Browns around

Everyone loves an American brown ale. In fact I don't think I've met anyone who has expressed the contrary opinion, yet new examples of the style are thin on the ground around here, and most everywhere else. Luckily, this most basic need is met by the one Rye River makes for Lidl on a permanent basis, though still it's a cause for celebration when a different one appears.

This one is from Dublin's own Outer Place brewing and is called Silent Orbit. It's a big lad, at a properly American 6.2% ABV. The head is an attractive and wholesome off-white over a crystal-clear dark garnet body. It could stand to be browner, was my first impression.

The aroma is gently floral, a summery bower of roses and honeysuckle, with no more than a hint of roasted grain. It takes a bit of warming for the latter to unfold in the flavour, where it's mostly gooey caramel and a little milk chocolate, with merely the faintest bite of dry toastiness at the end. The flowers continue to billow in the breeze, showing that there's definitely hops involved here, just not at punchy American levels. 

I liked the soft subtlety here: too many breweries don't bother with that, especially if they're putting "American" on the label. At the same time, the label claims it's late- and dry-hopped with Idaho 7, Ekuanot and Galaxy, and I think I'm within my rights to expect more fruity fun from all that, as well as a bigger malt-driven body, given the strength. I can't be too critical as it's a fine and well-made beer, deliciously drinkable in the style's own way. A few extra kilos of yee-haw wouldn't have gone amiss, however.

It seems Rathcoole has become a new centre of excellence for brown ale, as not long after, Outer Place's host brewery Lineman released a new one of their own. Big Beans is a coffee-enhanced version of their Big Calm, released in 2021.

That one was not short of coffee character, befitting the style. Adding actual coffee changes it significantly, reducing the roast and adding a cakey sweetness, presumably from the oil in the beans. It's not subtle, showing all the taste and aroma of actual cold-brew. Served cold on draught, the mouthfeel is a little thin for 6% ABV but it does round out as it warms. If the barman in The Black Sheep offers you a chilled glass, just say no. I should have known that.

While this is tasty, I couldn't help thinking it's better suited to coffee beer fans than the brown ale brigade. The addition has kind of replaced the brown ale character, to the point where the base beer could have been anything.

All my gripes today are minor ones. These are both very good beers, and appreciated especially for not being yet more IPA. I have no objection to even more brown ale coming out of Lineman's brewery, or anyone else's.

Line up

Usually, Lineman beers arrive here in ones and twos but I have an unprecedented trio of winter releases today, kindly dropped off to me by the brewery before I got around to buying them.

In a seasonally appropriate way, dark and strong is the theme, and the lightest of the bunch is a brown ale at a mere 6% ABV. Big Calm's can makes all the promises of the style: smooth caramel, coffee and chocolate. And it's not lying. Fresh and rich espresso is present in the aroma as well as lingering long into the aftertaste. That provides a bitter roasted balance to a central toffee sweetness. While that's all rather jolly, and makes for an exceedingly drinkable, refreshing, brown ale experience, I think it could do with being a touch bolder, especially given the strength. The mouthfeel is a little thin and the flavour somewhat muted as a result. I let it warm to see if more character would emerge but it didn't make much difference. Were this presented at 4% ABV or below I would be singing its praises. At 6% I think it should be heftier, enjoyable and all that it is.

From brown ale to stout, and the new one is called Phases. "Barrel aged export stout" is the blurb and I decided to play Guess The Barrel. From the massive hit of sweet vanilla I reckoned bourbon, and I was correct. This is not a subtle affair, and tastes not so much like it was matured in whiskey barrels but rather that a couple of shots have been poured directly into the can. There's a raw oak quality to it, and a substantial alcohol burn, even at the relatively modest 7.8% ABV. An underlying seam of smooth chocolate rescues it, softening it and adding a degree of luxury. It's good, but I prefer a bit more nuance in this kind of beer. Hence I bought an additional can to put away for a while and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

The finisher is a whopper of a barley wine, Insulator, aged in port barrels and finishing at 14.8% ABV. It looked to be pouring flat at first, but a modest head formed gradually, a function of the beer's extreme viscosity. Still, it carries that well -- thickly textured but complex enough that you only need a sip at a time. The port side is very well represented, starting with the raisiny aroma which also includes a hint of chocolate but surprisingly little booze. In the flavour that turns to full-on red wine, possibly even a fortified one. There's an oaky dryness in with the sweet grape, leading on to a peppery finish. It's still definitely a beer though, with that sweet chocolate element running all through the flavour, plus rich bourbon biscuits and a very slight greenly bitter buzz of hops emerging as it warms. The Lineman signature is the balance: it's not hot or any way extremely flavoured. Instead this powerhouse is balanced and approachable; one to savour and explore.

One each of this lot makes for a very decent winter's night in. Despite appearances, they don't have much in common but complement each other nicely. A symphony in garnet.