Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

MetalHopHead6

Virginia

3.15/5  rDev -18%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale is attractive and bland.

It had the color and subtle flavor of root beer, pouring mahogany with burnt orange around the edges, and a tall thick tan head that left thick rings of lace. The smell was sweet, metallic, and acrid. It had very little flavor with just a hint of sweetness with a subtle reminder of root beer. There was no feel to speak of--it was as slick and fleeting as water. At 5.5 percent ABV, and a watery feel, it was refreshing enough and easy to drink; however, maybe that isn't a good thing from a Brown Ale.

Overall, Tumbler is...not bad. Unfortunately, there's nothing unique, or even memorable about it. It represents a swing-and-miss from a brewery with several home runs.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 23:11:56 | More by MetalHopHead6

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Shared with me by Spider889, well he left one in my fridge. We both had the obvious conversation about how July is not autumn and is too early for fall seasonal beers. Oh well, here goes a little write up on an 86 degree August afternoon anyway.

A- Looks nice, if anything its darker than I expected. Its getting really close to porter territory with its deep shade of brown. An orange glow around the edges show that this beer is very clear. A thick, fluffy head whips up to a sizable 3 fingers of height. It has really good retention and enough lacing to make anyone happy.

S- A little bit of chocolate, grains and various hops. The hopping is mostly grassy and slightly floral. The nose is pretty weak and there really isnt a whole lot going on anyway.

T- Hoppier than I expected but then again I dont know what I was thinking, this is Sierra Nevada. Big hit of citrus right off the bat followed by bitter chocolate. Finishes out with an almost roasty bitterness and piney hops. This borders on the style often referred to as "India brown ale".

M- Fairly robust for a beer of low ABV. Moderately dry with sharp carbonation.

D- I hesitate to use the word sessionable on this site anymore but this one does drink quite easily. Its just not really my kinda thing.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 21:43:40 | More by MbpBugeye

Elimination

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A autumn beer in july, hey whatever I'm just glad to have a new beer!

Look: A deep brownish copper, looks like a glass of whiskey, thin laced head very white with a shade of mocha

Smell: Brown sugar, molasses, roasted malt, a slight hops, a little bit of bourbon and a tad oh hops.

Taste: Roasted malt, sweet with a bit of bread like characteristics, toffee, carmel, and a hint of almond. Very well rounded, not to much learning toward porter, or the opposite a amber or pale...

Mouthfeel: Flows great, little carbonation, goes down great.

Drink: Cant wait to drink a pint of this when the leaves are turning brown, it will make it that much more better!

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 04:17:33 | More by Elimination

Zorro

California

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A clear brown colored beer with a nice sized tan colored head.

Smell is strong patent malt with quite a bit of roast in the scent. Caramel, chocolate and faint coffee completes the scent. There is a slight burnt toast scent too.

Starts out strongly of toasted bread. Lots of roasted goodness here but it is also astonishingly smooth. Mildly sweet this tastes a lot like a milk stout. Mostly I get chocolate and roasted malt in the flavor. Hops are not much of a flavor in this one.

Mouthfeel is good.

An interesting ale, its biggest attraction is how smooth easy to drink it is. Definitely a beer I will buy again.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 03:17:28 | More by Zorro

RootedFool

California

3.93/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a deep auburn with a gentle head, some fine lacing clings to the pint glass. Nose is sweet: peanut brittle, faint raisin hints, and I swear I smell -- or want to smell -- a very thin trace of, gosh, pumpkin pie. Taste opens up with a bit of a hop kick on the tip of my tongue, smoothed out by the mellow sweetness indicated in the nose. Closes on a very balanced twining of hop bitter and malt sweet. Mouthfeel is just about right, perhaps a bit thin for a fall seasonal. Overall highly drinkable and interesting enough, per usual for Sierra Nevada.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 01:28:50 | More by RootedFool

vkv822

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz. bottle into pint glass.

Pours a clear red and orange hued brown with little visible carbonation. The head is short-lived and tan in color with quite pleasant carbonation.
The aroma is a of basic slightly roasted malt notes, with a very light sweetness as swell. The aroma is very faint though and a bit hard to pick up.
The taste follows the aroma quite closely, with some nice roasted malt flavors. In the finish there are pleasant sweet malts and nut notes as well that become a bit more pronounced as the beer warms. Though they still stay fairly light.
The mouth feel is medium to light bodied, with a nice crisp finish, though the carbonation at first is a bit heavy, though it does seem to mellow out a little bit as you progress through the beer.

Overall this is a very easy drinking and enjoyable brown ale, though I was hoping for a little more robust malt and nut notes as well as perhaps a tad bit heavier body.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 00:32:51 | More by vkv822

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.58/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Fall Seasonal in July, awesome. Not sure why they ditched the anniversary IPA in favor of this, that was a great beer. This isn't bad if you like brown ales and it is easy to drink. The smell is kind of bland with a hint of maltiness to it. The flavor is a decent brown ale, malty but I'd rather have their porter any day of the week. Still, this was not bad I just don't feel it is good enough to replace the Anniversary IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2010 19:20:03 | More by ArrogantB

MrHassellYaHurd

Louisiana

3.63/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a brownish orange with great clarity and a slightly off-white head. Little visible carbonation.

The smell contains notes of semisweet chocolate and slightly bitter roasted barley.

The taste is slightly bitter on first sip, with a crisp and well defined taste of roasty goodness. A hint of an alcohol taste is present.

Medium-thin bodied with appropriate carbonation. Grainy texture. Good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2010 01:15:48 | More by MrHassellYaHurd

wagenvolks

Texas

3.3/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Surprised to already see an Autumn seasonal hitting the shelves in July (sigh...). 12oz bottle into a snifter.

Tumbler is more auburn than brown, but the clear body is attractive with garnet highlights. Good retention on the tuft of light khaki head which slowly settles to a thin sheet of foam. Nice lacing, too. I'm not quite sure how, but Sierra Nevada has captured Autumn in a glass. The aroma reminds me of a brisk walk in October through a pumpkin patch. AND IT'S JULY IN TEXAS! So, yeah...well done. Toasted butternut squash and brown sugar maltiness shine through more than anything else. Nice roasted quality to the freshly-kilned malts. Whiffs of yeasty funk and soil. [Edit: Hmm...the more I smell Tumbler, the more I detect that rotten-egg yeastiness of a fermenting beer. Points off...]

The flavor is an interesting blend of bitter, earthy hops and bittersweet roasted malts. Tumbler finishes with an English-toffee sweetness and a hint of medicine. I can't really say that it all gelled for me...something...disparate about the whole flavor profile. Mouthfeel is lively with carbonation and the medium body bodes well on the palate, finishing with a crisp smoothness that only Sierra Nevada can pull off. Bottom line: not bad, but not great. Although I wasn't a huge fan of SN's Anniversary IPA, I still think it was a better Fall release than Tumbler will be.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2010 03:46:54 | More by wagenvolks

philbertk

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company--Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale 2010 12 oz. Bottle. 5.50% ABV. 37 IBU's. (4.0+ / 5.0) Brown Ale--Fest. Lacy off white dense rich lasting head. Clear dark rich ruby brown color. Roast-Toast floral hop smoke hint front. Zesty roasted dark fruit biscuit toffee cocoa hint tangy earthy malty rich Brown fruit body. Tangy hop spice smoky dark cherry toffee end. Fest Brown. Sampled 7/26/2010. 6-Pack $7.99.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2010 06:25:26 | More by philbertk

NorCalAngler

California

2.85/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

A: Poured out of a 22oz bomber into an IKEA mug. It had a pillowy, soft foam head that lingered much longer than I expected. Color was deep brown, but my mug is fairly large so it probably appeared darker than a standard glass.

S: This is where the beer loses. The smell starts with a slightly acrid scent from the roasted malt and then turns a bit sour.. almost like they used lactose.

T: This is where Sierra Nevada is going to lose points due to each of their beers having a WOW factor. This is the most unremarkable beer I've ever had from SN. It is boring in almost every way with the exception of its eye opening aroma. It's a good brown ale, but I expect more than good from SN. I will admit I'm not a big roasted malt fan and this beer is just on the border of having too much of a roasted malt presence.

M: Mouthfeel was balanced, not too thin and not too thick. Again, just a good, average beer.

D: My guide for a daily drinker like this is whether I would get a six of these for a poker game. Nope, the combination of the odd smell and boring taste means I will grab their pale ale before I buy this.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2010 21:24:05 | More by NorCalAngler

Mebuzzard

Colorado

2.28/5  rDev -40.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Glassy brown, clear pour. Head is great, slightly off white, thick and rocky. Lacing is sticky. Yummy looking.

Oooh...uh. Smell is weird. And not good. Huh. At first it's a sourness, but not a yeasty sour-thing. More like a bad milk sour. What? Some spice is in there, but I can't quite pick it out. Somebody help me with this one. Moving on to flavor...

Light malt character with hints of brown sugar. The hops play nicely providing a quick and non-intrusive bite. Some soft maple in the back. Nice feel to it, not quite as sweet as I would suppose. Would go nicely with grilled (not BBQ) meats, methinks. Football season will be good.
yet the drinkability is tough because of the aroma. Each time I dip my nose in the glass...y'know to allow a sip...I get that sourness. I need help with this aroma.

EDIT: 8 bottles of this 12-er have been "bad" (i.e. the same as above). Drain pouring my money away.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2010 20:46:50 | More by Mebuzzard