This is not a brown ale. Watch the video to find out what it really is.

Raveen and I had another indoor soccer game tonight. I love the footy and in outdoor soccer I love playing goalkeeper. I find it exhilarating. The indoor game is a different story. The field is small. The action is more like pinball than the beautiful game and people LOVE to get really close and tee-up. One of the good things about taking a serious beating is that I can come home, throw my clothes in the laundry, crack open a cold one and count my bruises.

Tonight’s beer is Woodstock Inn Brewery’s Pig’s Ear. It pours deep brown and has a smoky, peanutty flavor. The body of the brew is medium. It has a very light finish. The flavor in the one that I tried was inconsistent, with the initial sip nearly smacking me in the mouth with smoked peanuts. I thought it had quite a unique flavor, but it did not maintain for the life of the glass. This is a good beer. It is very sessionable if that’s a word. It not not too light or too heavy. You can appreciate the fact that you are, in fact, drinking a brown ale. There is no question about the identity of this beer. It is not going to light your night on fire with its creativity. I think this is what Newcastle Brown Ale wants to be or perhaps used to be.

While Smuttynose Ales tend to blend together a little for me, I do not mind. Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale is a year-round beer that starts off with an earthy, almost offensive aroma. I called the aroma “stinky”, but Jason did not call it stinky. The color is a light maroonish-brown. It pours a nice, light brownish-red.

Compared to English Brown Ales, this is stronger, more carbonated and hoppier.  There is a mellow nuttiness that gives was to the hoppy bite.  If you like India Pale Ale and you are looking for a little change of pace, this is one for you.

This is a nice and drinkable and we recommend you try one if you are over 21.

Harpoon Brown Session Ale is a year-round, Brown Ale that inexplicably showed up in my Harpoon Winter variety pack. Boasting 6 different malts, this beer is not a winter beer, in fact I would call it 3 season. It has some fruits that could make it enjoyable in the spring or summer. The brown color makes it blend in with the falls, but it is not at all hardy or spicy like I would expect a winter beer to be. Harpoon Brown Session Ale has an orange zest flavor and either a lemongrass or lime aroma. They also allege chocolate malt. This must explain the brown color.

Our friends at Beer Advocate (I use that term loosely, I’ve never met them), took a stab at defining the term “session beer”.

session beer n.
Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish – a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. (Yes, you can drink and enjoy beer without getting drunk.)

Harpoon calls it complex, but I found it a little confusing given that it was in my Winter variety pack. I am going to have to try this again in the summer. It is smooth drinking. The finish is clean and I could see myself drinking more than one. See the video for REAL TIME REVIEWING ACTION!

Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale: Rating: B-
Harpoon Brown Session Ale: Rating: B-