Cigar City Maduro Brown Ale

Why I tried this: It was a Tuesday, and a fine day out. I was perusing the bottles section while discussing Cigar City brewery with my buddy Dave. I was telling him I had had the Jose Marti Porter and didn't much care for it. He asked if I had tried their Maduro Brown Ale. I had not, and he insisted it was pretty good, so I ordered it.

Smell: Just like a brown ale should, earthen and malty. Nothing too exciting.

Taste: Wow. Not what I was expecting at all. This is not your average brown ale. It starts with a malty flavor that is roasted, tasting more like a porter than a brown. A sweetness of chocolate then hits. The entire sip is insanely smooth. I literally felt like I was drinking velvet.

This beer gets an empty glass from me, no questions asked. Cigar City, a local Florida brewery, has hit a home run. I never expected a brown ale to taste so dark and sweet. The balance was just simply incredible. And the smoothness...that really tops it off. Get this ale.

--Jeff

Lost Coast Downtown Brown

Why I tried this: I was on a brown ale binge the day I tried the Downtown Brown. After having the Shipyard Brewer's Brown Ale and being disappointed, I wanted to leave on a high note, so I asked the bartenders at World of Beer UCF for a recommendation. This is what I received.

Smell: Good and malty, just the way a brown ale should be.

Taste: I took my first sip and got a mouthful of nice, dark malts. Behind the maltiness was a bit of nuttiness, which complemented the flavor fairly well. The only down side I can say about the taste was that it was perhaps too simple.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 7. With a malty smell accompanied by a dark, malty, nutty taste, this brown ale was good but somewhat pedestrian. It was fairly light and drinkable, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for a beer of this type. Brewed in California, this 5.0% ABV beer is probably about on par with Newcastle. I may or may not get it again.

--Jeff

I dont really like brown ales that much but this one was OK. 7/10

--Jon

Shipyard Brewer's Brown Ale

Why I tried this: I was sitting at the bar at World of Beer UCF and I had noticed they rotated this brown ale onto the draft menu. I'm a pretty big fan of brown ales, so it was a natural decision for me.

Smell: Lots of malts. Kind of hard to discern, but not overly strong notes, so that didn't help much. Was rather neutral about it, so I went on to the tasting.

Taste: This beer was rather light going down, starting off with a slightly bitter, very malty flavor. At the very end, you catch a little maple syrup. The malts didn't feel like a solid mix, and tasted overall of oak or something similar. I didn't really enjoy the taste that much.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this beer a 5. It was overly malty with little pleasing flavor, marginally balanced out by a bit of bitterness and then a very slightly sweet ending thanks to the maple. The beer was lighter in mouth feel than your typical brown ale, making it feel a bit watery. Definitely no where near a Tilburg's. Overall, fairly sub par and a bit disappointing, although not awful. I wouldn't get it again, and don't recommend bothering with it.

--Jeff

Tilburg's Dutch Brown Ale

Why I tried this: A customer at work had recommended this to me a while back. After picking up a pack of it, I was pretty pleased. When I saw it on the World of Beer list, I decided Jon and I needed a round. Look at how thankful he was for that!

Smell: Has the aroma of your typical brown ale, with roasted malts and a bit of toffee for a slight sweetness. Quite nice.

Taste: Has a malty and slightly sweet characteristic to it, which I think might be a bit of brown sugar and toffee. It's similar to a Newcastle, but with a sweetness and smoothness that is unmatched by other brown ales. There's no foul aftertaste or anything out of place here, just pure goodness.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give this an 8.5. The smell of the beer is fairly typical, but the taste is very good, especially for a brown ale. The price isn't that bad either. The beer is visually pleasing, pouring a nice thick brown with a solid white head. It's easy to drink and stands out enough that I'd definitely get it again, and highly recommend it!

--Jeff