Effective maple-sapped pureed raisin frontage picks up creamy chocolate sweetness and dry cocoa-powdered remnant. Earthen hop resin inundates mild herbal subsidy.

Viscous oak-aged Flanders-styled ‘oud bruin’ (old brown) offers prune-soured cherry pucker and lactic cocoa recession above mild caramel malt fringe. Closer to gauzy copper ale than rich brown ale.

Caramel-toasted wheat-honeyed pipe tobacco sweetness leads the way for biscuit-y brown ale, but tinny dry-hopped walnut finish dispels up-front promise to earthen grain bottom.

Ambitious prune-browned middleweight gains dry raisin assertion and pliable orange-peeled tangerine tartness above soft earthen dewiness. Fizzy carbolic fluff undermines soothing barley-roasted nuttiness, losing some luster by fruit-dried malt-smoked finish.

Fizzy carbonation nearly negates belly-bloating creaminess of billowy-headed Californian. Burnt coffee seeps through foamy Brussels lace, cloaking bittersweet chocolate, soured hard candy, mellow tangerine, and variable spices.

Though never as ‘thick-skinned’ as hippo its named after, this astringent maple-malted brown ale fortifies bittersweet powdered chocolate assertion with creamy caramel-butterscotch-molasses link, wood-smoked barley thread, and herbal spices. Prickly hops carbonate sour prune dryness leading to candied yeast finish.

Steadfast American Brown Ale layers hop-moderated stewed prune and green raisin souring above imminent bruised apple, sweet peach, and tart banana illusions. Meager nuttiness and weak grain backbone drag down Black Bear slightly.

Blood-thick ruby amber brown ale may please wine drinkers with its grape tannin consistency, oak-y cherry-grapefruit dryness, and tart plum restraint.

Typically fine organic California microbrew retains modest fizz-hopped bitterness and grain-malt constraint overriding percolating well water crispness. Refreshing jasmine aroma consumes mocha-caramel efficiency and tangy citric zest.

Rich coffee hue and nose pervade toasted-hopped brown ale bursting with mocha bitterness, barley-roasted sweetness, and honeyed maple viscosity. Pleasant finish retains bitter grain edge. A welcome choice, indeed.

Strong up-front alcohol presence stimulates intricate brown ale. Candi-sugared yeast distillation animates floral hop eloquence, hazelnut-chestnut addendum and fig-date-quince whisk, countering less attractive musty herbaceous nature. Dank barnyard funk swindles earthen pinot grape souring and dwindled clove spicing.

Brandy-sweet crimson-highlighted brown ale promotes creamy cherry vanilla froth, mild nut astringency, and plum-date register saddling bitter hop linger. Brawny finish bends molasses into drier chocolate slit.