The Bitter Browns

This time of the year is a bizarre trip indeed. One week you’re sitting under a foot of snow, hoping the power doesn’t go out, the next, you’re bopping down the street in shorts and a t-shirt, sunshine on your face. Mother Nature, you’re a fickle and fascinating lass indeed.
It’s also a strange time of year for craft beer. On the one hand, many smaller breweries are releasing their biggest imperial stouts, Baltic porters and barleywines. Conversely, many of the increasingly frustrating mid-to-large size “craft” brewers are deluding the market with numerous spring offerings. No thanks, I’m not ready for your Cold Snap nor your Snap Shot or whatever way-too-early spring releases.
I’m a big fan of brown ales. There’s just something comforting and enjoyable about slightly sweet, tangy yet smooth ale that offers flavor without being too heavy or boozy. To me, brown ales are three season beers. With the exception of summer, brown ales are pretty much fair game.
Leave it to the great brewers of America to adopt the traditional English brown ale style of beer and give it a twist. And, as usual with many craft brewed American beers that twist is to highly hop the beer.
Although not a true style, or at least one recognized by the Beer Judge Certification Program, hoppier versions of classic brown ales, many called India Brown Ale, or IBA, are popular. Of course, you can expect American breweries to use American ingredients in these beers. Also, you will notice a range of hop varieties and levels of bitterness across the different ales. Most of the selected beers are not balanced like an ESB or English pale ale, but will show a battle between malty and hoppy notes.
Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery, the 7.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) Indian Brown Ale is described as “a cross between a Scotch ale, and IPA, and an American Brown ale, this beer is well hopped and malty all at the same time. It is brewed with aromatic barley and caramelized brown sugar.”
At present, you can still find Terrapin Beer Company’s Hop Karma Brown IPA, a delicious option in the 6 percent ABV range. This brown IPA is a cross between sugared pecans, dark fruits, lemon and grapefruit zest and pine. The hoppy aspects of the beer are even more evident at the swallow. However, it has recently been retired, so grab it now.
Sierra Nevada has their own Tumbler Ale, 5.5 percent ABV, with toasted, nutty, earthy malt smells, overtop of tangy citric notes. Duck Rabbit from North Carolina is a microbrewer that offers a great, hoppy American brown ale. Also from North Carolina, Foothills Brewing of Winston Salem has a 7 percent ABV India Brown Ale that is all earthy hops and very little malty sweetness. Closer to home, Coast’s outstanding Rye Knot Brown is sweet yet spicy and nutty.
Possibly my favorite newer IBA is Bender from Surly Brewing Company out of Minnesota. Surly goes from mocha and dark chocolate to roasted rich coffee, oat grain bread then finishes with a citrus zest and spicy finish that is just divine. Sadly, Surly is not available around here, so if you’re heading north and west, stock up. Even if you can’t find that special beer, no worry, hop heads and malt lovers alike can rejoice, we all can agree on American brown ales! Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
 
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.