This is what I call a pseudo-sour. When I hear the word sour, I imagine tartness from Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus or Pediococcus . The sourness and tartness from this beer is fruit derived, which is just fine.


Thorny Horn = 7/10


The nose has a bit of funk to it, but all I got was raspberry jam and bike tire air. It is all about the jammy fruit tartness on par with cranberry cocktail juice. You do get a bit of chocolate and acidity enhancements. The sourness is fruit derived only.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content +1 6.8%
Value +1
Appearance +1 (label gives reasonable description of flavour)

Glassware: Tulip

Food Pairings: I'm thinking dessert. The fruit sourness would balance a sweet cheese cake. I raspberry or other berry topping would bridge the two nicely.

Cellar: This one might develop more sourness as time passes. If you can still find one, it would be a reasonable addition.

In a previous life, I attended a few business seminars. One piece of advice that stuck with me was about entrepreneurial success. The speaker said, "When everyone is going right, go left for success." Luckily this was a free seminar, because the rest of the talk was rubbish. This beer mirrors that MBA level wisdom. When everyone is making palate burning IPA bombs, try something different. Adding fresh hops to an unchallenging beer style, such as the American brown ale, seems like a good idea. Note that I did not say boring; the Brooklyn Brown Ale is anything but boring. A fairly restrained malt profile would let the hop flavours shine.
This is Lighthouse's first attempt at a fresh hopped ale; I could be wrong about this. Rumour has it that Zeus was used to brew this fresh hopped ale. So what happens when you go left? I review this beer with a bit of trepidation as I will be having dinner with the brewer on Friday.

Road Trip = 7/10

The aroma is uncharacteristically calm when compared to other fresh hopped beers. The aroma is quite restrained in revealing its earthy citrus vapours. This aromatic tranquility allows the toasted nut and chocolate malts to be a part of this flavour party. Each sip follows the nose with a juicy mouthfeel. If you are looking for the usual wet hopped profile powerhouse, this brew is not for you. I found this beer refreshingly balanced. I also take issue with the bottle format; it is too small. Perhaps this is my failure, two bottles should have been purchased.

Taste +4
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 6.2%
Value +1
Appearance +1 (Fun label art, but I would like to have seen a better description of beer flavour)

Glassware: There is no suitable glassware style for the American brown ale. The nonic pint or elongated tulip work nicely.

Food Pairings: Rich and roasted foods are idea here. Usually this means BBQing any land based animal. A pulled pork sandwich or poutine would be ideal choices. Rich mushrooms would also compliment this beer nicely. The thought of HUB's tofu Po Boy is making my mouth water.

Cellar: Don't you dare!

I admit it; this beer was bought on appearance. Who can resist the stubby. Luckily the beer inside was really good.

Corporal's Bitter Brown Ale = 5/10
Ratebeer 3.45 92nd percentile
Beer Advocate 79th

This little brew is a true session strength 4.3%ABV. Fortunately no flavours were skimped over. The nose was a little faint, only a hint of earth, nuts and toffee could be detected. The mouthfeel was almost sparkling. Two words: dry and nutty. Add this to ample earthy, citrus hops, toffee, light coffee and you have a winner. It was a tad hop forward at 84IBU, but who from BC would mind that.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content -1 4.3%
Value +1
Appearance +1 great art and in a stubby bottle!

Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe)
Stuarts Natural Session Ale
Hockley Dark (they sure like their brown ales in TO)

This was one of those AH-HA beers. I'm not sure how it got into my glass, but it came in the 1 liter pot-stoppers. The flavours were so unexpected, it sent me off to try more small brewery styles.

Hockley Dark = 7/10
Ratebeer 3.22 74th percentile
Beer Advocate 83%

Not a good first impression beer. The nose is a little watery but the chocolate and roasted espresso earned a second chance. Despite being a little light in the mouthfeel department, the flavours of roasted bread, nuts and light milk chocolate were not spared. Not too much roasted astringency on the finish, which was a nice touch.


Taste +4
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
Appearance +1

Other brown reviews
Brooklyn Brown Ale
10W30 Neustadt
Amsterdam Nut Brown Ale

All proceeds from the sale of this beer go to the Ancient Forest Alliance.I like that, but how does the beer taste?
Phillips Ancient Brown Ale = 5/10

I have not been enthused by the Phillips releases this year. This one I like. It has a simple nose: dry, ashy with burnt nut aromas. There is quite a bit of astringency from the roasted flavours. The taste is simple- yet complex. At first you get a dry and burnt/roasted sip of powdered cocoa and pecans. Then the slight fruitiness arrives followed by their friends toast and chocolate coated peanuts. Their impressions of powdery, burnt almonds don't intrude for long. The Ancient Brown Ale is not a powerhouse of flavours but I liked it.

Taste +2
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
Appearance +1

Why do I even bother? There is a Herculean task ahead of me here: document all the beers in my various notebooks, cellphone notes and scrap pieces of paper. What would this accomplish. Actually nothing. At the end there will be no Brownie badge, no power up, no medal and no parade. Such is the life of a beer ticker. However I have noticed one trend in the lifecycle of the beer geek. The rate of new beers sampled is decreasing. I used to fill up one 33beers book every two weeks; now, one will last be over a month. Does this mean there is some sort of metamorphosis coming?

Amsterdam Nut Brown Ale = 5/10

Ratebeer 3.04/5 49th percentile
Beer Advocate B-

Honestly I look forward to tasting a nut brown ale as I do to brushing my teeth. The whole point of a nut brown ale is that they are easy drinking and unobtrusive. The Amsterdam is no exception. Your aroma is pecans, with slight DMS - but OK. There is a mild creaminess in the sip with a tolerable astringency from roasted grains. The more I drank this beer, the more I liked it. Its cocoa, dry toast and pecan butter meshed well with the mineral hops. Overall an enjoyable, but not challenging, beer.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5%
Value +1
Appearance 0 (it's a can!)

This a speed review. Most of my readers are aware of my beer ticker problem and my desire to be up to date on my reviews. Maybe there is a tickers support group like 'tickers needn't be anonymous.' It could be called TNA, hahahahahah. Wasting time must write up beer.

10W30 (Neustadt) = 5/10

Ratebeer 3.07 53rd percentile
Beer Advocate B

I had this on tap and C'est What? Another can followed me home from TO; perhaps I liked the packaging. Nose is faint but could detect a slight roast. It is odd how a medium mouthfeel beer and delivery this much flavour. There is more than expected chocolate, licorice and citrus. This is closer to a weak Black IPA than a brown ale. It was good and drinkable; almost porter-like. The slight wood and dry chocolate tastes faded away too quickly.

Taste +3
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5.5%
Value 0
Appearance +1 (At least its a fun looking can)

Naramata Nut Brown (a very under rated beer)
Beaver Brown Ale (Meterman Cameo)
Howe Sound Nut Brown

Apparently this beer is referencing a Wilco album called "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". I have actually heard of the band Wilco; my friend Gord really likes them. This usually means I won't. I just bought it for the initials.

Wilco Tango Foxtrot (Lagunitas) =9/10
Ratebeer 3.63 96th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

This one is described as an "Imperial Brown Ale", it tastes more like a Cascadian dark. The nose is all big IPA with citrus, pine, resins and a hint of light chocolate. Always very hop assertive with an everlasting citrus/pine flavour. Your lips are burning after a 50/50 mix of alcohol and hops pounding. The malts are hidden but try hard to reveal their caramel, chocolate and cherry character. I'm sure the IBU reading of 64.20 is in reference to something else.

Taste +4
Aftertaste +2
Alcohol Content +1 7.83%
Value +1
Appearance +1 (WTF!)

I bought this at my local BC Liquor Store for $3. WOOT, I love cheap craft beer.

Naramata Nut Brown Ale (Cannery) = 7/10

Ratebeer 3.04 50th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Wow the nose was bigger than I expected: mild biscuits, toffee and toast. There was good alcohol warmth up front and a medium mouthfeel. It was a nice caramel malty shot, with mild roasted chocolate and dark fruits. This alcohol warmth doesn't go away. Not sure where the "amazingly smooth finish" on the label came from; this brew drinks like a doppelbock. Did I get a mislabeled or an infected bottle?

Taste +4
Aftertaste +1
Alcohol Content 0 5.5%
Value +1
Appearance +1

Howe Sound Nut Brown
Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe)
Brooklyn Brown Ale

Ratebeer 3.41 89th percentile
Beer Advocate B

Taste +3

• nose is roasted and caramel malts
• colour is deep brown with an off white/tan head
• Nice effervescent carbonation up front
• slightly earthy hops that barely contain the rich caramel and roasted mild chocolate malts
• Very malt forward
  

Aftertaste +1

• Clean and slightly dry with dry roasted caramel. The malt quickly fades away
  

Alcohol Content 0 5.6%

Value +1

It wasn't that exciting, but it was good and flavourful.

Ingame Enhancement 0

Meh, I need to rethink this blog I am over 100 beers behind in reviewing.

Overall 5/10

A good malty and roasted chocolate brew. Interesting enough to please the seasoned beer drinker, but not scary enough to repulse the light beer crowd.

HoweSound Nut Brown Ale
Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe)

Beaver Brown Ale (Canoe Club)

Ratebeer 3.32 75th percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +2

Enjoyed on tap at the Canoe Club Pub. The roast nose was above average but there was a bit of vegetal in there. It was malty forward with a slight fruitiness. The taste was the same as you would expect from the nose. It has a light to medium mouthfeel and slightly creamy. I thought it was a bit thin.

Aftertaste 0

Very clean finish with just a hint of roasted malts.

Alcohol Content 0 5.6%

Value 0

I did taste nice and fresh, but as it warmed up more of the vegetal came forward.

Ingame Enhancement +1

Had over dinner with my main man Geoff (note happy person in the photo). This pub has great food and solid beers.

Overall 3/10

It was a good malt forward beer, roasted and easy to drink. I would have scored higher if the vegetal was not present.

Howe Sound Nut Brown

Howe Sound Nut Brown

Nut browns have never appealed to me. Perhaps all the styles have been focused at mass markets and not very interesting.

Ratebeer 3.39 81st percentile
Beer Advocate B+

Taste +3

This one was a refreshing change of events. The nose was roasty and slightly nutty. I was pleasantly surprised by the abundance of caramel, roast, bourbon, wood and pecans with every sip. Your mouthfeel was medium and slightly creamy. I think there was a little cocoa powder thrown in there.

Aftertaste +1

It was clean with dry pecans, wood and bourbon. Sadly it faded quickly leaving a slick coating.

Alcohol Content -1 4.7%

This should count as a +2; a beer this flavourful with such a low ABV is unusual.

Value +1

This is one nut brown I would buy again and not just to get the fancy bottle.

Ingame Enhancement +1

This was the perfect beer to make me forget about the Big Rock Lager.

Overall 5/10

All of the beers from Howe Sound have been excellent; this was no exception. The flavours were unexpected and welcome: wood, bourbon, pecans and creamy caramel.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar
Bailout Bitter and Carbon Footprints
Three Beavers