Name of beer: Raspberry Brown
Brewing Company: Lost Coast Breweries
Brewing Location: Eureka, CA
Type of Beer: American Brown Ale – ABV: 5.0% – IBU: 22
Beer Description: From bottle: A chocolate Brown Ale with the essence of ripe red raspberries, made with malted barley, chocolate and caramel malts, hops and natural raspberry flavor.
The Beer Guy Review: I’m going to get this out there first: The Beer Guy is not a big fan of brown ales. I don’t even think I’m a fan of brown ales, let alone a big fan of them. Think Newcastle Brown Ale. They’re one of the more popular brown ales out there, but categorized as an English Brown Ale. American Brown Ales aren’t too different. They can simply use American ingredients, sometimes including additional ingredients such as coffee or nuts. Now I like coffee (and its byproducts, namely, chocolate) and nuts as much as the next guy. I guess I just haven’t acquired the taste for when those flavors are in my beer.
So there I stood in the beer aisle with a number of bomber bottles of beer eyeing me down. For those of you that need a math lesson (I did), a bomber bottle contains 22 liquid ounces of beer. In the US (sorry international community, I’m not going to play United Nations and break down measurements for you), a pint serves 16 fluid ounces. So with a bomber, you get a pint of beer and an extra 6 ounces for being so special. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking, “Hmm, IPA, IPA, IPA…” but then I recalled the fact that readers of The Beer Guy want something different. But a brown ale? And not just any brown ale, but a raspberry brown ale? Aww screw it, I’m game.
I pulled the bottle out of the refrigerator and let it sit for about 20 minutes before pouring it into a pint glass. As the name suggests, it is dark brown in color (duh), with a good head of foam on top. It didn’t have as much fizz as the Nero’s 1st Century Ale, if at all. I found the beer to have a sweet aroma, as one might expect from a beer infused with fruit, but not too overpowering. I’ve been known to enjoy some fruity beers, such as the Pyramid Apricot Ale or Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat. In each of those beers, the fruit does not overpower the beer.
But this was different, this beer was made with raspberries. And again, I was not disappointed. The taste of fruit did not overpower the beer in the case of the Lost Coast Raspberry Brown. Instead, I found it to be full of flavor…many flavors, including that of raspberries. I definitely detected the elements of caramel and chocolate in the beer as well, with a very slight nutty hint. It’s very smooth. Again, keep in mind that this is an ale, not a stout, so it should have more of a light-to-medium body. I found it to have more of a medium body. A pint is probably enough to have with this beer. It can be filling if you drink the entire bomber bottle. If you think you deserve it, then go right ahead.
As for The Beer Guy rating, I give the Lost Coast Raspberry Brown a very, very respectable:
Yes, when tasting this beer, I was living in the land of milk & honey & beer. While drinking the beer, I kept on thinking, “What in the world does this taste like?…I got it…chocolate covered raspberries…and beer!” So perhaps I was living in the land of milk & honey & chocolate covered raspberries & beer. I give this the 6 of 7 because I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by both the taste and intellect that went into its creation. It’s not like someone threw tea leaves in to the brew concoction and said, “Here you go, it’s a Spiced IPA.” As it turns out, brown ales have that coffee/chocolate essence already. Master Brewer Barbara Groom and the Lost Coast team were smart in combining that with the raspberry flavor, very smart. I found the Lost Coast Raspberry Brown to be full of many different flavors that, when combined, make a tasty, complex, multi-faceted beer. This beer was quite good…and I don’t even like brown ales.
So, what do you think? Have you had this beer? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Send me a note at The Beer Guy’s mailbag, TheBeerGuy@lifeofdad.com. You can follow me on Twitter (@TheBeerGuyLOD) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheBeerGuyLOD) as well. Take care, happy (and safe) drinking, and enjoy your weekend.
About The Beer Guy – A dad, husband, friend and drinker of beer. I review & blog about it all on LifeOfDad.com, the premiere social networking website for Dads. The Beer Guy enjoys IPA’s and Pilsner’s, but will really try any kind of beer. You may disagree on some of his opinions. Let The Beer Guy know. Reviews are published on Thursdays. The mailbag is open on Tuesdays. Read more here to learn about The Beer Guy, who he is and his beer rating methodology.
The Beer Guy, and Life of Dad, promote responsible drinking. Never drink and drive.