Brown Ale Long regarded as a classic style of beer in England, brown ale has come into its own in the United States in recent years. Although it is distinctive as a style of its own there is enough variation on it to defy rigid classification. The area most commonly identified with brown ale is northern England, especially the city of Newcastle. As a brand Newcastle Brown Ale is a relative newcomer to the scene, not yet seventy years in the making, but the tradition of medium strength, malty, deep amber colored beer from this region is somewhat older. A geographical look at Britain highlights the contrast of regional specialties and favorites. To the south of the Newcastle area lies the Midlands, this is the domain of Pale Ale; here brewers such as Bass and Marston's produce some of the world's best ales from the hard waters of the Trent River. These tawny colored beers are less sweet, less malty and hoppier than their brown ale cousins to the north. To the north of the Newcastle area the breweries of Scotland continue to produce their own classic style. Scotch Ale, Wee Heavy and 90/ are terms which connote the strong, sweet and malty ales brewed by Belhaven, Caledonian and Traquair House among others.
The region of brown ale production is nestled comfortably between these areas. Perhaps the most famous brown ale is the aforementioned Newcastle Brown Ale. Once the product of an independent brewery it is now produced by the Scottish & Newcastle Breweries at the Tyne Brewery in Newcastle. Although it is a large conglomerate they have attempted to maintain a high level of product quality and customer relations. When I visited Newcastle in 1989, hoping to get a glimpse of the brewery, we were told that no tours were available. After a few minutes of conversation with a guard outside the main gates one of the company's guest relations people appeared and escorted us to their administrative offices. He took us up to the ninth floor and introduced us to an executive who patiently answered our questions while pointing out some of the city's landmarks from a well-perched balcony. When they finally sent my three companions and I packing it was with a gym bag filled with T-shirts, ties, darts, pins and posters - all on the house. The brown ale is this brewery's biggest product. When held up to the light it is actually a deep reddish color with medium body, the taste hints of roasted malt and finishes slightly dry, alcohol content is just under 5% by volume.
Another brown ale producer in the area is the well known Samuel Smith's, this product is known in the US as Nut Brown Ale. As with all the company's products it is produced in Tadcaster and still uses traditional methods such as fermentation in large, flat squares made from slate. Nut Brown Ale is a bit maltier and sweeter than Newcastle with a slightly nutty aftertaste, alcohol content is around 5% or just over. Both of these brews are available in the US. The popularity of English style brown ale has spread to the continent as well as to this country. In regions of the Netherlands, Belgium or northern France it is common to see beers called Bruin or Oud Bruin; these generic terms for brown and old brown are used extensively but many of these beers are ales which are similar to the English style.
There are many brewers in the US now producing brown ales and some of these are locally available. The Brooklyn Brewery produces a very nice version of this style. Brooklyn Brown is presently being contract brewed by F.X. Matt in Utica, NY. This beer is a little sweeter and maltier than Newcastle but is well balanced by the addition of Northern Brewer and Cascade hops. The result is a full bodied, assertive brew with an alcohol content of about 6%. Both Brooklyn Brown and Brooklyn Lager are available in the area in bottles and kegs, if you have trouble locating it try calling the company at (718) 486-7422. From the Elm City Brewing Company in New Haven, CT comes Elm City Connecticut Ale. This beer is only loosely styled as Brown Ale; it is full-bodied and somewhat sweet, finishing with a hint of butterscotch or caramel. Another very nice beer which is available is Griffon Brown Ale from McAuslan Brewing Co. Inc. of Montreal. I met these folks at the New England Brewers Festival in the Fall of 1993, they are very nice people. Both the Pale Ale and the Brown they make are worth looking for. There are a couple California brewers making brown ales that can be found in this area. Pete's Wicked Ale is a full bodied, robust tasting brew with an excellent aroma. Although the headquarters is in Palo Alto, this beer has been contract brewed by three different companies in the last five years. Despite this it has remained a consistently good product. St. Stan's Dark is described on the label as an Altbier, a style popular in northwest Germany, but the beer is more in line with a Brown Ale than an Altbier. This beer is about 6% alcohol, it is a very well-rounded brew but because it seems to disappear from time to time I have not tasted it in some time. The Stanislaus Brewing Company of Modesto makes several different St. Stan's products, all are excellent and worth hunting down.
© C. Renegar Jr.
