I think that brown ales are getting squeezed out lately. Once the out-there beer that demarcated the (then) new breed of craft brewers from the corporate lagers, today in the wave of Imperial IPAs, oak-aged beer and Trappist Quadrupels, brown ales seem, well, rather boring and timid.
Which is a shame, because they aren’t. Sure, they don’t wallop your tonsils like some of the bigger beer we have been seeing lately, but a well-made brown ale offers a gentle complexity that is quite enjoyable.
Which brings me to the reason I come to the defence of brown ale. I had a chance a few days ago to sample Yukon Brewing’s Bonanza Brown Ale, available only in their Dark Side mixed packs. It took me back to those earlier days when brown ales were the rage.
It is, I believe, an English-style brown ale. It pours light tawny brown with reddish hue. Not much head builds, just a thin ring around the glass. The aroma is quite appealing – sweet toffee, some caramel, milk chocolate, hints of nut in the background, and a generic fruitiness, but not too much. Toffee and light chocolate the the dominant aromas.
In the sip, that light toffee confirms initial expectations, but is accompanied by some honey upfront. I also get touches of grainy malt and a smooth velvet chocolate character. The middle becomes a bit nutty and brings in a hint of earthiness. Finish is moderately sweet with a nutty profile. Smooth, clean body and mouthfeel. Very little hops to speak of.
I really enjoy the the mix of flavours in this beer. For me it comes across as something of a hybrid of the two English styles (Northern, which is drier and nuttier, and Southern which is darker and sweeter). A bit more body would hold the flavours better, and give it a bigger overall effect, but I wouldn’t mess with the flavour mix. It goes back very easily.
February 28, 2013 at 9:29 AM
Coming soon from Great Western: Original 16 Copper Ale
Release dates are fluid, but the plan right now is for draught in SK and MB next week. AB and BC by the end of March.
Bottle and can available across Western Canada in late April, early May.
Take the Marketing hype with a grain of salt, but give the beer an honest try. Viv and I have been working on this one for almost a year, and I hope that you will enjoy it as much as we do!
March 1, 2013 at 9:38 AM
While our Bow Valley Brown Ale is far from our best selling beer it has a very devoted following partly because it is a great Nut Brown Ale and I’m sure partly because there are not many brown ales to choose from. My fiance is a brown ale fan and outside of finding Newcastle or Rickard’s Dark *shudder* she does not often have many choices when we go out for a pint and the selection in liquor stores is only slightly better. BTW if you are ever in Montana or select other states try a Moose Drool from Big Sky if you haven’t already.