Smuttynose Short Batch #18 - Durty - Smuttynose Brewing Company

cavedave

New York

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep cordovan, a bit of light passes through the mirk, with a long lasting tan head that crowns this baby the king.

Citrus hops, neutral and caramel sweet, nice bit of pine resin behind it, some fruity notes too, like melons. Intoxicating bouquet.

Wonderful taste, a marvel ot pine and citrus hops competing in it, nice orange peel and grapefruit, Somehow it stays sweet in there as pine controls the end of sip, and leaves you dry as Sahara in summer. This is a red/brown ale you say.?

Mouthfeel is perfect to showcase these strong flavors. Low carb. despite its look, nicely viscous and clinging, yet also refreshing, interesting finish that never grows rooty/herbal.

One of Smutty's homeruns if you ask me. Delicious treat for the hop craver looking for a winner in a different style than fill the shelves. Highly recommended.

Serving type: growler

01-20-2013 22:45:29 | More by cavedave

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.18/5  rDev -25.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Draft at The Pour House in Westmont, NJ.

Pours a very cloudy and very dark brown color that's almost black with a 2.5 finger frothy beige head.  Great retention, only slowly fading into a lasting cap.  Chunks of soapy lacing left behind.

Surprisingly hop forward aoma with grassy resins and hop oils.  Floral with pine needle, grass and spruce tips.  This aggressive hop presence overpowers the brown ale notes a bit too much but there is some caramel malt sweetness along with hints of chocolate and subtle roast underneath.

On the lighter end of medium bodied and tastes very similar to the aroma.  Very hop forward with resinous hop bitterness dominating the flavor.  Dry and floral with grassy hop and sticky pine needle flavor lingering over a slightly roasted malt backbone into a dry finish.  Hop profile is kind of one dimensional and the malts are impossible to pick up until it warms up considerably.  After a while there is subtle toffee, caramel and chocolate malt sweetness along with burnt toast and coffee bean.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2013 02:41:46 | More by corby112

57md

Pennsylvania

3.89/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance is a muddy chocolate brown with touches of ruby and orange on the edges. There is a finger of head which lingers for a bit and leaves some lace on the glass. The nose is dominated by hops. The hoppy flavor is upfront and dominates the finish. This is more of an IPA than an IBA because one can find little hint of the qualities of a good brown in this offering.

This beer is certainly tasty, but I expected more from the brewery that produces one of my favorite browns Old Brown Dog.

Serving type: on-tap

02-27-2013 07:18:05 | More by 57md

kevanb

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a Smuttynose Big Beer Series Snifter. Bottle #64/828.

The beer pours a nice deep brown color, almost black and quite opaque with a big, four finger, cloudy, bone colored head that has great retention and leaves behind a great network of webbed lacing. The aroma very earthy, bitter, piney, dirty hops and mild coffee roast, a touch of bright citrus from the hops lingers behind, very simple aroma, but very pleasant. The flavors are quite nice, lots of earthy hop flavors hit the tongue straight away, lots of pine and grassy flavors, some nice grapefruit finds its way out as well. A nice presence smooth rich grain comes forward behind the hops, a touch sweet helps tame the bitterness with some lightly roasted coffee. The hops really dominate the beer, and are nicely executed, drinks exactly like a nice brown/black IPA should taste. Durty is full bodied, coats the mouth well with medium carbonation and a nice dry finish.

Verdict: A very enjoyable hoppy brown ale from Smuttynose. The alcohol is very well hidden at 8.5%, the hops are well integrated with the richer, grainy malt flavors of the brown ale, definitely worth seeking out for any hop head.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 03:04:30 | More by kevanb

andrewinski1

Maine

4/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Thanks to Bendurgin for sharing! The Color is dark brown. There is a nice one inch fluffy light tam head. Lots of sticky lacing.

The aroma has some piney hops mixed with subtle chocolate and some chicory.

The taste has some nice cocoa notes that lead to a hoppy finish. There is a decent amount of sweetness to go with the nice spicy hop finish.

This is full bodied with sharp carbonation. This is unique and tasty. Great beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 20:31:06 | More by andrewinski1

Bendurgin

Maine

4.29/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a chalice. This one pours a dark cola brown with about an inch of light khaki head. Nice retention with some gobs of sticky lace.

The aroma has hintsof nuts and cocoa with some grassy hops in the background. The pallet has a nice nutty flavor with some grassy and citrus hops rounding it out. Hints of cocoa on the finish.

The body is medium with good carbonation. Leaves a bit of a filmy taste on the finish. Overall this one is great. Really hope this gets brewed again in some form or incarnation.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 20:29:21 | More by Bendurgin

spark3148857

New York

4.5/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Pours the lightest brown, or ruby in the right light. Creamy one finger off white head. Aroma is of pungent hops with a caramel sweetness as a backbone. Taste is an intense hoppy bomb, but not overly bitter and very well balanced. Plenty of piney, floral, and citrusy hops contending to be noticed here. Everything comes together to create an exceptional ipa. The brown ale elements of the beer provide a great malt backbone to balance the hops without becoming overly sweet. Creamy, creamy mouthfeel. Reminded me a ton of Surly Furious...which is a good thing!

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2013 13:55:42 | More by spark3148857

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

4.63/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A-Pours a turbid, durty brown. Head is quite full and light brown. Head retains quite well. It leaves plenty of lacing.

S-Awesome aromatics. An appetizing mix of tropically fruited hops and deep brown malts. Floral hoppiness too. Very good mixture of the aromas. They really go well together.

T-Just as awesome. At its base it is a malty Brown Ale. However the plentiful hop flavors make this an awesome hybrid. Chocolatey and malty along with a giant dosage of beautiful hops. The flavors mesh incredibly well. So pleased with the expression of the hops here.

M-Mediumm bodied and creamy. Soft carbonation. Bitter. Very drinkable.

O/D-Delicious. I hope they brew this again. Probably my favorite Smutty brew. Unique and incredibly tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2013 18:10:56 | More by VelvetExtract

SawDog505

New Hampshire

4.8/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass. Pours a dark mahogany, with a two inch dark tan head that leaves loads of webby lacing. Smell is citrus hops, pine, carmel, and a little bread. Taste just burst with big citrus hops, with everything else in a supporting role, with a hint of roasted chocolate malts in the finish. Body is medium large, with lots of life,not dry, and easy drinking. This is excellent, reminds me of a big, brown version of Zoe Ale. Please make this again, because it is a treat.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 21:47:06 | More by SawDog505

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark brown with a chunky tan head. Hearty soap scum retention sticks all over from my head to my feet. Bottle 545 of 828 for what it's worth.

Not what I was expecting. The label says a "hoppy brown ale" but I was anticipating a solid brown ale with an extra umph of hops. This smells like a fresh basket of citrus fruit. Chocolate biscotti breadiness underneath.

Tastes like it smells although the chocolate bread malt character puts up a slightly better showing. Hoppier than both Finest Kind IPA and Big A DIPA this is more like a dark DIPA than any brown ale and probably the hoppiest Smutty I've had. And I've had my share of Smutty.

The brown ale lover in me wishes that the malt wasn't so thoroughly trounced by hops. The hophead in me says there's no such thing as too much hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2012 20:49:16 | More by donkeyrunner

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

4.2/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a solid dark brown with faint ruby highlights when held to light and a huge fluffy tan head that persists forever before sticking lace to the sides of the glass. I could smell the pine and earthy hops as soon as I popped the cap of the bottle. Pine, earth, resin, and a hint of garlic and citrus make up the bulk of the nose on this one. There's supposed to be some malt here, but my nose can't find it. The flavor holds a bit of toffee and caramel up front but there's enough pine and resin to make that a bit hard to find. This finish actually has a long lingering caramel or toffee, and a chocolate and ash flavor to it. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a resinous almost sweet mouthfeel to it. This is a great brew, I'm glad I was lucky enough to find a bottle of this. Now to find some on tap!

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 02:32:29 | More by johnnnniee

Maxwell

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours a surprisingly clean mahogany brown, with a nice finger width head that lasts awhile, and gives a sand-dune white color. Lacing is long and medium in size, sticking nicely to the sides of my glass. The beer sits in the glass rather dark, almost black, with nice carbonation moving through it. On the nose, this beer smells like heaven. Big fat juicy hops, mango, passion fruit, ruby red grapefruit, and a light caramel sitting below everything, and hinting at the malts in this beer. This is a superb smell for anything with hops, though as it warms the alcohol becomes more present and spicy in the smell. On the taste there is some big grapefruit and alcohol with light caramel and nuts dancing on the sides of the flavor. The beer opens with bitter grapefruit which builds into spicy alcohol and grapefruit. As it moves towards the finish, light roast, caramel, and very light nuttiness come through in the taste. The aftertaste is bitter and pithy grapefruit with a light caramel tingle. On the mouth, this beer feels light and fluffy, and slightly chewy, sitting at the upper end of a light body and lower end of medium, and leaving the mouth with a light sticky layer of bitters and caramel. Overall, this beer is tasty. I would love to knock back a six –pack of this on a late summer night or fall night. The smell is definitely the most heavenly part of this beer, hinting far more at a double IPA, and actually reminding me of Wookey Jack by Firestone Walker. This is a great beer that really shouldn’t be around for long (due to its small batch), but if you see it snatch it up. Also, if Smuttynose is reading this review, please throw this in 6-packs and put it alongside Finest Kind at the grocery store so I can by sixers of it regularly. Yes I realize its 8+% but, its tasty, and if you have to then lower the percentage, and still put it in a six-pack, thanks. Drink this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 18:27:11 | More by Maxwell