“Brown Angel was designed to have three distinct levels: a dark brown backbone with notes of chocolate and coffee resulting from the use of 1500 pounds of Maris Otter malt, aggressive American hops (Amarillo and Columbus) provide bitterness and some citrus, while a more delicate floral finish is achieved from the use of the classic English hop, East Kent Goldings. This is NOT your old school brown, but rather a sexy American interpretation. At 40 IBUs and 7% Alcohol it goes down sneaky fast”.
Along with breweries like Dieu Du Ciel, Brash and Moon Dog these guys constantly bring out eye-catching labels one release after the other. Here we have a luscious-looking black girl in red undies, donning her clown shoes and a set of angel wings. Poured into a shaker glass the body displays a deep mahogany with a two fingered beige head that swells but recedes quite quickly. Reasonable lacing. Slightly subdued aroma for a ‘double’ brown ale. Nuts, roasted malt, subtle chocolate, wet piney hops and caramel stand out the most. Unfortunately there isn’t a great deal of depth and variety to the nose. Maybe a slight hint of coffee just underneath. Mildly carbonated with a soft mouth feel. Medium body. Roasted malts, subtle coffee and chocolate on the front palate, drawing out through the mid and rounding off with a soft earthy/nutty finish. Pretty good duration though. Our first qualm with this ale is that 7% ABV doesn’t qualify for a double. Furthermore, a double would usually emanate much stronger aromas and usually produce much stronger flavours. Slightly disappointing for a clown shoes brew. We hold these guys in very high regard, but this one doesn’t cut the mustard.