It is only 65 degrees in Chicago right now. Last night I walked home from a bar wearing a tank top and it was a windy 58º. I had enough Four Loko in my blood to keep me warm, but it still sort of sucked. What doesn't suck is the new crop of fall beers hitting stores. At least that's not what the Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale from Sierra Nevada leads me to believe.The copy on the bottle heavily plays up the malt flavor in this beer, and it really is the star of this brew. The malt is strong and fresh but not overpowering. It features a back-of-mouth taste, with very mild bitterness and a caramel/smoky aftertaste. The sensation of drinking it is somewhat similar to eating a piece of crispy brown toast you made from a piece of expensive, freshly-baked multigrain bread (you know, the kind with sesame and poppy seeds on the outside of the loaf). Other images it evoked in my mind: flannel, cold wet dirt, and Iowa City on a hazy early Saturday morning. OK, enough of the flowery shit. Once you've come to terms with the fact that the summer of '10 is ending, I recommend you celebrate it -- with a sixer of the Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale ($9.99, 5.5% ABV).
I had a bottle of this a couple of weeks ago. It was definitely heavy on the malt, but a little light on texture. I think I would have enjoyed it more had it not been almost 100 degrees and still feeling very much like summer.
ReplyDeleteAre 6 packs of Sierra Nevada usually 10 bucks in Chicago? That's steeeep.