IronBark Hill Hazelnut Brown Ale

Rating:

“A smooth and medium bodied classic English style Ale. A very malt forward beer with biscuit, toffee and nutty flavours which dominate the palate. 5.2% ABV.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Displaying a deep amber with a candy red tint. Our vigorous pour yields an almost flat beer with little head and very little lacing.

Aroma: The hazelnut component is front and centre as expected. There’s a lovely earthy/toasty sweetness that this particular nut brings that works so well with not only Brown Ales but other medium darks like Ambers and Dark Ales. The hazelnuts are embraced by a hearty malt profile which offers robust notes of toast, buttery biscuits, toffee, tobacco and mild coffee. Getting a hint of something fruity too which is a nice touch.

Flavour: Quite flat and watery. This was our worry from the outset when it poured with almost no Co2. Then again, English ales are traditionally flat so we’ll cut them some slack there. The hazelnut doesn’t stand out as much, it’s kinda fallen back into line with everything else and what we’re getting now is a wider scope of the nutty malts, toast, caramel/toffee, doughy bread and subtle orange/marmalade.

Mouthfeel: Flat, a little lean and slippery but smooth as silk. Low Co2, moderately bodied. The 5.2% ABV is well placed.

Overall: Look it’s not going to blow the roofs off any houses but at its core it’s a fairly well executed Brown Ale. In saying that one of our biggest gripes with any dark ale is a thin body and unfortunately it’s guilty of that. Not bad but not great either.