Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale (2009-)

Smuttynose Really Old Brown Dog Ale (2009-)

Old Ale (also known as “Stock” Ale), is a full-bodied beer with high levels of dextrins. In times past, this beer was typically laid up to mature, hence the name. The color varies from rich, dark amber to a very dark brown. This style features fruity, vinuous & deep, malty flavors, giving it an almost port-like qualities. Sight acidity is not uncommon.

Olive, iconic mascot & spirit guide of our brewery, first appeared on our Old Brown Dog label in 1994 & 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
413 reviews
Hampton, United States

Community reviews

4.1 Earlier Rating: 4/11/2018 Total Score: 3.9 Cooked sugar, rum, sirop de Liège, treacle, raisin, pudding, just enough bitterness to hold it together, and a pleasant numbness that settles into the outer layers of your brain and tips of your teeth. Oh I like this.
4.0 Zu brachial KaramelOldie⚠ Sour, braun, schnapsig (Edle Tropfen) & schleichend metallisch💢 GruftMuff ink. 355ml Bottle.
3.5 Mørk amber. Middels høyt kremaktig skum med litt farge. Litt lacing. Karamellaroma. Myk munnfølelse. Smaken kandisukker . Lett tørr ettersmak.
3.9 Bottle at home from Biervana, 26th January 18. Pours deep and dark golden, little head. Aroma is caramel and dark fruit. Taste is caramel, sweet, burnt caramel, dark fruit, some alcohol present. Very nice, barley wine style beer.
3.9 Pours deep mahogany with thin head. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar and a slight roast note. Taste is sweet caramel and slight vanilla, warming to a strong dried fruit flavor. Finish is brown sugar with a noticeable alcohol feel. Not for the faint of heart, but a rich, flavorful beer.
2.6 Bottle from Beers of the World into a snifter. Rich caramel and dark fruit aromas. Cloyingly sweet taste.
2.7 355ml bottle (ebrowarium.pl) (5:4:5:2:11=2:7} Sweet old malty aroma, very oxidised. Rich brown, small tight head. Thick heavy palate, slickly sweet, low carbonation. Sickly sweet malty taste. less oxidised, but still quite aged. Way too sweet. Some almondy aspects in the finish.
3.7 Pours brown from the bottle. Frothy off white head that turns whispy but lingers. Aroma is barrel, earthy. Taste is malty sweet with inflections of hazelnut, caramel, bourbon, cider. Quite potent and warming with the alcohol just noticeable in the finish. Body is full, carbonation is understated. Nice.
3.7 Bottle shared @Freiburg testing. A brown beer, nose is very nice on blond caramel. Aroma is on sweet caramel, vanilla, oak, smooth body, very pleasant and well balance, very good.
4.0 Pachnie przecudownie. Słód z opiekanym chlebkiem. Do tego intensywne toffi...no i ten lekko winny aromat. Normalnie rozpusta. Są też suszone owoce. W smaku jest podobnie. Mocno słodowy smak z toffi na przedzie. W tle orzechy, suszone owoce. Do tego nuta wina i coś jakby tytoniowego. Goryczka jest średnia, z takim samym wysyceniem. Alkoholu brak w smaku, ale rozgrzewa po trzecim łyku. Na początku jest wytrawnie, ale potem robi się słodko. Fajnie to gra.
3.9 12 oz bottle with a March 2015 bottling date served in a Samuel Adams glass. Pours slightly hazy, dark mahogany color and a well sized bone-colored head that has good retention. Full, very smooth body with some alcohol warming and surprisingly lively carbonation. Lightly sweet with alcohol esters and hints of barrel aging, brown sugar, dried fruits, brown bread, white pepper, mild coffee and faint smoke. The aroma has more pronounced dried fruit and fruitcake notes.
3.5 Dark amber/brown color; Medium slightly creamy body; Aroma of toasted malt, caramel, & some toffee; Flavor of slight roasted sweet malt, caramel/toffee, syrup, chocolate, and some dark fruit; Fairly well balanced; Decent overall.
4.4 Bottle 0,355ltr: Hazy brown colored brew with an sublime dry bitter taste, hints of caramel, dries fruits and some Bourbon booziness. And as always an very nice beerlabel.
3.0 Bottle at Oluthuone Leskinen, Oulu. Bottled July 2016. Colour is clear deep orange with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Dryness, dry fruits, raisins and malts. Needs flavors. Pretty weak and unimpressive. Little bit of oily.
3.8 Bottle@Ihku, Tampere, Finland. Superbly balanced with malty licorice and woody nuances. Slightly artificial and too light body.
4.0 Kolor: mieniany, delikatnie zamglony. Piana: średnio obfita, drobnopęcherzykowa, niezbyt trwała. Zapach: słodowy, lekko karmelowy, melanoidynowy, opiekany, dość sporo suszonych, kandyzowanych owoców, fig, daktyli. Smak: wyraźna pełnia, lekka słodycz, sporo nut słodowych, trochę karmelowych, opiekanych, melanoidynowych, trochę suszonych, owoców, daktyli, fig, goryczka w kierunku niskiej. Wysycenie: średnie.
3.3 I have tried a couple of Brown Ales now and none of them really make me want to mark this style one of my favorites. Smuttynose was no exception. It was "ok" -- sort of non-descript, middle of the road across the board.
4.0 Elegant doft, ej så stor. En tät komposition av ljusa torkade frukter. Söt med dragning åt karamell och en kandisocker. Brunaktig bärnstensfärg. Tätt skum som försvinner tämligen fort. Silkesartad viskositet, halvfyllig kropp och låg, välavvägd kolsyra. Smaken är också tät med toner av karamell, kola och trä. Avslutas med en jordigt snygg beska. En riktigt trevlig, söt vintervärmare.
4.5 I generally wax poetic about the beers I sample, but I’ll cut to the chase on this one this holiday season. Let’s just say that it’s bourbon-infused heaven on the taste buds for this 11.1-percent sipper on this Christmas eve eve.
3.8 Aroma: Medium aroma of malts, caramel, pine, dark fruit, liquorice and chocolate; ends slightly bitter and dry with roasted malts, spices and alcohol. Appearance: Turbid/opaque dark orange/dark brown beer with heavy yeast and with a slight/medium beige head. Taste/Palate: Starts medium/heavy sweet with malts, caramel, pine, dark fruit, liquorice and chocolate; ends slightly bitter and dry with roasted malts, spices and alcohol. Overall: This beer is intense, complex and balanced. Super complex and all over the place with its flavour. More intense than most of the Old Ales I had. Quite a great beer, but only the aroma could have been stronger.
3.9 355 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 9.6%. Reddish brown colour, small off-white head. Aroma of malts, oak, dark dried fruits, caramel, vinous notes. The medium sweet flavour has the same elements as the aroma. Slightly warming mouthfeel. Good stuff.
3.8 Fra flaske (9,6% og bb. nov-20, iflg den lille lappen som var klistret på etiketten) på Mi2 Cardinal, des-16: rødgylden med ok skum. Deilig aroma og smak med appelsiner, tørrede frukter, karamell, kjeks og nøtter. Snev av urter. Deilig bitterhet i den lange ettersmaken. Myk og saftig med mye god, ørk karamell.
3.3 Shared bottle at Cardinal, Stavanger.ABV 9,6%. Pours almost clear dark amber with a small white head. Aroma is malty, light sweet. Taste is moderate sweet malty, dark ripe berries.
3.7 From bottle at Mi2 at Cardinal 05.12.16. 9,6 % ABV. Clear goldenb orange. Small and Diminishing beige head. Aroma and taste of Sevilla marmalade, dried tropical fruits, sweet malt and sherry. Round mouthfeel.
3.9 A small taste from a friend (bottle) @ Vihreä Haltiatar. Pours clear brown with a medium head. Aroma is slightly roasted nutty malts. Flavor is roasted nutty malts, caramel, alcohol and hops. Very good.
3.6 Quite murky brown color with beige head. Aroma has toasted malt, brown sugar and some booze soaked dried fruits. Taste starts sweet and sugary with some raisins and other dried fruits. Towards the finish it gets bitter with toasted notes and burnt sugar. Medium body and carbonation. Overall it’s quite tasty but a bit boozy and unbalanced.
3.9 Bottle, pours slightly cloudy hazelnut brown with high creamy colored head. Aroma of dried fruits, caramel, nuts, biscuits and a hint of wine. In taste hig sweetness with some slightly alcohol bitterness in finish. Full body.
3.9 Reddish brown color. Thin and weak off-white head. Aroma of toasted malt , plums and caramel. Rich , malty taste with an almost wine character. Moderate bitterness at the end. A great example of the style.
3.3 Bottle @OlutExpo 2016. Pours reddish orange with a smooth head. Aroma of berries, caramely malts, toffee, candy and resin. Taste is sweet, malty and caramely with some toffee, glue, resin and stuffy syrup. Finish is sticky sweet, syrupy and caramely malty with some toffee, resin and candy. Sweet and sticky syrupy.
3.2 Bottle @ Olutexpo 2016. Pours amber color with a thin white head. Slightly glue notes, sweetness, dark sweet fruits. Flavor has ripe fruits , berries, sweetness, wood. Long sweet finish. Too sweet for me though.