Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale (2008 and earlier)
The Smuttynose Big BEER Series: big beers in big bottles, released seasonally in very limited quantities.
Olive,iconic mascot & spirit guide of our brewery, first appeared on our Old Brown Dog label & has returned, thirteen years later, to pose for our Really Old Brown Dog, a luscious, malt-rich, full bodied "old ale" featuring deep notes of complex fruit. Much like our beloved Olive, this beer will mellow & age gracefully.
Olive,iconic mascot & spirit guide of our brewery, first appeared on our Old Brown Dog label & has returned, thirteen years later, to pose for our Really Old Brown Dog, a luscious, malt-rich, full bodied "old ale" featuring deep notes of complex fruit. Much like our beloved Olive, this beer will mellow & age gracefully.
3.6
205 reviews
Hampton, United States
Community reviews
Courtesy of Ryan. Muddy orange/amber, minimal head. Aroma very muddied. tons of fruti esters, not sure all of them belong, faint caramel backend. Flavor on par, fruit lighter, caramel tad stronger. Little let down.
Tap at Blind Tiger. Pours hazy brown with a fine, off white head. Nose is heavy with brown sugar, along with dark fruits and caramel malts. Flavor is really sweet. Tons more brown sugar, along with raisin, ripe plum, toffee and caramel. Somewhat syrupy and thick, with lingering sticky sweetness. A very deep beer with a dynamic flavor profile.
This 2 year old beer is very, very good. Malty, dark fruits, with an alcoho finish. I’m glad I held on to this. It did age wonderfully.
Bottle: Deep cinnamon in color, moderate to large frothy off-white head, sticky lacing. Rich malty nose, slight caramel, a little bit of spiciness on the nose. Has a slight wood aged aspect, a touch of apple skin and
oak. A little bright on the tongue, malty, with a certain amount of alcohol. Not the dark pitted fruit I thought it would be based on the style. Has a slight candyish aroma, otherwise its bordering on a sour pale dark
pitted fruit. Almost seems likes its past its prime. Lactic sourness on the finish. Needs more peatiness and smoked malt to be considered an Old Ale. Being brewed in 2007 it could be past its prime. While
not bad, it does seem to be a bit unrefined. Finish is a little acoholic. Not as malty nor complex as most other Old Ales. Thanks for the bottle John!
Source:22 oz bottle from a tasting in Nashville.
Glass:Fullers snifter.
Appearance:Clear amber pour with a one finger beige head.
Aroma:Caramel, toffee and vanilla.
Flavor:Caramel, toffee and vanilla present, with a subdued fruitiness.
Palate:Medium/full body with mild carbonation.
Overall:The only thing this one lacked was a bit of body. Very good beer.
2008 bottle. Pours lighter than expected with brief head. Aroma of caramel, toffee, vanilla. Flavor is smooth, caramelly vanilla. Almost tastes like there’s some barrel aging though I dont think there was any. Fruity finish. This is pretty interesting. Surprisingly light for an old ale.
Thanks kiefdog for the share. Pours brown with a soapy/ foamy head. Nose is caramel, raisin, booze, brown sugar, and a slight bitterness. Flavor is malt, raisin, bitterness, vanilla, and some fruit character. Medium-bodied and lingering with sugary sweetness closely followed by bitterness. Pretty good old ale.
THOUGHTS: Wow. Very intense, yet drinkable at first. It soon became a bit cloying. Maybe aging will take care of that. Nice, but it could be way better. So much fruit. Way more fruit in the flavor than in the aroma.
TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark brownish red that was sort of mahogany. It was bright red in the light with an average to large creamy, khaki head that mostly diminished and left good lacing at first, but soon it was only fair. The aroma was heavy caramel. molasses and tobacco, light to moderate hops, red wine, maple syrup, brown sugar, alcohol, candy, candy sugar, dark fruits, light fruit, lots of fruit, caramel and candy coated fruit, and a light touch of that barley wine-like aroma. The initial flavor was rather sweet and a little acidic; while the finish was very sweet, a little sour and bitter with a long duration. There was caramel, molasses, syrup, dark fruits, slight chocolate, tobacco, port wine, that barley wine taste, some sour fruit, candy sugar, some earthy hops, lots of different fruit, a laundry list of fruit including coconut. Just a smorgasbord of fruit. The medium to full body was quite syrupy with fizzy carbonation and a metallic, lightly astringent, lightly alcoholic and dry finish.
Pours a nice dark chocolate brown color with a thin, foamy beige head. Roasted malty aroma with cocoa/chocolate, sugar and dark fruit notes. Nice choclate malty flavor that is kind of similar to a tootsie roll. Strong chocolate presence along with hints of fig, dark fruit and alcohol. Slightly sweet with a spicy dry finish.
A red brown pour with creamy off white head and lace. Rich sweet roasted malt aroma and earthy hops. Sweet malt a hint of abv with a light/medium bitter. Medium bodied and just slightly over carbonated for me but still real good.
22 oz. bottle of the 2008 vintage. Pours a deep amber with a small, very light tan head. Big boozy fruit nose with lots of tree fruit, a little yeast, and earth. Powerful nose. I am really surprised this one is only 7%. Medium-high carbonation with a medium-rich mouthfeel. Lots of sweet boozy fruit, wood notes, caramel, nuts, and a pretty powerful bitterness on the palate. Medium, boozy finish. I would be interested to see if some of alcohol dies down with further aging. Not bad, but there are better old ales out there.
Bottle. Poured a medium brown body with thin head. Aroma is light toffee, cocoa and malty. Flavor has a sweet toffee taste, butterscotch and caramel.
Bottle. Had this on draft in Trenton back in 06-07ish, thanks to Stasko for bringing me out for it. Pours a dark amber body with a tan head. Almond and chewy caramel body with a lighter floral citrus hop character. Sweet and salty with a malty backbone and a modest warming. Good stuff.
Bottle from MtGoat. Thanks! Pours reddish and clear with beige head. Smell is malty and metallic with nail polish remover. Taste is alcoholic and sharp. Malty and bittersweet, but really strong on the alcohol. Not very drinkable. Medium body/carb. eh...
Brown bottle, 1 pint 6 ounces, via Philippe Boutin, savoured on June 14 2009; eye: bronze, clear, slight effervescence, creamy beige head, light lacing; nose: scotch, lots of malt, light hops, alcohol, light smoke; mouth: scotch, lots of malt, alcohol, dusty, molasses, light smoke, finale in alcohol, not much carbonation, mildly sweet, medium-full body, liqueur-like texture; overall: quite good
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 1 pinte 6 onces, via Philippe Boutin, savourée le 14 juin 2009; œil : bronze, claire, très légère effervescence, mousse beige crémeuse, légère dentelle; nez : scotch, beaucoup de malt, léger houblon, alcool, léger fumé; bouche : scotch, beaucoup de malt, alcool, poussière, mélasse, léger fumé, finale en alcool, peu carbonatée, moyennement sucrée, corps moyen-corsé, texture liquoreuse; en résumé : bien bon
22oz bottle. Pours copper in color with a brown head. Aroma roasted malt and light hops. Taste roasted malt and molassas with bitter finish.
I am a big fan of the Smuttynose brand, but for me this beer misses the mark. Its aroma is all alcohol. Its looks very good, but this look is deceiving. palate is so overpowered by a strong alcohol flavor that its lost. At first taste I thought this was an oak barrel aged beer, but the description says otherwise. As for drinkability.....none. This is a slow, very slow sipping beer by a fire, on a very, very cold night....arctic cold.
skip this one
Aroma has that wonderful molassas saturated cake batter,that you occasionly find in these old ales,some hopping comes through as it warms, taste is not as full as the aroma would lead you to believe,but still a hearty cake and chocolate ,combo ,hopping a little harsh,and so reasonably priced , well done
1L swingtop shared by Georgiabeer at the Brick Store.
Pours a viscous black with a ridiculously dark mocha head that recedes very slowly and settles in as a solid cap with some good lacing.
The aroma is of massive sweet malts, chocolate malts, before it warmed up. When it warmed up, the thing turned into a toasted beast with plenty of smoke, toasted malts and espresso.
The taste mirrors the aroma and has a massive toasted malt backbone with plenty of dark chocolate and roasted coffee. There are hints of hops as well and plenty of smoke in the finish.
The mouthfeel is close to full bodied and coats the mouth with the toasty malted body.
This is a great impy stout and one that lives up to its name as it’s toasty, smoky, malty and very tasty. I wouldn’t call it crazy drinkable by any means, but it’s a very good sipper.
Served on tap at Ginger Man (NYC). Dark brown color with a moderate off-white head. Fruity aroma with a hint of alcohol. Unusual, intricate taste. Nuts, fruits, a hint of chocolate. Something tasted a bit "off". Good amount of alcohol in the taste. Medium mouthfeel. Not my favorite Smuttynose offering, but an average beer.
Bomber thanks to Mike over on BA. Dark brown, filtered, clear. Small head. Nose is a bit alcoholy, malty. Taste is very sweet, a bit whiskey-ish (?), very alcoholic for the 7%, rich, a bit funky.
I don’t see the brown ale in this but it’s a very drinkable beer. A bit complex too.
Bottle. Pours clear mahogany with an average, fizzy off-white head, somewhat lasting with spare lacing. Aroma is heavy malt (caramel, nutty, toffee), average hop (perfume), average yeast (dough) with notes of pear, alcohol, candy, and apples. Full bodied, sticky texture, average carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, moderate sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.
Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog is a very clear, dense, brown ale with a generous, thick, dense, foamy yellow head that has incredible retention. It smells kind of like a home brew. There are notes of green hops, peppercorns and resiny malt that is just a touch sweet. It is full bodied, thick and syrupy. It has a wooden, resiny malt flavor that’s a little sweet and a little bitter. There is almost an umami note. Oak and leather are detected. It’s pretty drinkable. This is a solid Old Ale.
chose this brew for my 300th rating due to my love of Smuttynose. Pours a dark brown with a reddish tint, quite nice white frothy head. Aroma is very boozy, with lots of dark fruit, molasses, candied sugars, and other sweet notes. Flavor is excellent- extremely quick hit of dark dark malt and cream- hints of a dark liquor, like some sort of whiskey. Love the alcohol presence- this is one of my favorite traits in a beer. Great palate, creamy and rich- awesome offering from Smutty.
Dark reddish brown pour with nice white head. Aroma is dark fruit, caramel malt, some alcohol and some toffee. Flavor is very dark and malty with an Irish whiskey like quality near the end. Booze is prevalent, but not overpowering. Palate is smooth and rich- nothing new from Smuttynose.
pours a nice chestnut color, with a great three-finger head. It has a heavy chocolate undertones and quite a nutty flavor. It has a great palate, not too sticky. Great beer overall.
Very nice aroma, caramel, fruits, nutty, with some alcohol in the background. The appearance is a light brown, chestnut color, partially translucent to light, decent off-white head. The flavor is awesome, dark chocolate right upfront, fruits, caramel, and again the slight alcohol peeking out. The finish is lightly hoppy, but enduring, with the flavor of chocolate and nuts on the palate. Medium, creamy mouthfeel. Smuttynose really knocked one out of the park with this one. This is a style I really enjoy, and this beer represents that style well.
Bottle: Poured a clear light brown color ale with a nice size foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of fruity ester is quite enjoyable with some light caramel malt. Taste is a nice mix between some fruity ester (peach, apricot) and some caramel malt. Additional notes of dry fruit and more pronounced presence of sweet malt would have made this more enjoyable. Carbonation is good with an average body and no noticeable alcohol.
Bomber poured into a dogfish head snifter produced a finger worth of off white head that trailed off to a thin lace. The body of the brew was mahogany in color
Sweet and malty caramel and sweet fruit the malts are all you get with a whiff of alcohol. The flavor follows’ suit to the nose towards the sweet side I think the only balance comes from the heat. This is a sipper and the mouthfeel is medium with almost no carbonation.
Needs some age I think we all agree. I have a few more bottles that will stay in the cellar for a few years. I finish the bottle so you can say it is drinkable
22oz bottle. 2007 vintage. Poured a deeper amberish color with a larger sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, toasted nuttiness, and a little fruity. Tastes of caramel, nuts, lighter fruitiness, toasty, and some woodiness.