Just found this beer review from mid-winter that never got posted – Enjoy!
Out of nowhere I ended up with all of New Year’s Eve Day off. What’s a fishing bum to do with a random day off in the middle of winter? Ski, tie flies and drink beer of course!
Shredding the backcountry. Photo: Fred Sproat
After an early morning backcountry ski which, as you can see from the photo above, was incredible, I was home alone with nothing to do and since I had finished our size 12 Copper Johns (4 dozen in copper, black, red, green and wine) it was time to move on to something else. I had been thinking either Pat’s Rubber Legs, or sticking with the size 12 theme bust out a bunch of pheasant tails.
Pheasant tails won out. In our valley they are pretty much the go to fly for the entire summer and we had been burning through them at a ridiculous rate, especially on floats so they are definitely needed. For refreshment I had recently picked up a Maple Nut Brown made by Tommyknocker Brewery in Idaho Springs, Colorado, and it seemed like a nice tasty option for a mid-day tying session.
I generally like brown ales and was excited to try the Maple Nut Brown from Tommyknocker. It was not what I expected, I was expecting heavy flavor, a mix of a strong nut brown with a splash of maple to sweeten it up. Instead I got a sessionable brown ale with very mild sweetness that you can drink all day, not bad, not bad at all!
Appearance: A nice clear dark brown color. No head to speak of, very little lacing.
Smell: Sweet maple scent, not very aromatic.
Taste/Mouthfeel: Mild nutty flavor with a subtle maple finish. Pretty bubbly on the tongue with a mildy sweet but not overpowering aftertaste.
Overall: Easy drinking and delicious, especially if you like slightly sweet beers. The maple balances the nut brown beer nicely. Nice that it isn’t too heavy, also at only 4.5% it won’t knock you down like some bigger browns. Very sessionable for a brown ale.
4 out of a Six Pack Scale©
Stats:
IBU: 20
ABV: 4.5%
Brewed by Tommyknocker Brewery, Idaho Springs, Colorado
