Black Oak Nut Brown Ale

English Brown Ale is a great beer style, I'll just throw that out there.  It can be malty, complex, and yet not hoppy enough to turn people off.   Brown Ale was one of the beer types that convinced me that there was more to beer than fizzy lager so I have always had a soft spot for it and always pounce on the opportunity to try a new one.  I am actually surprised I had never had Black Oak's Nut Brown before, maybe they haven't been selling it outside the GTA for that long, but I found it in Ontario's much maligned Beer Store so I decided to grab myself a six pack.  

It pours a proper brown colour, lighter than some but darker than more popular brown ales (I'm looking at you Newcastle) so it definitely looks the part.  The nose is a satisfying malty flavour with strong caramel and coffee notes to it but neither of those are dominant.  They advertise chocolate notes as well, although I didn't really notice that, coffee and caramel yes but chocolate not so much.  On the intro to the sip you really get the coffee flavour, the malt is quite front loaded but not over the top which I quite like but it sorta disappoints from there.  After the coffee and malty intro it really falls off badly, I found the middle and finish to be quite watery with a hit of hops on the finish.  It is certainly drinkable but I found that it was a little bit disappointing given the promising intro and nose.  I certainly am willing to give this more time (I have 5 more in the fridge) but first impressions are that it needs work. 

It's available at the beer store, the LCBO, their brewery in Etobicoke as well as in some bars and restaurants in Ontario.

Alc 5% 

Rating 3 Steins

What you need to know

Website

http://www.blackoakbeer.com/

Twitter

@blackoakbrewing

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/blackoakbrewery?fref=ts

Brewery Address

75 Horner Ave, #1-

Toronto, ON