Acorn Brown Ale from Jordan Lake Brewing Company is a solid brown ale that manages to be more than the sum of its parts.
The American Brown Ale is based on English brown ales, and the style was popularized by U.S. homebrewers in the 1990s. In flavor, American Brown Ales are over-the-top in malt and hops when compared to their British counterparts. The hoppiest of these brown ale styles is the Texas Brown Ale and its spin-off, the Brown IPA. A readily available example of this last is Dogfish Head’s Indian Brown Ale.
But back to the Acorn Brown Ale. In the glass, Acorn is light chestnut brown in color and very clear with one finger of tan head that persisted through my pint. When I brought it to my nose, I got wafts of caramel and red apple, with background notes of walnuts. There wasn’t any hops aroma.
Once I started drinking the beer some interesting things happened. First, there was the tang of fresh sourdough which quickly vanished into the English hops. These hops are traditionally used in American Brown Ales to provide a spicy note, that when complemented with the caramel malt, gives the impression of cinnamon.
The beer has a medium body, which in colder weather is right where you want your beer to be. Medium carbonation also helps the beer with its drinkability.
This beer would be great to drink fireside on a cold winter day.
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