Stylistically thin barrel-aged rum spicing and iffy hop-toasted hazelnut flavoring downsize perfectly fine Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale. Nevertheless, this ‘nutty twist to a European Brown Ale’ succeeds as a soft-toned crossover for lighter tastes dipping their toes into bigger beers (much like Innis & Gunn’s oak-aged subtleties). Hazelnut coffee glint reaches caramel nougat center as brown chocolate, toffee, vanilla and butterscotch illusions reach fruition above fig-soured raisin-prune conflux and caraway-seeded pecan-praline-chestnut nuances. Clean mineral watering abates wispy rum influence.
