World Brews - Barrel Trolley Nut Brown Ale

I swear, at first I thought this was a New York brew. I don't know why, I just looked in the freezer at Total Wine and saw this, thinking "I haven't had anything from New York in a while."

Nope! Not only is it out of California, it's World Brews-brewed. Their novelty products disappointed me, let's see how this goes.

On first pour, its appearance is a deep, dark, but clear brown; if you didn't hold it up to the light you'd mistake it for a stout. The head is thin and firm, but fades away quickly with little to no lacing of foam remaining on the glass.  A little foam ring lingers on the lip of the beer due to the carbonation. Its strange that a beer with such strong carbonation doesn't have a thicker head.

It smells clean, but with a little agitation of the brew you can pick up the malt sweetness and the nuttiness in the bouquet. Swirl it around a little in your glass, you'll see. The taste is strongly hazelnut with some pine nut and pecan notes. There are also maple and caramel notes from the malt, but it's easy to miss because of the strength of the nuttiness. It's moderately bodied, it's not heavy but it's not so dry and crisp overall. There is some bite to it, and it does have a dry sensation just before the finish, but the nuttiness resumes in the very end and lingers in the mouth, with the carbonation.

It's a decent brew, and proof that World Brews can make a quality product. It's good, but it's not great. I like brown ales, but personally I wouldn't go out of my way to stock up on this. If you like really really nutty brown ales, Barrel Trolley Nut Brown Ale will be satisfactory.

Odell Brewing Company - 90 Shilling Ale

Right, time to open up the Big Book O'Beer. I knew I saw this one in there! And it's already checked off... but not written up yet. Let's remedy that right now. The Big Beer Flight rises!

The name for this amber ale was chosen from taxes charged per barrel on beer in the 19th Century, where the strongest brews were taxed 90 shillings. Now the alcohol by volume for the 90 Shilling is 5.3%, which is comparable to most American brews out there, and it's not the strongest. What's that say about beer in the UK back then? But we're not here to judge what your grandparents' grandparents were drinking.

On first pour, into my typical American pint glass, it has a deep copper red appearance, cloudy like you'd see in a hefeweizen. But there isn't any citrus banana notes to my nose, but rather a caramel-y scent, with walnut and chestnut undertones, even a woodsy element. The head is thin but solid, and fades fast. And it leaves a lacy foam along the sides of the glass that stays long after you've finished your pint.

The taste is full and rich-bodied but oddly dry and refreshing at the finish, that was unexpected but welcome.  It has a nutty, oaken flavor overall with some slight cocoa undertones and a smoothness that I attribute to the taste of yeast, but also has a little harshness to the palette; it's a bitterness like you'd get from an overroasted nut, likely from the Northern Brewer and Cascade hops in the ingredients. There's a diverse mix of malt in this brew - barley malt, Vienna malt, Crystal malt, and Chocolate malt.

According to "Beers of the World" this was originally a seasonal winter brew, but as it grew in popularity it became a year-round production. I agree, this is a terrific brew to drink anytime. It's flavorful, with an interesting bouquet, a real treat to the senses for a typical beer-drinker.