February 12, 2007
Indian Brown Ale
I don't have access to many of Dogfish Head's beers here locally, so when I do find them I make sure to get a bottle to try. I'm liking their beers quite a bit. One of the latest is Indian Brown Ale. Ordinarily, brown ales are a session beer, not too strong, and they can be tricky to get right. Dogfish Head's comes in at 7.2% alcohol by volume—stronger than I would expect.
And I'll spoil the surprise: This is simply one of the best brown ales I've ever had. They got it right in spades.
Appearance: Nice clear brown—ruby when held to the light. Head is thick and tan. Totally subjective, but it looks like what I'd expect a brown ale to look like.
Smell: Light chocolate-coffee-caramelized sugar, brown sugar. Roast grain.
Taste: Yum! Sweet roasty malt, licorice, caramel, chocolate, roasted coffee beans. Sweet. Hops are oily yet clean and complement the malt nicely.
Mouthfeel: Medium body and very drinkable... creamy thickness.
Overall: Simply unbelievably good. I will be going back for more.
On BeerAdvocate, it earns high marks with 88 out of 100 and 98% approval in the ratings. On RateBeer, it scores 3.66 out of 5, and is in their 92nd percentile. Good marks all around.
Comments (4):
Eli writes:
I just had this beer again recently and really enjoyed it, the hop boost really makes this an interesting take on the traditional brown ale.
Posted by Eli at 2007-02-13 14:54:42
Dann writes:
I also just drank this beer recently and wrote about it here. I felt pretty much the same as Eli on this one - the hops really brought the whole thing together. I'd really like to try more beers in this style if other companies would bring them out.
Posted by Dann at 2007-02-13 18:57:25
Jon writes:
Yeah, the hops are really good here. Perfect choice for this beer.
Dann- do you mean brown ales in general? Most are lower alcohol and frankly not nearly as good... Dogfish set a high bar. But if you can find them (note: I'm not a huge fan of Newcastle though), snap 'em up.
Posted by Jon at 2007-02-14 00:01:33
Joey Kemmer writes:
This is a fantastic beer! I thought the Sam Adams Brown ale was good until I had this. Even my wife likes it.
