Sixpoint Brownstone
Sixpoint Brownstone is based upon one of my favorite and most popular homebrew recipes; an instant classic that I’ve been brewing since my college days. The most distinguishing characteristic of the Brownstone is its aroma of fresh-baked bread, which is accomplished by using generous portions of classic Belgian specialty malt. In addition, I use a very small portion of the same malt you would find in a stout, which lends a roasted quality in addition to the usual chocolate and nutty qualities you might find in a typical brown ale.
Although brown ales typically emphasize malty sweetness, I find a balance must remain if the hop bitterness is diminished. As a result, I carefully blend ten different malt varieties and keep the Brownstone only mildly hopped. Instead of hop bitterness providing the balance, I achieve a balance among the flavors of malt: the deep caramel and malt flavors are balanced by notes of rich toffee, chocolate, a slight nuttiness and a roasted tang. It is a true session ale.
Although brown ales typically emphasize malty sweetness, I find a balance must remain if the hop bitterness is diminished. As a result, I carefully blend ten different malt varieties and keep the Brownstone only mildly hopped. Instead of hop bitterness providing the balance, I achieve a balance among the flavors of malt: the deep caramel and malt flavors are balanced by notes of rich toffee, chocolate, a slight nuttiness and a roasted tang. It is a true session ale.
3.4
232 reviews
Brooklyn, United States
Community reviews
Pours deep brown, but has some opaqueness against the light. Nice big foamy head! Aroma has a freshness, caramel. Taste is nicely balanced, malts don’t overpower hops and vice-versa. Goes down smooth with a nice coffee-ish finish.
Location/Date:Can on September 8th, 2013.
Appearance: Pours a dark brown.
Aroma: Aroma of caramel, nuts, faint roast.
Taste: Caramel, light bitterness, faint roast, nuttiness.
Palate:Medium body, light lingering aftertaste.
Summary: Glad I finally got to try this. Nice amount of flavor, roast, sweetness, nicely balanced, and at a solid abv.
On tap at the brickstore. A little spice and pine on the finish. Requisite Caramel malt aromas and sweet flavors. Some nutty flavors creeping in there as well. Pretty nice to style.
Dark brown pour
Nice coffee and sweet malt aroma
Bitter roast and hop flavor
growler. light brown with a large, foamy, beige head. floral hoppy aroma mostly. flavor has a noticeable soapy hop bitterness with some caramel and dry nuttiness. light body and dry. i would prefer a different hop choice.
Caramel, nut, and toffee in the aroma. Sweet flavor with caramel and chocolate and nuts. Somewhat thin finish with a little coffee bitterness. Solid brown ale.
Can, long lasting very creamy mocha head, hazy very deep red to brown colour, aroma of bread, milk chocolate, some herbs and a touch of caramel, flavour of bread, nuts and some caramel, quite bitter. Drinkable but a bit dull, maybe a little old.
THOUGHTS: Crazy, malt-centric brew. Rather complex for a brown ale.
TECHNICAL: Can. Poured a medium brown with a large, creamy, off-white head that mostly, but slowly diminished and left good lacing. The aroma had moderate dark bread and chocolate cake; lighter roasted and burnt malts; light pine and citrus hops; cola; and slight berry. The initial flavor was moderately sweet, lightly bitter and slightly sour; while the finish was lightly sweet, moderately bitter and light to moderately sour with an average duration. There was dark bread, chocolate cake, roasted malt, burnt malt, pine and citrus hops, hints of berry, bakers chocolate, and sour malts. The medium body was sort of creamy with rather fizzy carbonation and a lightly metallic and astringent finish.
Can. Nose has some interesting breadiness to it with a little bit of chocolate in there and just a hint of nuttiness. Taste is actually a little toasty, with a bit of sweetness coming through underneath. Interesting...
Barcade: Brooklyn. Buy local. I had heard a lot about this brewery and enjoyed my first experience with their brews.
16 oz can. Drank out of a pint glass. Decent brown ale. Not too much flavor. Good to drink in the summer.
Tap at stagshead didn’t know i hadn’t had this before. Pours pretty deep brown and beige head. Nose of cocoa powder and toffee. tastes pretty nice of chocolate, caramel, nutty, malt, ginger, floral, woody, and light smoke. creamy texture and smooth finish. i could buy a 4 pack of cans of this puppy
12oz can. Pours a hazy amber/brown color with 2 fingers of off white head. Aroma of mellow roasted malt, toffee, nuts, and caramel. Taste is toffee, nuts, mild roasted malts, with an earthy finish.
16oz can. Pours brown with a big white head. Malty aromas. Decent brown ale flavors with a noticeable hop presence that sets it apart from most other browns. Could almost call this a "Brown IPA".
Average brown ale. The aroma was barely present with a slight tone of malt. Nice full brown color with a foamy head. Average carbonation with the weight being a little light. Malt presence with a hint of sweetness but very subtle. There was a hops bitterness on the finish. I like the malts to have a more roasted tone, which this did not have. Nothing exciting here.
Pint can. Pours a rich, dark stained-wood brown with a thicker beige head that settles slowly leaving some hanging lace. Interesting complex nose involving plenty of dark malt tones including nuttiness, cocoa, some dark fruit, some roast and light peat smoke along with spicy hop undertones and doughy bread. Pretty sweet with a fair balancing bitterness. Medium bodied, creamy, softer, slick, with a lingering toasty bitter finish. A nice, nuanced brown.
12oz can, brown pour, tan foam, aroma of caramel, bread, roasty. Taste was a little disappointing. It felt watered down and thin. Hints of caramel, chocolate, and slight roasted flavors. Not bad, just prefer a litter thicker brown ale.
Clean spice aroma. Very nice pour, foaming liquidy thing. Big 3 inch head in my glass. From a 16 oz can. Quite strong fer a brown ale, and it could have more manners. Does have some of that stout thing going on. Yes, a little medicinal and alky like fer sure, sometimes cloying. Finish is difficult. Not impressed.
Bottle shared at a tasting at the Beer Market. Pours brown to red slightly hazy with a beige medium head, aroma of caramel, dark bread with some sweetness, flavor is slightly bitter with caramel, dark bread and pine, nice sweetness, medium bodied
Rated 3/22/13. 16 oz can into a pint glass.
A: Pours an attractive chestnut brown color. The head is a two finger offwhite shade that isn’t particularly creamy-looking. The lacing, however, is fantastic.
S: On the first inhale, it seems like it’s overly hoppy...but the hop profile seems to fade a touch as it warms up. This allows the notes of brown sugar, molasses, cola, and nuts to appear next to the citrusy/grapefruit hops. I’m actually intrigued - this smells like it will work!
T: And actually, it kind of does. Dry nuttiness opens the flavor profile up, before finishing with a combination of citrusy hops and sweet, vaguely chocolaty malts. Good cohesion between the hop/malt interplay helps make it surprisingly pleasant, but there is a lack of depth here.
M: A bit thin, and not particularly creamy. The feel is nicely balanced between sweet and bitter, though, and it drinks easily.
O: Very solid - one of the better Sixpoint offerings I’ve had. Hopped-up dark beers tend to be hit or miss, and I’d reckon this is an almost unqualified hit (and needless to say, it works FAR better than Diesel did). I say almost because it does lack a couple things, such as complexity, but I’d have no trouble revisiting this one again.
Solid for the style. One of my go to sixpoint options, certainly one of their most popular offerings. Nutty and malty.
Pours a beautiful clear chestnut with a very thick and foamy light tan head. The growler I got foamed like a mad dog, so be careful! Strong aroma has malty, woody and fruity tones plus a hint of caramel. Flavor has malty and caramel notes with earthy, nutty and toffee hints for backup singers. Texture lacks fizz, though has OK body, leaves an earthy and hoppy finish. If not great, still worth a snort.
Can. Pours clear tawny with a medium, creamy and frothy light tan head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is cracker and toast malt, apple and pear fruity esters, earthy and woody hops. Flavor is well balanced hops, hop bitterness, and malt with light fermentation esters and a dry finish. Medium-light body and medium carbonation.
Tasty brown ale style beer. Poured into pint glass from tall-boy can. Has a bitter sweetness that tastes of resin, brown sugar, malts, and yeast. Pours a clear brown, with lively carbonation and a sticky head that has decent retention. Solid, as I’ve come to expect form Sixpoint.
Can. Caramel colored a little cloudy, medium body and thick. Great taste, nutty and malty. Very nice brown.
Smell of malt, toffee, darker bread, dead leaves. Taste is a little sweet, but also pleasantly tangy. Medium carbonated mouthfeel, more than in a typical brown ale, which works well. Could easily drink this all night.
From the 16 oz. can stamped on the bottom with: Best Before 26 Apr 2013. The pour is a slightly cloudy medium copper brown color with a huge foamy. lasting off-white head. The aroma is delightful with a decent malty note, nuts, and a kind of earthy hop character. The body is medium and smooth. The taste begins with the same malty flavor I got on the nose followed by a low, relaxing bitterness. Well balanced decently crafted brown ale.
Refrigerated can, extra from JStax, poured into a shaker. Pours dark amber with medium creamy head. Nice thin small bubble lacing, medium body, creamy texture, well carbonated, and green herbal hop aroma. Taste is herbal hops, caramel malt, and some nut. I would have guessed amber ale, but has brown ale characteristics. Doesn’t do it for me, but not bad.
16oz can - pours amber with tam head and decent lacing. Nose is caramel and nutty. Flavor adds bread and hay. Spicy aftertaste. Moderately bitter and less sweet. Long bitter finish. Not my favorite from the brewer. Reminds me of a weak holiday beer.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Beer Market. Thanks zvikar. Pours hazy brown with a cream-colour head. Sweet, a little nutty and bread aroma, Slightly roasty, bitter, old hops taste. Fizzy, medium body, long bitter finish.