Carolina Nut Brown Ale - Carolina Brewing Company

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.95/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a light hazy, brown body with a small, wispy white head.

Smell: Semi-sweet chocolate and roasted nuts with a handful of spruce twigs and spice.

Taste: Chocolatey, with a taste of burnt nuts, a dash of mocha, and a muted sweetness - like a Nutella-based beer. Hops tasting of spruce with a medium bitterness. Spicy, drying finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation that pricks the tongue at times and enhances that spicy finish.

Drinkability: Loads of character for a humble brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2008 22:54:29 | More by ChainGangGuy

brentk56

North Carolina

3.35/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Clear medium brown body with a small head but decent lacing

Smell: Caramel malt with a bit of nuttiness; rather understated

Taste: Malt backbone, with a very English (not too sweet) malt flavor, topped by the anticipated nuts; finishes dry with an ever so little taste of hops

Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with a decent amount of carbonation

Drinkability: A good straightforward nut brown with a moderate amount of flavor

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2005 03:54:45 | More by brentk56

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle obtained via trade with Loki. Thanks for the opportunity...

Poured in an imperial pint glass, forms a 1/2" tan head, which laces well. A reddish brown hued brew, with a distinctive nutty, malty nose. Almost so nice an aroma it seems artificial, but we'll hope fo the best. Taste is nutty malts, with a slight bite of hops at the end, but that's certainly not the focus. Mouthfeel seems a bit thin, but it goes does well, and taste is good, both drinkability boons. A nice nut brown representative.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2004 00:34:00 | More by ppoitras

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a deep clear coppery amber, with a 1/2 finger of light tan colored head. Thin creamy retention yields a cascade of patchy foam which quickly slides down the sides of the glass. The aroma is full of hazlenut character and lighter notes of roast and malty sweetness. Some earthy and citric hops round of the back of the nose.

The taste is similar, with nuttiness and roast up front, while sweeter caramel tones round out the back. There a touch of an acrid edge to the roastier notes here but it's not too troubling. A tingle of earthy hops and some green citrus run through the profile, finishing this dry with some lingering grit. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a softer carbonation in the mouth and generally easy feel. Seems right on target with its ABV.

Completely adequate Brown Ale here, that packed just enough flavor into itself. The easy body on this actually gives this a bit of a sessionable air to it. You could do far worse than a couple of these.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2010 12:40:48 | More by Kegatron

Cyberkedi

Georgia

3.88/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Strong, malty aroma has a firm overtone of molasses and hints of brown sugar, caramel and chocolate. It pours a lovely clear cola brown with a typical pale tan head that leaves minimal lacing. Flavor is crisp and malty with a molasses undertone and hints of chocolate and burnt wood. Smooth texture has average body and fizziness, but is still pleasing.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 03:22:19 | More by Cyberkedi

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.83/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle pours a clear amber color with minimal tan foaming. Average retention and some spotty lacing.

Nose is a little bit of toasty malt, bready yeast and light nuttiness. Smells more like an amber ale to me and shows a touch of piney hops.

Taste is a nice mix of chocolate and toasty malt, maybe even a little coffee. Tastes much more like a brown ale than it showed in the nose. Not a huge amount of nuttiness, but enough to compliment the other malt flavors. Decently clean finish, with a lightly hopped bitterness. Body is a little thin and carbonation low...but overall this is a pleasant, easy drinking session beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2010 17:58:01 | More by twiggamortis420

smakawhat

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from the bottle into a small nonic pint glass at The Pit in Raleigh.

Creamy two finger light brown head is given off the pour, sitting on a simple chestnut brown body. Straight forward pretty simple and good looking.

Nose is kind of spritzy clean and weak for a brown ale. Weak sense of nut and malt. No roast character, also a strange smell of banana.

Taste though is big improvement. A just right enough thick body with a very distinct taste of milk chocolate. There's that banana again also in the palate, but big roast dryness coming through on the finish. That spritzy feeling comes through also kind of wet and clean on the finish.

Overall this was really quite surprising, it's very different from what seems to be coming on the nose. If it didn't have that banana character to it I would have scored it higher.

Serving type: bottle

07-02-2011 13:20:50 | More by smakawhat

blackie

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

appearance: A rough pour into my imperial pint glass creates a .5" off white head that slowly recedes into the glass, eventually leaving a layer of bubbles on the surface. Sparse lacing is left behind as the glass is drained. The beer is a very clear, medium mahogany color.

smell: First notice a dry, nutty aroma. Earthy, woody flavors of nutshells and leaves. Hops are subdued and remain in the background, as they should. The nutty character is pretty dominant here.

mouthfeel: Carbonation is slightly less than medium, and the body on the heavier side of light.

taste: Not much sweetness at all, and a pervasive nutty flavor. A light hop bitterness provides some balance. The finish is dry with nutty flavor lingering. Not bad, but nothing special.

drinkability: Very easy drinking, and tasty too.

Picked up a six pack from the brewery on the way to my hunting grounds at the nearby Shearon Harris lake. Printed on the label is a bottled on date of 11/30/05 and a best by date of 02/30/05. Just a little over a week in the bottle...gotta love fresh beer straight from the source.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2005 21:36:08 | More by blackie

tdm168

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark, brownish amber with little head. The smell is caramel malt with some faint nutty notes. The taste is nutty and with faint bread and caramel. There's just enough hops for balance. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, but at times thin with decent carbonation.

Overall, not a bad beer. The balance is there, it just comes across a little thin.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2011 23:07:39 | More by tdm168

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

3.63/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer poured into the glass clear amber brown with a yellowish head which rose medium, but lasted to lace the glass.

The aroma was nutty and malty with chocolate and caramel malt. The chocolate contained just a light hint of roastiness. The aroma was also lightly fruity.

The flavor was crisp with a light chocolate and caramel and a bit of roastiness. The flavor was not sweet, dry in fact and while a bit of nuttiness was present the flavor was not what was represented by the aroma.

The finish was dry with a lasting bit of roast into the aftertaste. The body was medium light and a bit on the watery side. An OK nut brown, but a bit on the light side in flavor and body as compared to the aroma.

12 ounce bottle. Best by 12/28.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2005 23:04:54 | More by GCBrewingCo

DavoleBomb

Ohio

2.8/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a pint glass.

3.5 A: Very dark brown or perhaps a deep purple. Good head retention with lacing here and there. I really like the color, but overall not too impressive.

4.0 S: Really nutty with powerful caramel. Hints of wood. Cool spring water.

2.5 T: After the appearance and smell, the taste was disappointing. There just isn't a whole lot going on. Flavors are mainly nut and nothing too much else.

2.0 M: Empty carbonation (bubbles with no bite or flavor).

2.5 D: You can chug these all night and not miss out on anything (so long as you smell it's wonderful scent first).

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2008 00:47:59 | More by DavoleBomb

atsprings

North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +19.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a crisp brown with a thin head that diminishes to a ring. The aroma is a nice blend of caramel and chocolate malts. The beer has a good chocolate flavor to it with a nut flavor lingering directly in the background. There is also a very respectable citrus hop backbone doing its job quietly. The beer is crisp and very light. This was a surprisingly enjoyable brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2007 04:39:57 | More by atsprings

Boto

Connecticut

3.55/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a good brown color with a big,thick head with good retention. The aroma is nutty with hints of chocolate. Good,rich malty flavor with hints of nuttiness, but without an overall sweetness to it. Some hops in the background. A very good beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2003 17:00:06 | More by Boto

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.45/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass

A: Clear brownish mahogany color with a quickly dissipating thin off white head that leaves some webbed lacing in the glass.
S: Nutty, malty, slightly sweet aroma. Nuttiness is stronger than anything else but some molasses and earthy flavors are there.
T: Not as nutty as expected from smell. Some light bitterness in finish and is slightly dry. Not remarkable, not bad.
M: Light carbonation and light body, though not quite watery.
D: Not a bad beer, could drink a few of these easily but not much to distinguish it from other brown ales. I think I enjoyed Big Boss's Bad Penny to this.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2008 21:05:50 | More by yourefragile

wedge

North Carolina

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

Pours a clear reddened amber with a small, soapy head. Nutty, earthy, leafy aromas...sweetish with a hint of coffee grounds. Smells familiar - all the CBC brews seem to carry similar traits when it comes to the nose. Dry malty sweet flavor with some nutty coffee. Medium-light body. A little thin overall, but certainly drinkable and session worthy.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2007 03:34:49 | More by wedge

daliandragon

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a headless dull brown into my pint glass, not exactly awe inspiring stuuff. Nose is caramel tinged malt with coffee tones, which smelled nasty out of the bottle but has improved as it's warmed.

Flavor is malt with the same coffee tones and a creamy, almost eggy note. Carbonation is overdone, especially for an Engliish style ale, and hurts the flavor.
The nuttiness isn't as pronounced as I expected and the beer suffers for it. I'm not a huge English brown fan, but this seems too sweet for the style and definitely not for me.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2006 02:13:59 | More by daliandragon

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

3.48/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Enjoyed fresh and on-tap at the brewpub during the free tour.

Pours a clear brown in color with nary much of any head. Essentially flat in appearance. Nose is malty with just a slight hint of sugared almonds.

Flavor is quite nice and smooth for the style. Rich in malts. Just a slight hint of smokiness. Both canided almods and pecans rise up throughout the flavor but came out more pronounced in the after taste. Medium body. Nice session choice if you are looking for a rich flavored beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2006 22:11:08 | More by MuddyFeet

KajII

North Carolina

3.33/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

[Best served in a Dimpled Mug]

Poured a clear medium brown with an average sized off white creamy head that was mostly lasting and had excellent lacing. The aroma was of a nutty bread malt and a sweet doughy yeast with notes of coffee, brown sugar and milk chocolate. It tasted rather mild yet slightly bitter with a hint of coffee in the beginning and finished quite malty with a note of chocolate and had a nutty flavor at the end with the flavor lasting only a short while. Mouthfeel was light to medium in body and creamy in texture with a medium carbonation. Overall a nice nut brown, very smooth and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2011 21:21:09 | More by KajII

VncentLIFE

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours light translucent brown color. Off white head with decent lacing.

Smells very dry. Like pistachios. Slight notes of caramel sweetness.

Taste is very nutty, dry. No real subtlety here. Up front dryness. Fills the mouth with flavors. Medium body, and clean finish.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2012 21:40:28 | More by VncentLIFE

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle.

Appearance: Thin off white head of fine bubbles doesnt last long. The beer itself is a clear light brown- ruby.

Smell: Toasty and sweet caramel malt. There's a definite nuttiness to the smell.

Taste: Again toasty malt and hazelnut is now more prominent. Almost nothing in the way of detectable hops or bitterness. Finishes a little dry with lingering toast and nuts.

Mouthfeel: Not too thin or full. Pretty much right. Appropriate carbonation.

Drinkability: I've had many beers from this brewery, but never this one until right now. Its pretty good, but nothing great. I could drink a few.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2010 00:34:43 | More by rapidsequence

tastybeer

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Garnet-brown color under the light with a small slightly creamy head. Not much as far as retention and lacing but a decent color. Nose of sweet, possibly bready malts, some lightly roasted + toasted notes with various nuts. Tastes alike with toasty nuttiness, and a little bit of smokiness moving steady through the finish. Not bad and certainly sessionable.

Decent and easily drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2007 03:48:16 | More by tastybeer

loren01

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -10%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a light an amber color with 1 finger white head with minimal lacing and no carbonation in the glass.
S: Smell is very sweet and malty, slight nutty aroma also.
T: Slightly sweet with a slightly nutty taste.
M: Very easy drinking a little more light than most brown ales I've had in the past.
D: Pretty good brown ale, good amount of flavor, could drink quite a few of these. But I'd rather @#$% my girlfriend.
P.S. She told me to say that.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2006 04:49:45 | More by loren01

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

3.28/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

thanks skeeordye

A- a nice foamy head that is lightly browned like a creme brulee. a beautiful amber color. quite clear and nicely done.

S- a nutty and biscuity maltness. quite complementary of each other.

T- very malty and quite astringent as well. A roasted burnt caramel finish. Taste was too much malt and not enough nuttiness as i would like in the nut brown ale.

M- a very sour lining on the mouth with the malts. No hops presence in the feel or the throat. not very smooth but alright.

D- really struggled towards the end with the extra added malt. if you like malty beers this one is for you. not bad but not good. a decent brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2009 00:21:06 | More by Dodo2step

Morey

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

APPEARANCE: Pours brown in color, but it's really more of a reddish-brown when held to the light. It also has really good clarity for a Brown. The head is cream colored, and stood about a finger tall initially, but settled pretty fast. There's some decent lacing on the glass.

AROMA: Chocolate, Coffee, Toasted Nuts, Tree Bark, and some Earthy aromas.

TASTE: This is where this beer really shines in my opinion. It's got really nice flavor for a thin low ABV Brown Ale. There's a nice nutty flavor right up front, but it doesn't take long before some really impressive chocolate/cocoa flavors start to sweep over the palate. There's a bit of malty sweetness near the back-end as well. The finish is pretty clean with a touch of coffee.

MOUTHFEEL: At first, the body seems to be a bit on the thin side for the style, but then all of the sudden there's a powdery chocolate flavor that coats the mouth. Pretty low carbonation.

MOREY'S BOTTOM LINE: This beer was given to me as a gift from a friend who went down to NC. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I would definitely sip on this beer in the fall if I lived near the brewery. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2012 23:19:34 | More by Morey

sabrills70

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown bottle with a bottled on date of 9/12/07 and a drink by date of 12/12 - oh well. Pours a medium brown with a three finger head, good longevity and good lace. Rich malt with chocolate aromas but not as much roasted malt as I had expected. Rich malts up front with a nice smooth chocolate flavor and modest roastedness. Some bitterness in the aftertaste. Could be a bit more robust but its still a nice beer and easy drinking as brown ales go.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2008 20:49:38 | More by sabrills70