Mountain Ale - The Shed Brewery

Chas58

New Jersey

2.68/5  rDev -27.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a Firestone Walker Nonic Pint Glass

Appearance: This beer pours a brownish red, with a thinness that is initially unappealing. It tends to settle into a more full looking brown. The head is active with a full two fingers of a loose brownish appearance. It tends to dissipate fairly quickly with a lacing on the glass and a persistent small head remaining through half of the glass.

Smell: The only description i can find, because very little jumps out at me is a normal malty brown ale. The smell is very non-descript, little hop nose, and only a slight hint of maltiness.

Taste: The taste is unremarkable, with a limited amount of maltiness and a slight hop bite. The overall taste is good, but nothing that sticks with you. Very limited hint of alcohol, and for a 7%, very drinkable.

Mouthfeel: A slight malty stickiness remains after the moderate carbonation that bites at the tongue.

Overall: There is absolutely nothing wrong with this brown ale, and if it was available, I would drink it, but it is not memorable and does not warrant going out of the way to find. Otter Creek taking over The Shed brewery, may have made this more mainstream, but it is just OK.

Serving type: growler

11-30-2012 23:23:15 | More by Chas58

greenengineer

Massachusetts

2.7/5  rDev -27%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

12 oz bottle into my authentic UK pint glass.

A- medium brown, clear. Decent yeasty head disappears quickly.
S- faint malty aroma, old milk?
T- malt, cola, sweetness, little bitterness at the end
M - a little thin
O- drinkable, but not my favorite. A little flat, a little watery. Reminds me of a can of cola left open overnight.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2012 02:22:27 | More by greenengineer

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.1/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance - Murky brown with no head to speak of. A few bubbles stray to the surface after a vigorous pour. Some lacing manages to stick around.

Smell - Cola with a nutty brown ale aroma. Nothing as deep as chocolate, but getting close.

Taste - Similar to the smell, without being as inviting. More pronounced cola flavor, with a little bit of astringency. Flavor drops off leaving just a little bit of caramel malt and not a lot else.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation and nothing by way of a finish. Clean, though, and very drinkable. Stunned to see 7.4%.

Overall - Middle of the road in nearly every category. The nose held a faint promise, but nothing really delivered here.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 00:01:52 | More by Alieniloquium

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

3.3/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a deep brown with reddish highlights when held to light and a huge fluffy off white head that persists forever. Smells of caramel and light chocolate with a hint of earthy hops. Not much of a nose on this one. The flavor follows the aroma quite well. Caramel, brown sugar, and a hint of chocolate with a touch of earth and mineral water. Medium to thin body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet slick and bubbly mouthfeel. Strong ale is a real stretch for this brew, but at 7.4% I never noticed the abv. This drinks more like a brown ale but even at that its really bland. Nice to try, but I doubt I'd pick it up again.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 23:48:29 | More by johnnnniee

brewtus

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours dark amber. Had it on tap at JAX right off Killington mountial. Tastes great, a boarder line American Pale ale but had a hint of dark Belgian after taste. I had never never heard of this brewery before coming to VT but this was a great ale and I'd love to try some of their happier offerings

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2013 01:55:38 | More by brewtus

SawDog505

New Hampshire

3.43/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a 13 oz tulip, bottled in early October. Pours a a dark brown, with a half inch of light tan head, that leaves some lace. Smell is biscuit, brown sugar, some carmel, and dark fruit. Taste is more aggressive with burnt brown sugar and roasted almonds leading the way. Body is medium large, plenty of carbonation, not dry, and drinkability is easy. This is a nice brew, not earth shattering. Nice price.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2012 04:06:34 | More by SawDog505

BeerLover99

New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: dark brown, copper shimmer, finger khaki head, ok lacing

S: very mild malt, toffee, nutty

T: nutty, caramel, toffee, biscuit malt, mild roasted finish

M: med body, mild bubbly mouth

O: Nice beer, would buy again. Great to see this new brewery
make a name for it's self.

PRETTY GOOD, GIVE IT A TRY!

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 21:34:07 | More by BeerLover99

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On-tap 12/19/2012 at The Gridiron Bar & Grill in Warwick, RI served in a becker pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep brown color, with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains caramelized malts, fruit, honey and some hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of caramel, honey and fruit. The malt character is a bit thin. The hops presence is mild but brings some balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and a little crisp but a bit watery, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, good kick, decent representation of style, it’s a decent beer but there are other similar beers that I would choose first.

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2012 02:51:15 | More by TheManiacalOne

Lawl3ss

Texas

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Lightly chilled 12 oz bottle into a 33cl snifter. No visible bottling date, but it's been in my fridge for at least six months.

Look- Clear amber-brown with three fingers of off-white head that falls quickly. Bottle declares it's unfiltered, and the sediment in the bottle backs this up. Nice webbed lacing.

Smell- Mild, nutty, dark bread. Nondescript but pleasant.

Taste- Similar to the nose - pretty standard, even plain, but well done. Toasted biscuit and moderate yeasty breadiness, light fruitiness as it warms, subtle spice.

Mouthfeel- Medium body, light carbonation. Light warming on the back, but fairly light feel for 7.5%.

Overall- A pretty nice brown ale, nice flavor. Nothing too flashy but a decent easy-drinking robust brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 00:01:56 | More by Lawl3ss

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a very dark brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is nutty, some hops. Taste is well balanced hops and malts, some nuts are present, very easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a solid beer but unspectacular.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 03:04:50 | More by tone77

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.56/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy, dark amber. Modest bar-pour head but it lasts. Lots sticky, spotty lace.

Earthy and dark. Far more malty than hoppy. A bit of chocolate and alcohol to the smell.

Starts with darker malt but, in the swallow is a good dose hop. In short,well balanced. Thin bodied with a level of carbonation above normal. Earthy overall with a low sweetness.

Serving type: on-tap

02-04-2013 00:47:04 | More by smcolw

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

One of the beers I obtained on an Easter Sunday beer swap.

Dark hazelnut to auburn in color with a thin beige head. Horseshoe shaped retention.

Smells like pumpernickel. Brownie batter peaks out a little as it warms.

Bread crust and orange rind with a swamp hop tea finish. Burnt brownie edges emerge after it's been sitting in my glass awhile. A 7.4% it's a big brown and it's got a big brown body. Full and creamy and just plain thicker than most browns.

Toasty and tea-like like a Northern English brown but big and full like an American brown. Neat genre straddler but not something I'd buy again. Or buy in the first place technically.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 20:59:02 | More by donkeyrunner

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Otter Creek. Pours opaque dark brown with a good sized cream colored head. Solid retention and excellent lacing; very nice overall appearance. Aroma is quite malty and sweet, somewhat toasty, with light fruitiness, brown sugar, and very faint herbal hops.

Flavor is again on the sweet side, with caramel and brown sugar, toasted, slightly nutty malt, distant fruity and herbal hops that really only emerge as a light bitterness in the aftertaste. Quite dry despite the initial sweet flavor. Hint of booze in the finish as well.

Medium body and carbonation; feels smooth and has a little heft to it. Average drinkability. Tasty but not super exciting; a little one dimensional, perhaps.

Serving type: on-tap

07-11-2012 04:08:28 | More by tobelerone

Etan

Illinois

3.66/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

12oz into an MBC tumbler.

A: Pours a honey-hued amber with a thick off-white head.

S: Yeasty, dried fruit esters, apricot, brown sugar, multigrain bread, slightly buttery.

T: Caramelized grain, fruity British yeastiness, very light roastiness, toffee, a hint of alcohol, plum.

M: Medium-bodied with active carbonation.

O: This is ok. A very yeasty English brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 01:28:01 | More by Etan

metter98

New York

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear but very dark reddish brown in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation when it is held up to a bright light (but appears black when viewed from afar). It poured with a finger and a half high dense beige head that gradually died down, leaving a thin layer of bubbles on the surface, a collar around the edge, and lots of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of dark and nutty malts are present in the nose along with notes of dark fruits.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has a light amount of bitterness and bits of initial malty sweetness. Plums seem to stand out in particular among the flavors of dark fruits.
M: It feels medium-bodied, a little smooth and a bit creamy on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This wouldn’t be a bad beer to sip on a cold day. It definitely lives up to being described as "a rugged brown ale" on the label.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 02:44:47 | More by metter98

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.69/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Served from my local bar as part of a beer incentive program with a pilsner style glass.

This beer was a very cloudy brown with a decent amount of foam. Off the top I pick up a decent amount of malt from this beer. The hopping was kind of light.

This is more like an English Brown, than an English Strong. The flavor was more muted than you would expect. The flavor on this one is deceptive compared to the ABV.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 21:33:16 | More by ummswimmin

Jwale73

Rhode Island

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle served in a standard pint. Pours a deep chestnut hue with ruby highlights when backlit. Head is three inches, dense, off-white and creamy. Head eventually dissipates into a frothy, quarter inch cap; textured clusters of lacing adhere to the sides of the glass during the tasting. Nose is somewhat subdued expressing light, toasted malts, a hint of fruit (dates/figs?) and caramel notes. Taste consistent with nose - no aspect really stands out per se but it all coalesces together nicely. There may even be a trace of coffee present in the flavor profile behind the fruit. Mouthfeel is medium-light in body with a pleasant, even carbonation. Overall, this comes off as a slightly more flavorful brown ale. I think this beer would be quite pleasant on-cask, but I'm afraid it would be dangerously drinkable - the 7.40% abv is very well-hidden.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 01:11:02 | More by Jwale73

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A pretty desent beer here in all catagories. It has a nice looking appearance with a brownish amber. The head is small though and there is no carbs. Aroma is nutty malts and biscuit malts though the nose doesn't jump out at you. Still not bad. Taste is all malts. Rich and sweet with a nuttiness too. In the aftertaste it sweetens up a bit. I don't notice much hops in the taste. It is semi dry and slightly bitter in the aftertaste.
All in all a good beer but not one I'd care to have again.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 14:29:35 | More by micromaniac129

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Nice label.

Don't see enough brown ales out there. Not that I'd really be rushing out to get them anyways.

This is a pretty nice one. Decent body, flavor is bringing something, though it's slightly too tangy. Just a wee bit. Carbonation is a bit too high as well. Overall a pretty good brew. Glad to be able to try something from a new (to me) brewery. Will keep an eye out for more from them.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2013 04:56:20 | More by RblWthACoz

andrewinski1

Maine

3.73/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a pint glass. The color is dark brown with amber hues. There is a nice half inch light tan head. This has really nice head retention.

The aroma has lots of caramel and some maple to it. I can tell this is a little sweet by the aroma.

The taste is pretty sweet, with a gentle grassy hop flavor towards the finish, but it barely registers. The maple caramel flavor comes through in the flavor.

This is medium to full bodied, with smooth mellow carbonation.

I like this okay. I'd prefer a mellower more drinkable brown ale. This is basically just a stronger brown ale.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2012 04:18:41 | More by andrewinski1

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.76/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Described on the label as a 'rugged brown ale'.

Poured to my Shed pint glass. Darkish brown with bright orange highlights, nice color. Beige head retains as a mostly-full thick cap with some lace left behind.

Nutty and roasty malts stick out most in the scent, with some light caramel and molasses backing. Some earthy and leafy hops.

Taste - nutty malts, roasty toasty malts, caramel, candied dark fruits, hints of cocoa, some dark bread and earthy hops - less hoppy than expected, nice malt profile. Some booze.

Malty and oily mouthfeel, medium carbonation, a little boozy.

Good, an interesting beer with some nice complexities, reminded me of a doppelbock kinda.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 12:15:30 | More by Chico1985

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.8/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours a two finger khaki tan head that fades quickly leaving no lace. Brown hazy color. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Light malty nose, flavor is sweet malty and nutty. Better than the usual brown. $1.80 for a 12oz bottle from Concord Coop Concord, NH.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 23:09:10 | More by jdhilt

LongTrailer

Vermont

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

12 oz. bottle poured into an nonic. Pours a dark, opaque brown with a 2-finger off-white head. Nice wispy lacing. Aroma is mostly caramel malts and a bit fruity.

Taste upfront is bready, caramel and some toastiness; nutty with just a hint of chocolate on the back end. The description on the bottle claims a 'pronounced hop finish' but I can't say that I'm getting it. The malt sweetness and bitterness are nicely balanced here. Medium, slightly chewy mouthfeel and a soft carbonation that does a nice job rounding out the flavors.

Overall I was pretty pleased with this beer. Hearty yet drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2012 01:07:49 | More by LongTrailer

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Surprised when I poured this out. A dark, hazy brown hue. Mild head. Head leaves only freckles of lacing.

S-Nose is all malt and enticing. Yeast and flat cola with Pumpernickel and molasses. Caramel and a hint of tree bark. The malt ticket is lengthy. Most of all, the specific dimensions of the aroma work well with their counterparts.

T-Caramel and Root Beer with that tree bark again. I think I enjoy the nose more. Powdered cocoa and dried fruit. Figs. A very submissive hop bitterness. Not much describable flavor frm the hops; more just a lingering subtle bitterness.

M-Now that I am focusing specifically on the feel, I can detect the bitterness more. This is decently bitter. It is also syrupy and a bit sticky. Soft bubbles. Mild booze. Decent drinkability.

O/D-A good 6-pack of "Strong Ale". Definitely a hybrid tht balances between styles. I enjoyed this single. Vermont to the rescue!

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 00:28:00 | More by VelvetExtract

MusicaleMike

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Original beer recipe designed by Shaun Hill from Hill Farmstead.

Poured into my Tired Hands stemmed glass. Deep ruby brown color with finger worth of tan, frothy head. Head drops down to some bubbly lace. Attractive brown ale, but I have seen better.

The aroma is familiar, but hard to pin down where I've smelled this before. Notes of brown bread, herbal hops, cherry cordial (yum!) and candied ginger, with a mostly lightly sweet malty aroma dominating this beer. It's a robust aroma and certainly fits their designation of this beer as a "Rugged Brown Ale." It's not very hoppy, but it's not one-dimensional either. Good. I like this complex malt aroma.

Flavor is full of rich, delicious rich malt notes and only a balancing bitterness in the finish. This dark brown ale shows no flavor of chocolate or coffee or any other roasted flavor, but what we do get is sweet notes of plum pudding, dark fruits, and brown sugar.

Carbonation is spot on and it has a medium to heavy body. Not overly sharp or effervescent, and enough carbonation to lighten up this 7.4% alcohol beer.

I found this brown ale to have a very unique character in the flavor and aroma. I'm not completely blown away by this beer, but I would buy this beer again and certainly would recommend this over some (most) of the other duller brown ales out there. Better example of an American Brown Ale than most.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 03:44:34 | More by MusicaleMike