Wasatch Bobsled Brown Ale - Utah Brewers Cooperative

Jason

Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz brown with a freshness date.

LOOK: Clear reddish brown, good lacing

SMELL: Caramel, dried grass, nutty, yeast, faint fruitiness, herbal, toasty

TASTE: Smooth, crisp, toasted husk, biscuity, mild caramel, wet, brown bread, dry finish

A solid brown, not a problem knocking a few of these back. Could be an "American Mild Ale" as well but few would get that. Worth a try for sure.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 02:52:08 | More by Jason

rmtaggart

North Dakota

4/5  rDev +27.4%

05-22-2013 16:56:53 | More by rmtaggart

Laklimell

Washington

3.25/5  rDev +3.5%

05-14-2013 06:01:12 | More by Laklimell

Brewman7284

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev +11.5%

01-07-2013 16:58:08 | More by Brewman7284

alva7172

Utah

3.75/5  rDev +19.4%

11-11-2012 18:54:53 | More by alva7172

DrunkenMonk

California

2.25/5  rDev -28.3%

10-07-2012 03:50:23 | More by DrunkenMonk

im4beer

Utah

3/5  rDev -4.5%

05-26-2012 19:28:29 | More by im4beer

chetripley

Illinois

2.85/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

I am giving this an average rating because of the few things going for it, but I unfortunately am not please with the most important thing, the taste.

Smuggled in a suitcase out of Utah by a friend I was immediately attracted to the bottle art, which is even better than the one on this review, plus the fact that a cooperative has managed to operate and hopefully modify the existing archaic laws in Utah, which are both plusses.

I like the color, a good brown ale color, and the smell is nice too, but that is about where it ends for me. The taste, on the other hand, had a scrapy and industrial texture, but it left the good flavor hiding in the background. I kept waiting for the alcohol to punch it out. Unfortunately since it is a 3.2 it can't do that.

I think maybe some beer styles are better left in their original form, and maybe that is why this brown ale doesn't work well enough. Maybe they should stick to Lagers and Ambers and stouts if they are going to be unable to push out the strength needed for a good brew.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2012 23:30:54 | More by chetripley

IMPERALEVERYTHIN

Utah

2.45/5  rDev -22%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Clear medium dark amber body, head dissipated quickly

Smell: some roasted Malt, slight earthy notes, foul yeasty bread

Taste: roasted malts, foul yeasty bread, slight bittering hops, watery finish

Mouthfeel: Light and carbonated

Drinkability: Drinkable, but a pass for me. This one had some extra time to let the foul tasting/smelling yeast to settle out.

Used burgundy style glass beer at 55F

Born on: 1/18/11

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2011 18:59:45 | More by IMPERALEVERYTHIN

illidurit

California

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

Pours a medium brown color with a fizzy tan head. Aroma is oversweet with cheap chocolate and a peanut butter note. Lightly roasty. Flavor is sweet too with chocolate and bready malts and a very nutty character. Finishes sticky with a roasted tinge and not much hoppiness. Thinnish, high carbonation, very average.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2011 08:45:47 | More by illidurit

Retsinis

California

2.75/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Picked this up as part of a mixed six pack at Total Wines. What struck me the most is this seems to meet the "official" "session" beer bench mark 4.00%...interesting, oh yeah the beer.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle.

Pours a light brown, medium head that rises then fades. No lacing.

The Aroma, I honestly get a slight twinge of cinnamon, some roasted malt, toffee, barely registering hops, but that's about it.

The taste had much the same, though no cinnamon flavor that I got off the smell. Light toffee, caramel, toast. Reminds me of Newcastle to be honest.

Light body, good carbonation.

My overall impression is a good Malt to Hops Balance, but so balanced perhaps that it was a wash. (or this bottle is just old)
With such a low abv, probably better fresh, and on draft I suspect. Nothing was offensive about the beer, but nothing left an impression either.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 00:39:12 | More by Retsinis

HalfFull

California

3.03/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear ruby with a half inch of bubbly off white foam. No visible carbonation in the glass and it took a bit of work to get much of a head on the pour. Retention is somewhat short but the beer does keep a light surface ring of foam and throw off light lacing.

Light roasted malts on the nose and a hint of hops. Bit of lightly sweet caramel is more evident after the head settles. Hop notes take some effort to unearth and dissipate quickly after a spin. Somewhat smoky after some exposure.

Roasted malts arrive on the tongue as well but don't offer much complexity. Wasn't really expecting much in that department given the light ABV yet there is little unfermented body either. Finishes with rather dry and has a lingering smoky aspect that I didn't find too endearing. The drying nature of this beer keeps me from seeking another.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2009 04:09:58 | More by HalfFull

GClarkage

California

3.5/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

05/12/09- On tap at the Wasatch Brew Pub in Park City, UT.

Presentation- 7oz sampler via the tap.

Appearance- Lightly watery brown colored pour with a 1/4 inch dirty white head and light lace remnents.

Smell- Good brown ale scent of lightly nutty and light roasted malt notes. Even a few hops in there as well.

Taste- Tastes like a traditional american brown as well. Nicely roasted with a very light chocolate dusting. Minor hops with a light smokey taste.

Mouthfeel- Medium carbonation level with a nice malt-hop bitter aftertaste.

Drinkability- Overall a perfectly fine brown ale. Nice job for a lower abv brew.

Serving type: on-tap

05-13-2009 00:14:15 | More by GClarkage

deanhead

Vermont

3.38/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Brilliantly clear beer, nice brown color, and head non-existent. Adequately carbonated and very light in body 4% abv. Almost watery.
Slight bready taste, with a biscuity aroma.
Easy drinking brown ale. I have yet to be impressed by any of their products. They seem to be on with style, but lack the depth that most beers need. The lack of alcohol content really kills these otherwise potentially tasty beers.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2009 17:32:54 | More by deanhead

colts9016

Idaho

2.58/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into an English pint glass at 45 degrees.

Appearance: A dark brown color like mahogany with a thin white head that is bubbly. There is carbonation in the beer. The Clarity of the beer is clear.

Nose: Okay that this is going to sound weird. There is a funky aroma coming off this beer. The best way I can describe it is burnt corn with caramel and mix some charcoal in. There is some floral and a hint of chocolate.

Taste: The taste is a dark caramel, burnt sugar, corn, and a low level hop.

Overall: This is a very strange brew. I don't know if its a brown ale or what. I am not trying to be mean, but I am confused. The mouth feel is dry and the finish is nil. Not good at all.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2009 02:30:55 | More by colts9016

Beernoisseur

Utah

3.1/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This beer is unique.

First of all, I was hit with a unique aroma on the pour (from a 12 ounce bottle into a stemless red wine tumbler) There were toasted malt notes, and hints of coffee, but there was something else in there that struck me as odd...tobacco. It smelled like the fairgrounds in August. Just, like, a subtle stroke of tobacco smoke. Interesting.

The appearance was great. Reddish brown that goes straight garnet red when held up to the light. Nice head, good carbonation.

When I tasted it, I thought I had smoked a cigarette. But then I was like....wait, I don't smoke.

There was a huge smoky character to this beer, which I found intriguing. There was also a tartness that was interesting, if somewhat discordant. Also, espresso. and toasted grains.

All in all, not one of my favorites, but I don't hate it. I'd drink it again, but I wouldn't seek it out. More than anything, I'm interested to see what other people think of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2009 05:27:34 | More by Beernoisseur

ybnorml

Rhode Island

3.4/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A clean dark amber/brown beer. Has a nice foamy beige head and some nice lace. The aroma has a light roasted malt character with sweet caramel notes in the background. The light roasted malt charcter carries over into the taste with a nutlike note coming forward over the sweet malt. There is a light piney hop note on the finish that creates a clean ending to a nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2008 23:08:18 | More by ybnorml

jwc215

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Wasatch for including it in a trade:

Pours brown with a thin, lasting, creamy off-white head that leaves some trailing lace.

Nutty, some caramel. Mild, but pleasant enough.

The taste is of caramel, a bit nutty, some balance to the sweetness. A mild brown ale. Something a bit odd about the aftertaste - can't quite put my finger on it.

Thin for a winter brew.

Not much to say about it other than a mild brown ale, but glad I had a chance to try it - Thanks John!

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2008 00:06:36 | More by jwc215

Bitterbill

Wyoming

3.05/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I got this bottle in a trade with Wasatch. Thanks John!

It pours from 12oz bottle a deep brown/amber with a good 1 finger head of offwhite foam...good head retention for the entire session.

The smell is of roasted malt and some caramel malt and some citrus(?) but it's on the light side.

The taste has a good roasted malt kick initially but then it takes a turn towards more of a burnt malt character and I'm not finding that too pleasant. In the background, there's a bit of a citrus thing going on that also isn't contributing positively to the flavour. The mouthfeel is light and it finishes slightly bitter but right near the end, watery.

This is not a particulary good example of the style but I'm glad I got a chance to try it.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2008 17:54:14 | More by Bitterbill

BigJTrucker

Oregon

3.6/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cola colored brown with a cola colored head that settles very quickly. A sweet malty molasses aroma. Taste is somewhat muted, less flavor than i would've liked to see, but they can't all be malt bombs, now can they? Very nice and drinkable, but otherwise just slightly above average. Definetly worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2007 07:36:59 | More by BigJTrucker

HochFliegen

Oregon

3.03/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a dark thick brown topped with a dirty white head that faded fast. The smell is of roasted malts and cocoa. Very sweet smelling. The flavor seems to be lacking. Nothing really stood out. It was sweet and had the taste of roasted malts but it was as much of an impact as I would expect. Almost watered down. Slight hop bite as well but again nothing that stands out. Overall an average beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2007 00:33:48 | More by HochFliegen

xymyl

Arizona

2.63/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

There isn't much to be said here, not too bad, not good. Reasonably well made, but not much beer. Typical Utah beer inversion.

Thin tan head on dark reddish brown beer that suggests much more than the reality.

The aroma suggests a diluted oatmeal stout more than a brown ale, you shouldn't be able to smell the alcohol in a beer this wanting in fermentables, but you can. They could have easily lifted it up quite a bit with unfermentable sugars, but they apparently opted to put more black malt in it instead just to get a darker appearance.

The taste reveals for the first time how little is actually going on here. A distant caramel taste, black malt mixing with hops, everything seems watered down after the fact. If only they could make it smell and look as thin as it tastes....

It must be re-stated, that you just can't find much decent beer in Utah, so you might end up drinking this, and gladly, after some of the other atrocities you may be subjected to there.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2007 19:04:25 | More by xymyl

flexabull

California

3.23/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear brown/dark amber color with a rather weak head.

Beer smells like cola, and sweet carmel malts.

Flavors are biscuit like, grain, and some carbonation up front. There is a touch of sweetness and dryness on the finish.

Mouthfeel is too light for a brown. It's not bad though, considering the low ABV.

Once again Squatters/Wasatch has gone a good job at making a drinkable beer that manages to squeeze under the 4.0 ABV. Not bad, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2007 05:26:19 | More by flexabull

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.08/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Darkest bronze infused with crimson and edged with bright orange. The sandstone colored cap is semi-creamy and is melting in an appealing fashion, leaving a better than average lace display as it does so. A solid brown ale look.

Likewise the nose. I smell moderately roasted malt that contributes much more cocoa than it does anything else. There's also a mild earthiness that adds another dimension. In the end though, the nose is on the simple and straightforward side; not that there's anything wrong with that when it comes to beer of this style.

On second thought... Bobsled Brown is too simple, too straightforward, too flavor deficient and too light to be considered anything other than average at best. I still maintain that an ABV of 4% is largely responsible since the amount of malt is necessarily limited. Yes, I'm aware that there are any number of low-ABV beers that prove my theory incorrect.

Each mouthful brings a minor blip of dark malt that is ever so slightly sweet and a minor blip of Willamette hops (a cousin of Fuggles) that is ever so slightly bitter. It isn't all that hard to be balanced when each side of the scales barely moves. There is, perhaps, a little more flavor than I'm giving it credit for, but it isn't exactly rompin' and stompin' all over my taste buds.

I often mark brown ales down for being too light. I try not to be too unkind since I recognize my bias for bigger bodied beer. This one, however, is a little too aqueous to earn a respectable score. I've had thinner, but not too damn many. A relative lack of bubbles doesn't help either.

A winter release called Bobsled should be bigger than this. It should be a beer that one can enjoy in front of a roaring fire, apres-ski. In order for that to happen though, Utah will have to change its antiquated alcohol laws. In the meantime, search elsewhere for a good, drinkable American brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2006 14:58:46 | More by BuckeyeNation

Wasatch

Utah

3.13/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Got this in a 12 pack. Pours a clear dark amber color, some carbonation, nice lacing afterwards. Scents of caramel, and sweet malts. The taste is kinda sweet and roasted nut, has a bitter finish to it. Medium body. Very drinkable for the ABV. I guess I do not like Brown Ale's that much, maybe another brewery might be different.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2006 21:33:03 | More by Wasatch