The Bruery - "Autumn Maple" brown ale

Since I reviewed a pumpkin beer recently, and the basic white girl in me wants to drink ALL the pumpkin beer, I figured I would give you guys a break and review an ale which is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. It's The Bruery's "Autumn Maple" brown ale, a 10% ABV brown ale made with cinnamon, allspice, vanilla, molasses, maple syrup, and 17 pounds of yams per barrel. That's a lot of yams by the way. And I must admit that I am not a huuuuge fan of yams; I traditionally avoided them at Thanksgiving but have slowly warmed up to them (thanks to Asheville Brewer's Alliance's "Tater Ridge" yam ale.) But this beer, along with Tater Ridge, is helping turn the tide.

It comes in a 750mL format, costing $12.99.  Note that it's also bottle-conditioned; this means that inside the bottle there is still some yeast which matures over time, and naturally carbonates the beer. No CO2 is pumped into the bottle. This is beneficial for aging, since there still is some chemistry going on inside, and many bottle-conditioned beers can rise in alcohol content as a result.

The beer pours quickly, with somewhat floral and sweet aromas on the nose. The aromas are very prominent and I can smell them a few feet away. It's got that murky red-brown color I love so much.

I was very impressed by the taste. There's strong apple / dark sugar tastes up front, with a lingering taste of citrusy, floral malts in the middle with an apple cider finish. The aftertaste has some elements of yeasty malts to it, but is generally sugary and warm.

It reminded me of a lighter, more floral version of the Kasteel Cuvee du Chateau. I like that it's low in IBUs, with a complicated and floral approach; but it was still strong enough to hold my attention and had seasonally-appropriate flavors to boot. I can't taste the vanilla or cinnamon so much, but I'm sure those flavors have combined nicely with the others. They just don't stand out as much as the label of the bottle may seem to suggest.

However, definitely A+ in my book. It's got a great mix of strength, flavor, texture and the price is right ($12 for a 750mL.) I would definitely stock up on these if given the chance - it's well worth a try, especially this time of year!