Brown Ale
Sweet Georgia or Mordecai, It's Good
Beer 101
Sweet to the taste, malty and well-bodied, brown ales are variably hopped, from English through American styles. Brown ales also include dark ales and may sometimes employ nuts or coffee for taste.
Get It
Every brewery should have some sort of brown ale available. Piece's Worry'n Ale is a pretty beer, a brownish rye ale with a hoppy backbone. Flossmoor Station has a Pullman Brown Ale, malty, robust and creamy from a smidgen of added oats. Taste the honey, tobacco and chocolate flavors in Goose Island's wonderfully complex and comforting Nut Brown Ale.
Serve It
Brown ale is its brightest best in a standard pint glass. I like it cold, although some styles enjoy a warmer presentation. I always prefer draft beer; I reason it is fresher, closer to its natural state. Invariably, however, bottles bought at the brewery itself tend to be freshest. Plus, they keep longer than growlers.
Pair With It
The diversity of brown ale makes it an able ambassador to a diaspora of cuisines, harmonizing with all worlds. Cheddar and Colby cheeses cuddle quickly to brown ales. Tickle your tummy with pork rib tips and an English brown ale;Newcastle is a classic (buy it in brown bottles to avoid off flavors from light streaming through clear glass).
Entertain With It
Quiet the whistles and jeers of sports fans and savor their cheers when you coalesce courtside to a confabulation of quality crackers and quarter-wheels of Colby and extra-sharp-to-mild Cheddars. One can't beat a collection of fermented curd coupled with a bevy of brunette-hued ales.
Beer Notes
Craft beer sales keep rising despite economics woes. Other categories of spirits, wine and liquor are off further than they were before the global collapse. It seems people cocoon more in tough times, nestling in at home with a good bottle rather than going out for a draught.
Sources:
www.beertown.org/education/craft_defined.html
www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=14862&letter=T
Published by Kent Palmer
Kent Palmer is a veteran beer-geek, having spent time on both sides of the rail in Chicago, Il and Madison, WI. He enjoys pairing beer with food and experiences. View profile
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