Is it time for another ##Beersaturday: battle of the Beers post? I think so. This time it will be two flavored brown ales brewed for winter. So here we go.
Roasted Chestnut Brown Ale
Brewery: Niagara Oast House Brewers
Origin: Niagara on the Lake, ON Canada
Style: English Brown Ale
Abv: 5.3%
Marketing: Bronze, brown and red color palate for the can with interpretive snowflakes and pan of roasted chestnuts imagery. There is a raised grainy texture, like glued glitter, on all of the Brown parts of the can which is kind of cool. I wasn't a huge fan of the can at first and was rather bored by it but the more I looked at it the more it grew on me. The raised textured part inpressed me and the color and imagery definitely has a festive winter vibe about it. I found myself intrigued by it the more I explored it and really started to wonder what the beer inside would be like. I was excited to try it! 4.5/5
Color: Poured a deep brownish red color - like rich mahogany (*Said in Ron Burgandy's voice). Almost no foam in the pour at all and the little that gathered disappeared almost instantly. I would have liked to have some foam. At least a little. This was a major draw back. Sometimes I wonder if its my glasses, maybe their is residual soap leftover from the dishwasher? 3/5
Nose: Distinct smell of fresh bread at first, toasted notes in the background, pleasant aromatics that I can't specifically name. The smell reminds me of toasted sesame but not nearly as strong. Supposedly the beer is made with real roasted chestnuts so I'm guessing that is what it is. (* We got ourselves a real detective over here). Quite nice smell overall. 6/7
Taste: Malty, mildly sweet, just a little bitterness in the end. Fairly well balanced. Some very mild roasted flavors. Clean and fresh tasting. No taste of extract that I noticed. It tasted quite good. 6/7
Texture: Nicely carbonated not too much and not too little. A smooth mouthfeel underneath. Light to medium bodied. Pleasant texture overall. 4.5/6
Impression: I really liked this beer. It had a decent amount of flavor but not that artifical taste you get when Brewers add in extracts. I believe them when they say that they use real chestnuts. Overall I rated this beer a 24/30 - an decent 80% drinkability rating.
Lions Winter Ale
Brewery: Granville Island Brewing Co
Origin: Vancouver BC, Canada
Style: Brown Ale
Abv: 5.5%
Marketing: Dual turquoise blue color scheme with white accents. Winter activity, small town and mountain bridge scene. All and all it reminds me of a winter festival or event poster. I really enjoy the look of this can. 4/5
Color: Brownish red colored liquid with a tan color head that dissipated quickly. A crystal clear brew indicating that it had been filtered vigorously. 3.5/5
Nose: Distinct vanilla and white chocolate aroma. The smells is unnatural and out of place in a beer for me, like sniffing a candle though maybe not as potent. In a way I found it confusing to the senses, like my brain simultaneously went "mmm that smells good, eww yuck!" all at the same time. Confused... 4/7
Taste: Mildly sweet with very little bitterness, well balanced, with a distinct vanilla, cocoa and white chocolate aftertaste that lingered in the back of the throat for quite some time. 3.5/7
Texture: Nicely carbinated with a very silky mouthfeel. Light bodied. A very pleasant texture overall. 5/6
Impression: I didn't care for this one at all. I didn't straight up dislike it but I generally feel that extracts ruin beers, and this one was no exception. The beer had a "fake" artifical (* I like to use two words with the same meaning when I describe something) taste about it that I didn't care for. Overall I give this beer a 20/30 or a 67% drinkability rating. Something to note is that most of the points For the beer came from the can and texture which aren't entirely about the drinkabilty of the beer. Anyway, I think its needless to say that I won't buy this one again.
Conclusion
These two beers were similar in design but there was one clear winner - Oast House Brewers' Roasted Chestnut Brown reigned supreme.
