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.