting flavor profile.  This is a style I will revisit.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Has a herbal and slightly grassy hop aroma.  I also get a slight bit of malt character in the background
• Appearance:
• Dark brown and very clear when held up to the light.  Pours with a 3 finger head on an aggressive pour.  The foam lingers for most of the glass.  Leaves lacing.
• Flavor:
• A bit of toasted bread-like malt flavor up from followed a little bit of hop flavor (I would say herbal and a slight citrus note which has faded as the beer aged).  The finish has a mild bitterness which is balanced by a bit of sweet malt/caramel flavor.  I get bit of alcohol flavor in the finish.  No yeast character.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied.  Very slightly sweet and pretty smooth drinking (no astringency).
• Overall:
• This is an easy drinking and nicely balanced beer.  It has enough going on to be interesting even thought the flavoring hops have mostly gone.  I think the 16+ oz Russian River bottles I used for this were a good choice.  It has a low enough ABV (5.78%) where that much beer doesn't really effect me and that bit of extra beer over the 12 oz bottles makes for a slightly more satisfying first beer of the day.