Mr. Porter's Brown Ale
Written: Oct 19 '00 (Updated Oct 27 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Classic, nutty-malty English Brown
Cons: Clear Glass Bottle
The Bottom Line: A classic.
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| Bruguru's Full Review: Newcastle Brown Ale England 18.6oz |
Any serious beer drinker will easily be able to rattle off the first few craft beers he became aquainted with. For domestic brews, he’ll likely mention Anchor, Sierra Nevada, and Samuel Adams. Imports apt to be named will include Bass, Guinness, Beck’s, and of course, Newcastle Brown Ale.
Newcastle Brown is the largest selling bottled beer in England, and is a major brand here in the United States as well. Brewed in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, “Newkie Brown” as it is sometimes known was introduced in 1927. Oddly enough, the brewer who formulated it went by the name of Jim Porter. The beer quickly caught on and has steadily gained in popularity over the years.
Newcastle Brown ale pours to a light brown, almost cola-like color with a pock-marked foamy head and a soft malty nose. The palate is smooth and nutty, slightly sweet, with a light cracker-like malt character and a hint of chocolate. The hops are just barely perceptible in the finish. This is a wonderfully delicate beer, and a classic English brown ale. Though not as assertive as American brown ale, which is a maltier, hoppier brew, Newcastle should be appreciated for it’s subtle delicacy. It’s easy to throw loads of hops and malt at a beer and make it a big one. A far truer test of the brewer’s art is to produce a drinkable, subtly flavored delight the likes of this one.
Packaged in clear glass, there’s a trace of skunkiness evident in Newcastle, but just a trace. A beer becomes “skunked” when certain wavelengths of light interact with alpha acids in hops to produce the same chemical that a skunk produces, hence the smell and flavor. Being a lightly hopped beer, Newcastle is less prone to skunking than Heineken for example.
This is a special treat on draft, and I see it in more and more locations in that form. Obviously, skunking is not a problem, and the beer is smoother and a little more chocolatey this way. Here in Rome, Georgia my local Applebees seems to sell a good deal of Newcastle Brown on tap and I always get a fresh pint.
Try Newcastle Brown with Duck in orange sauce for a very special treat. It’s also great with pecan pie.
Recommended:
Yes
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