Newcastle Brown Ale - The Caledonian Brewery Company Limited

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BA SCORE
77
average
-
2,857 Ratings

rAvg: 3.36
pDev: 18.75%
Reviews: 1408
Hads: 1449

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
The Caledonian Brewery Company Limited

United Kingdom (Scotland)

Style | ABV
English Brown Ale | 4.70% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (1036), on-tap (288), can (79), nitro-tap (3), cask (1), growler (1).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

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Reviews

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Reviews by brandonlovesbeer:

brandonlovesbeer

1.64/5 rDev -51.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

COLOR: Medium Amber

BOTTLE CODE: None

COST:
Varies depending on where you buy it. But it ranges anywhere from $11.99 to $16.59 for a 6 pack.

Availability:
12 oz bottles, 12oz Cans, Draft

POUR:
Depending on how vigorously you pour the beer, the head will be somewhere between nonexistent and 1/2 pinky finger. But it only sticks around for a brief period of time then dissipates.

LOOK:
Crystal clear. Light carbonation. It doesn't look like any brown ale I've ever had. The color was more like a dirty Budweiser.

AROMA:
Very fruity smelling beer. Just like most English ales. There’s a malt sweetness that is very present in the aroma, but nothing over the top. There’s a light breadiness that evens out the malt sweetness.

TASTE:
The first thing your going to notice is that there’s absolutely NO hop character in this beer, which goes right along with the English Brown Ale style.
The bitterness is only slightly noticeable in the aftertaste, which only sticks around on the back of your tongue for about a minute then disappears.
There’s no alcohol taste or presence in this beer. But I wouldn’t expect that from a 4.7% beer.
The pronounced English fruitiness is ever-present in the taste, and is one of the only redeeming qualities about this beer.

Surprisingly, in the bottle that I reviewed, there was none of that Import-Clear-Bottle-Skunkiness. This was certainly refreshing, as I’ve never had a bottle of Newcastle that wasn’t completely skunked.

Is it Worth the Money? "No"
This beer was on sale at my local grocery store for $12.99 for a 12 pack. That’s down from it’s normal price of $16.59. However, it’s normal price at my local beer and wine store was only $11.99.

I just can’t see myself paying nearly $18.00 (after tax) for the regular grocery store price. Not when it’s only $11.99 down the street.

Since there’s such a wide price-range on this beer, if your heart is dead set on buying Newcastle, seek out the best price. Don’t just go to your favorite grocery store and lay down nearly $18 when it can be much cheaper at another store. This is just too over priced for what it’s delivering to the senses.

VERDICT: "C-"
I feel like the flavors and aromas are so light and muted that this beer just isn’t bringing much to the table.

If you’re looking for a flavorful beer that you can drink quite a few of, this is not the beer for you. It doesn’t really taste like much. However, yes you can drink a ton of them and not even get buzzed.

Although, I guess you could consider this a nice transitional beer for someone looking to dip their toes into the craft beer world. But would I call this a craft beer? Definitely not.

This is what I consider the English equivalent to a Budweiser looking like. It doesn’t taste like much but because of it’s worldwide hype, everyone wants to drink it.

If I’m going to spend nearly $18 on a 12pk of anything, it’s going to be something like Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada or another more flavorful beer than this. Something that I can sit back and relax and have one or two and be completely satisfied. Newcastle just doesn’t give me that sense of satisfaction.

This almost feels like a novelty beer to me. For example:

A point of advice when shopping for this beer...
I’ve always complained about how this beer usually has that clear bottle import skunkiness like Heineken and Corona. But as long as you don’t buy it off the shelf where it’s been sitting in direct light (even fluorescent light), then you should be alright. Personally, I always get the pack that’s all the way on the back of the shelf.
Always buy the 12 pack of bottles or the cans because the packaging shields the beer from the harmful rays. If you buy the 6 packs, there is more surface area exposed to the light which will skunk the beer faster.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 05:10:45 | More by brandonlovesbeer

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look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75

Poured from an oversized bottle into a perfect pint glass.

The head quickly settled into the body and very little residue stuck to the sides.

The aroma was earthy and mineral and decidedly British, with some alcohol in the nose. the beer is a pretty copper-ruby color.

The first taste revealed a pleasantly thick mouth-feel without much carbonation at all, a toasted bread characteristic mid palate, and then, a vinegar-esque bitterness in the finish with a taste of minerals and yeast. No alcohol taste at all. The bitterness remains.

I wouldn't slam this beer- it is full of British nostalgia, and is quite drinkable, especially deep into the six pack.

The color and mouth-feel are standouts here, making the beer almost beautiful and full bodied.
The off flavors and bitterness would be much better replaced with true hop flavor, but until then, its not a bad choice at an outdoor barbecue, or when the alternative is euro lager green or keg beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 02:33:35 | More by andjusticeforale