Sometimes a beer is not what it seems - Brekle's Brown

One of the first craft breweries that I came across a few years ago when I decided to pursue my beer interest was the Anchor Brewing company of San Francisco, CA. Their signature Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale were available locally and I enjoyed them very much. I have previously profiled their Anchor Porter and I have recently noticed two additional of their beers available in my local Albertson's, their summer seasonal and the Brekle's Brown Ale.

I have made no secret of my love of brown ales. They may be my favorite style of beer and the Brekle's seemed like it would be right up my alley. However, as I would find, this brown ale was nothing like what I expected.

Appearance: Beer pours a dark copper color, not quite as brown as I would have thought. This should have been the first sign. A really soft creamy two fingers of khaki head was noticed, with good retention. This beer also had good carbonation and nice lacing, see below.

Smell: Second tip off that this was not what I was expecting, was the hoppy aroma that I got from about a foot away. This beer smelled just like an IPA with the citrus and grassy hop notes.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Much like the aroma, this beer had the flavor profile of an IPA. Hoppy citrus with lingering bitterness. The unusual part was the thick creamy head that accompanied the medium mouthfeel. It had some features of a brown ale, but all the taste of an IPA.

Overall: Probably more than any beer I have ever had, this one did not taste like what I had expected. It was more of a hybrid that one particular style. It had the things I like about a brown ale with the nice creamy head and lacing, but the flavor profile of an IPA. This one will take some more study to determine a grade. Sometimes beers, like people are more than meets the eye. For more info on this beer, please see Brekle's Brown.

Cheers!