Tommyknocker Legend Review

Name: Tommyknocker Legend
Style: American Strong Ale
ABV: 10%

Tommyknocker Brewing is a brewery that I have not had since I was in college, but about 2 years back I had a couple of their beers and I thought they were pretty good. Thanks to the growler station over in Superior, I'm able to do my first actual Tommyknocker review and it's a fairly special beer. Tommyknocker Legend was brewed to commemorate the brewery's 15 years in business. According to the brewer, it's a Nut Brown Ale brewed with maple syrup and aged with toasted Hungarian Oak.

Interestingly enough, when I go to look this up on Beer Advocate & Ratebeer, quite a few of the reviewers got their fix of this beer from a 2009 22oz. bottle. At the place I got it at, it was available at the growler fill station and in 4 pack bottles.

Legend pours a clear crimson color with a thin filmy head. The lacing left behind is somewhat sparse but sticky and the visible carbonation is quite mute.

The nose has a very pungent aroma of oak, maple syrup, chocolate malts, yeasts and roasted barley. It smells quite powerful, but thankfully not in a boozy sort of way.

The flavor profile is made up of mainly maple syrup, oak, roasted barley, molasses, nuttiness, chocolate malts and a lightly roasted aftertaste and malty aftertaste. Each flavor is fairly well balanced and it's worth noting that this is the first beer I've had that utilizes the maple syrup to it's fullest potential.

The palate is quite heavy in weight, but the carbonation is rather mild so it allows you to really get to know the flavors in this beer.

Even though it's classified as an American Strong Ale, I'd be more inclined to call this an Imperial Brown Ale (If such a category even exists) because that's what this pretty much is. As such, it's got a very robust flavor profile that may not be for anyone but I enjoyed this alot and, as I mentioned before, it utilizes the maple syrup flavor to it's fullest more than I've seen in any other beer.

Tommyknocker Legend - 9/10

Capital Jobu Review

Name: Capital Jobu 
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 8.5%

Capital Brewery has been steadily releasing some new beers in the form of a bomber as opposed to the 12 oz. bottles that I'm used to seeing. I give you Jobu, a brown ale aged in Caribbean Rum barrels, as opposed to Whiskey or Bourbon barrels, which I'm used to seeing. Since I'm currently in an environment which is the polar opposite of the Caribbean, I've decided to grab irony by the horns and take a look at this.

Jobu pours a dark brown color which turns to a crimson red when held up to a light. The khaki-colored head is quite filmy and fades after a couple of minutes. There is some mild carbonation visible as well. If I didn't know better, I'd say I'm looking at a glass of Coca-Cola.

The nose starts out quite yeasty with some chocolate malts, roasted barley, oak and rum. The rum characteristic at this point is somewhat subtle at this point

The flavor starts out with some chocolate malts paired with caramel, oak and a bit of nuttiness. The rum aspect is quite a bit stronger here but it's not as prevalent as as the chocolate/roasty flavors. Still it is there and goes nicely with everything else.

The palate fairly lightweight and mildly carbonated. This gives it an easy drinkability & crisp quality which fits well with the flavor.

It's a different take on the brown ale style and I think it works out pretty well. I think anyone looking for something a little off the beaten path in terms of conventional styles will find something to love with Jobu.

Capital Jobu - 8.5/10

New Glarus Fat Squirrel Review

Name: New Glarus Fat Squirrel Nut Brown
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.5%

I mentioned in a previous review that New Glarus brought back a couple of their beers which were previously regulars. The first being their Uff-Da Bock and the other, which I have here tonight, Fat Squirrel which is their Brown Ale. I recall having this a couple years back while vacationing in Wisconsin Dells but at the time reviewing it wasn't exactly high on my priorities list. However since it is now (at the time of writing) 28 Degrees and snowy instead of 82 Degrees and sunny, now's a good time to take a look at it.

Fat Squirrel pours a hazy orange color with a slight crimson tint. The head is off-white that starts out foamy but settles to a thin yet semi-foamy look which leaves behind some good lacing. The visible carbonation is also pretty mild in appearance.

The nose starts out with a strong roasted barley scent with chocolate, nuts, and some mild floral hoppiness.

The flavor is also quite roasty with chocolate, hazelnuts, roasted barley, roasted malts and floral hops. Not too different from the nose but still pretty good.

The body is also fairly light in weight with some pretty strong carbonation.

Fat Squirrel doesn't do anything too special to set itself apart from other brown ales out there but it's still a good, enjoyable beer. Anyone who's a fan of brown ales and happen to find themselves in Wisconsin should definitely check it out.

New Glarus Fat Squirrel - 8/10

Brooklyn Brown Ale Review

Next in the Brooklyn Brewing Sampler Pack is the Brooklyn Brown Ale, which of course, is their Brown Ale. Tonight I will be mixing it up a bit as I will be having some Macaroni & Cheese to go along with this after being told by a buddy of mine that Brown Ales go really well with it; Since I'm no cicerone, I'll have to take his word on it. Although I have had an English Pale Ale to go along with Macaroni and Cheese before and found the pairing to be excellent!

Brooklyn Brown Ale pours a dark brown, almost crimson color with a frothy off-white head. It is rather clear in appearance and has some lacing along the sides of the glass.

The nose has some nice chocolate and nutty notes along with some roasted malts, cocoa, mild floral hops and barley. Much like the aroma, the chocolate and nuts are fairly prominent in the flavor as well, along with the aforementioned roasted malts and finishes off with a slight hoppiness with a hint of cocoa. The body is also pretty moderate in weight but the carbonation is quite mild, allowing for pretty easy drinkability.

Brooklyn Brown Ale is a nicely balanced Brown Ale and quite sessionable at that. As for the pairing with the Macaroni and Cheese, it was alright but I prefer the stronger hoppy power of an English Pale Ale to help the palate more over that of a Brown Ale.

Brooklyn Brown Ale - 8/10

Bell's Best Brown Review

Yes, my second to last winter seasonal review for the year (you'll see the other one later this week) because despite the winter storm we had last week, Old Man Winter doesn't know when to call it quits. If you're a resident of the Midwest or Rockies, then you understand my pain. If you so happen to be reading this while in a warm climate, consider yourselves lucky that you aren't living in this proverbial Siberia.

Yesterday I did a review of Bell's Two Hearted, and today I've decided to keep it up with Bell's Best Brown Ale. I actually picked this up as part of a Mix-A-Six and was only $1.17; Hey I like my beer but I also like cheap beer! The expiration date on this was the end of next month so I wasn't gonna let it go to waste!

It pours a Dark Red Color with a off-white colored head and some sparse lacing along the side of the glass. The smell has some mild caramel, floral hops, roasted malt and chocolate scents. The flavor is also fairly mild with caramel, rum raisin, chocolate and roasted malt notes. The body is fairly thick and yet lighter at the same time whereas the carbonation is fairly mild and subdued.

The Rum Raisin flavor is the only thing that really jumped out at me with this beer but that really isn't saying too much as the flavor in general is mild and not living up to it's full potential. It's by no means a bad beer, but it's mild flavor leaves something more to be desired

Bell's Best Brown - 7/10