After trying a few lackluster brown ales, I almost concluded that the style just wasn’t for me. Then I had a brown ale which showed me just how delicious and satisfying a well-crafted one could be — Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale.
This beer hails from the Samuel Smith Old Brewery in North Yorkshire, England, and the bottle came via a friend at work who feels a special connection with this brewery because his ancestors are from the same area. The beer poured a very dark brown into my nonic pint glass, with just slivers of copper shining through when held to the light. The smell is dominated by a sweet maltiness. I didn’t get as much of a nut aroma as the name might imply. It’s strange, but I get just a bit of a grape soda smell. I always said Newcastle Brown Ale had this same artificial grape odor. I thought I was mad until a friend told me, without my mentioning it, that he thought Newcastle tasted like grape soda. So take all this for what it is worth.
The taste is more of the same, with a nice, sweet malty taste that goes down incredibly smooth. The finish leaves me wanting more. There is even an ever-so-slight buttery taste — it’s pleasant, not diacetyl. Countering all of the nutty maltiness is just the right amount of hop bitterness.
If my experience with brown ales — and specifically English brown ales — weren’t so limited, I might be quick to say that this is a world-class example of the style, and the benchmark that others in the style should be held to. But since I haven’t had enough brown ales to make that claim, I’ll just seek out a few more good ones in hopes of finding more that can compare to this one.
Anyone got any recommendations?
If you want to try something eye-opening, do a side-by-side with Newcastle from the bottle vs. Newcastle in the can. Its amazing how much the beer changes (in a negative way) by being in those clear glass bottles.
Also, If you can find them, make sure to try Hobgoblin by Wynchwood or Alesmith’s Brown Ale – both are great.
Slainte!
Hey JW,
You know I haven’t had a Newcastle in years, and when I was drinking them I never had them in cans. Maybe I’ll grab some just to see the difference. For the life of me, I don’t understand why some breweries still bottle in green or clear bottles. Before I really got into craft beer, I stopped buying Yuengling for this very reason (though I did just pick up their bock which comes in brown bottles — really pretty decent).
I’ve seen the Hobgoblin around and may pick it up next time I’m out. I looked the Alesmith up on Beer Advocate, however, and it sees it doesn’t come in bottles (assuming you’re talking about the Nautical Nut Brown Ale). Thanks for the recommendations — now I’m genuinely curious about Newcastle in a can.
Thanks for stopping by,
Daniel
Try Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale. Yum!
Hey Laurin!
I’ve heard very good things about the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog. It was even on tap at my favorite bar recently, and I passed it over for something else. Sadly, it was gone upon next visit.
I’ll try to remember to pick that one up soon. I’m eager to try more brown ales now, whereas before I was really unimpressed with the style.
Thanks for dropping by!
To me at least, Brown Ales are the red-headed step children of the beer world: Too much for those used to generic macrobrews, and not really complex enough for beer dorks like us. I always like them, but never love them.
where can I get Samuel Smith’s in Charlotte?
Hey dutch, thanks for stopping by.
Harris-Teeters will usually have the Nut Brown Ale and, if I’m not mistaken, also the Oatmeal Stout. I think Total Wine and More locations seem to have more of a Samuel Smith selection than anywhere else, though, so if you have one nearby I’d swing by there and check.
I love it!