NO COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Chestnut-looking pour with a deep ruby red hue. It manages a finger of lightly tanned foam which slowly dispersed. Brilliant lacing in its wake.

Aroma: Smells good. We always like Hoppy Brown’s/IBA’s to be like scaled back Black IPA’s and this is exactly that. A cosy and warming base of toasty and nutty malts, cocoa powder and caramel but spiked with a dose of high alpha acid hops which provide these hallmark pine, citrus and herbal notes that slice through the malts beautifully. And the end result? A Black IPA’s baby brother!

Flavour: Hell yeah…there’s an unexpected aggression which we’re totally on board with straight away. We were anticipating the sweet and nutty malts to dominate but instead it’s really hop-forward and the toasty/roasty malts are in the back seat. It even hits a rather pithy quality midway where it crescendos and then tapers off in to a super dry and bitter finish with soft nutty undertones.

Mouthfeel: Nice weight to it. A little abrasive but it’s well mannered. Medium body, mild-moderate Co2. 5.4% ABV adds a touch of warmth.

Overall: we actually can’t believe this is our first entry for Moorebeer. Their Choc Vanilla Porter is a go-to dark beer for us in winter but we haven’t even reviewed it! We’re fans of this Hoppy Brown Ale. Go and get amongst it.