Smuttynose Brewing Co: Old Brown Dog Ale

Back into the variety back we go...

And I have to say, this one is quite a find. Old Brown Dog is Smuttynose's take on a brown ale, and they do a damn good job of it. The predominant taste here is a sweet toasted maltiness that you taste immediately. It's followed by a quick, but balanced hop bitterness that slowly fades, leaving you with a pronounced (but not overpowering) sweet malty aftertaste. It's substantially lighter-bodied than most brown ales, though by no means watery. It's also got a very pleasant fizziness, making it one of the most drinkable brown ales I've had to date.

Old Brown Dog dispenses with any of the flavor accents you otherwise might find in a brown ale--e.g. coffee, chocolate, fruits, etc--in favor of focusing on the taste of malted grains. Nevertheless, it manages to pull off a very full and satsifying flavor, making it one of the mainstays of American browns. Furthermore, its hops and malts are very well balanced, which means that this brew probably will have wide appeal. This is a beer I would recommend to just about anybody.