Dirty Penny Ale - The Olde Burnside Brewing Company

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass

Appearance: dark brown in color, 1 inch head, opaque, moderate carbonation

Smell: deep sweet caramel and chocolate-smalls amazing

Taste: unfortunately not nearly as good as the smell. dark chocolate, light caramel, and earthiness

Mouthfeel: light bodied, moderate carbonation, sweet with a bitter backbone

Overall: This drinks almost like a good Euro dark lager or schwarzbier. For a black and tan, this is fairly good and would be one of the first black an tans I would reach for. For an overall beer this is ok. I much prefer Olde Burnside's Scotch ales more.

Serving type: growler

04-09-2012 13:33:24 | More by tigg924

mnrider

Connecticut

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Pours a dark brown with large tan head. Settles down to a pretty decent head. Not much lacing.

S: Aroma of roasted coffee and chocolate. Also a nutty hint of caramel. Sweet, strong and impressive.

T/M: Almost completely like the aroma. Sweet with a strong roasted malt flavor. medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Goes down smooth with a somewhat malty aftertaste.

O: One of the better Black/Tan's I've had, that was bottled from a brewery. Tastes good and has excellent session ability. Gotta drink it or it will go flat.

Cheers!!

Serving type: growler

04-02-2012 23:09:41 | More by mnrider

TangTKE402

New York

3.6/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Poured from a growler into a pint glass. Dark-Chocolate in color with a milk chocolate mousse, 2-finger head. Very inviting and rich-looking. The head dissipates, and leaves a thin, off-white ring around the edge. No discernible lacing.

S: The aroma is light and airy, like fresh-baked bread, with the distinct notes of chocolate milk, coffee and chocolate malts, vanilla, and sweet cream.

T: A breezy, mild flavor with malt notes on the front, and smoky burnt flavors on the swallow. Oat and bread notes come through in the middle with some roasted mocha, white pepper, and earth. Slightly timid in flavor profile, but what's there is fairly tasty and drinkable.

M: Mild and milky, this beer doesn't leave a big impact in the mouth. It's silky, with a light bubble and a thin texture. A light musk is left in the afterfeel.

O: Drinkable, but not the first beer I'd reach to in the taproom. Definitely a good session beer, however, and I find Black and Tans notoriously hard to pin down as a style, so all things considered, give it a try!

Serving type: growler

02-29-2012 23:01:29 | More by TangTKE402

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.13/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Sampled on October 6, 2011 from an over-the-counter growler available in a local beer store. The pour is a nicely dark brown color with bubbles collecting at the bottom and slowly sneaking up top to the tan, silky head. The aroma brings out malts, earth, and a dark fruit like plum. The body was thinner than I would have liked considering 40% of this black and tan is from a stout. The taste had this sickly sweet flavor which might have been more from yeast that hadn't quite matured. Connecticut recently allowed growler sales outside of pubs and I wonder if the trip to New Hampshire via a distributor might have tainted it. I bet it is bette on tap at the brewpub.

Serving type: growler

10-06-2011 23:33:50 | More by puboflyons

philbe311

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Picked this up on a recent trip to CT... Any black and tan that is 60% Scotch Ale has to be pretty good, right?

A - A very active cascading pour... Audibly fizzy... Starts to settle a bit at around four fingers worth of light brown colored with a very rocky top reminiscent of a very thick batter... Impressive retention... The color is a deep dark brown with a faint reddish hue that lets a bit of light leak in around the bottom of the glass... A bit of lacing clings to the glass...

S - Roasted marshmallows... Some chocolate notes... Some faint coffee notes... A bit of graham crackers... Caramel... Faint roasted malts... Candied pecans... A slight nutty character... A very inviting malt forward sweetness...

T - A bit of coffee... A bit of roasted malt... Some sugary caramel... Some chocolate notes... A hint of hazelnut... A very very subtle smokiness... A nice bit of depth and complexity...

M - On the lighter side of medium bodied... Muted carbonation... Quite quaffable... A bit of sleekness... Rather smooth... Consistent with each sip...

D - A very nice brew... Lots of flavor and character... Super sessionable given it's 5% ABV... This one blurs many a style guideline, but there's no denying it's a rather good brew... I can easily recommend picking this one up and will gladly do so if I'm every passing through CT again...

Serving type: growler

07-30-2011 01:10:15 | More by philbe311

drabmuh

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

At the time of this review, this is the #3 Black and Tan, growler shared by Thorpe429, thanks served in a snifter.

Beer is copper and mostly clear with a thin off white head of small bubbles, some lacing, moderate carbonation, looks good.

Aroma is toffee and sweet, some butteryness but it is hard to separate from the toffee, caramel and heavy malts.

Beer is medium in body and sweet on the palate, creamy in the mouthfeel, sweet on the leadoff and decent finish. Not a great beer but an interesting one.

A side note, this beer is a 60% blend of the Ten Penny Ale and some stout, and the beer comes across as a Scotch ale to me at least, almost no roast or anything dark about this beer at all. Interesting but I doubt it is a repeat for me.

Serving type: growler

07-19-2011 12:10:54 | More by drabmuh

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up this growler in Norwalk, Connecticut while there for bmanning's wedding. Consumed at our Christmas in July party last weekend. Served in a Mikasa tulip.

Currently the #3 Black & Tan.

Pours dark brown with a good light tan head and some spotty lacing along the sides of the tulip. Thin cap throughout and a bit of a collar. The nose brings some light diacetyl and toffee. Mostly the latter, though I think the former was present was well. Roasted malt there as well. The flavor is better with a nice combination of roast and some light caramel and toffee. Medium body and light carbonation. Good roast in finish. Pretty nice beer.

Serving type: growler

07-19-2011 01:27:43 | More by Thorpe429

mostpoetsdo

Rhode Island

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Murky brown, light tan head. Less than stellar lacing.

S: Dirt and malt, kind of odd. Faint hoppiness. Decent chocolate notes.

T: Very much malt forward. A burly beer, quite flavorful, especially for 5%. Has a strong mineral and metallic taste to it, almost as if a dirty penny was sitting at the bottom.

M: Fairly thin, but surprisingly crisp. Carbonation is pretty good, nothing great.

O/D: Quite a bit of flavor packed in this brew, not something I'd want over and over again, but worth giving it a shot. Light, but a decent offering.

Serving type: growler

04-16-2011 13:43:06 | More by mostpoetsdo

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Excellent domed head. The brew is a solid brown; light shines through. It appears clear. Very little long term lace.

There's a mild sourness to the otherwise toasty malt nose.

Acidic flavor and quite thin. The darker, bisuity flavors are present but muted. Light hop throughout the taste, but the finish sour and citrusy.

Serving type: growler

01-23-2011 20:08:57 | More by smcolw

ams0286

Connecticut

4.05/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Drink local is my motto! I picked this growler up off the shelf at the local package store. The growler had no freshness indicators which worries me slightly. In the growler format the shelf life on this beer might not be very long.

The appearance is darker than i would expect from a black & tan but in my opinion it looks very appetizing. The head is a little much for me. I prefer not to have to wait for it to settle but it could have been my pouring method. Nice tan color with not very much lacing.

The smell primarily consists of toffee. There are also notes of coffee and chocolate. The hop profile is lacking, even for this style.

The taste again mirrors the aroma, tons of toffee and caramel notes, with a slight background of roasted coffee and milk chocolate. Again not very much hop profile comes through, but the beer is not cloying.

The mouth feel of the beer is lighter than I would expect from it's appearance. Of course carbonation is on the lighter end, not only because of the style but also the packaging method. This is not terribly far off style.

Dirty penny is absolutely a sessionable beer. I like this because it isn't light in color, it is full flavored, and local! Despite the fact that I wish my local beers offered better taste qualities and more variety, I will always support them. I will be picking this growler up again soon.

Serving type: growler

10-29-2010 22:39:22 | More by ams0286

Arenbeer

Connecticut

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Growler Into a Pint Glass

A- Pours a really dark brown with a decently large tan head that sticks around but doesn't leave to much lacing.

S- Burnt coffee and a good amount of sweet caramel and toffee.

T- Tastes just like it smells. Roasted burnt coffee with a nice toffee sweetness in the background from the ten penny ale that comes through like a champ. Really great tasting Black and Tan, probably one of the best I've had.

M- Medium body with a good amount of carbonation, almost too much. Not to much bitterness in the finish either, a very wet stout you could say.

SkÅL!

Serving type: growler

08-15-2010 20:58:55 | More by Arenbeer

MikeBrandman

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

My first growler!

A - Pours into a pint glass with 4 fingers of head (gotta love growlers). Completely opaque with a deep brown body with slight ruby tones around the edges. Little visible carbonation near the bottom of the glass. Good amount of head and slowly receding head, delightful.

S - Smell is good mix of hops and malts. Coffee, burnt caramel, and bready smell. Overall good, just a little watered down.

T - Taste a little disappointing. All of the same characteristics of the smell are there, except the watered down feeling is a little more apparent. Also, there's a slight metallic taste that is rather off putting. Rather balanced overall, with lingering coffee taste.

MF - Great feel on this. Smooth and creamy. Full bodied and satisfying.

D - This is greatly drinkable. It's so easy to keep sipping this. Not sure if you want to, depending on how metallic the taste gets, but it's smooth and heavy and just goes down so easy.

Notes - On the last glass I noticed a LOT of dead yeast at the bottom of the glass. Usually I just drink it down, but it was unusual to drink it in anything besides an unfiltered wheat beer. I had a little before pouring the rest down the drain. The next day I woke up with a bit of a stomach ache. Not sure if the two are related, but I advice always keeping the growler standing up so the yeast stays on the bottom and then trying to avoid pouring the yeast in the end into your glass.

Serving type: growler

04-15-2010 03:29:35 | More by MikeBrandman

Thads324

Connecticut

3.95/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a dark black into a pint glass...

A : black, unable to see through it. thin tan head dissipated quickly.

S : immediate roasted coffee with a hint of chocolate near the end. A slight aroma of toasted oats and what I think is hops but are blended and overwhelmed by the roastiness.

T : A hint of toffee and then a full on roasted coffee flavor. Not heavy like you would think. It is very smooth, and has almost a burnt caramel flavor that holds on the palate after a few sips.

M : lightly carbonated and lingers slightly.

D : despite the ABV and the hefty looking color, this stuff goes down real easy.

Another winner by Olde Burnside. A nice roasted coffee flavor and extremely drinkable. Unlike any other bottled black and tan I have ever had, but I like it enough to buy it again. As with the last growler of theirs that I bought, this one is super fresh, and my buddy and I had no time polishing it off. I really want to eat this with some steak and potatoes. Highly recommended!

Serving type: growler

03-29-2010 20:05:09 | More by Thads324

humanbeer

Connecticut

2.93/5  rDev -21%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is my first review here on BA, how exciting

Last night I ran into the beer store with only 5 minutes left to buy, I knew I had to act fast so I limited myself only to the selection nearest to the registers. In the first cooler was a wide variety of 8 dollar bombers of Rogue and a few different half gallon jugs. Ive heard of Olde Burnside and since their local I figured I'd give it a chance.

It just wasn't my cup of beer. It poured nicely, very dark; couldnt see through it. Decent head, a little creamy tan color. Smelled roasty; with hints of caramel.

The taste just felt empty. I was expecting a fuller bodied beer. Smooth to drink with a little bit of chocolate. Very dry aftertaste to me. Slightly bitter

My buddy loved it, so it must hit the spot for some people. Just not for me

Serving type: growler

03-13-2010 16:10:37 | More by humanbeer

bum732

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 4

Pours a dark brown, decent bubbly head, good retention. Smells of sweet chocolate and coffee malt, caramel, hint of smokiness. Tastes of chocolatey and caramel like malt. Caramel sweetness dominates with just a hint of smoke. Moderate earthy bitterness giving way to a fairly neutral finish, touch of roasty dryness. Fairly high carbonation for the style, moderate mouthfeel.

An ok beer, way too highly carbonated, luckily this faded with some time. Fairly sweet and pretty one noted, but definitely drinkable.

Serving type: growler

02-08-2010 04:15:09 | More by bum732

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Review from notes taken on 11/21/09

Growler care of my frend Dan who was paying a visit from CT. Pours a dark brown with more than two fingers of tanned creamy head. Lacing about the glass from a slow and steady recession of the thick head of foam. Nose is hoppy with citrus and some malt. Also includes some sweetness and burnt grain akin to chocolate. Taste is minorly bitter upfront. Little bit of the chocolate character comes through as well. Med feel and low carb. Finish is quite crisp. Overall not bad and one of the more flavorful "stock" black and tans.

Serving type: growler

01-29-2010 20:28:45 | More by stakem

ShogoKawada

Rhode Island

3.38/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

64oz Growler @ 1776, $11. Always a sucker for the growlers. Poured into my 1L Lowenbrau seidel. Hell yeah! Bought this one without knowing what style it was... expecting an amber, but it's a black + tan.

A- A huge but weak dirty head that lacks any staying power. Beer itself is a nice, roasted brown, like brownie batter. Head is active but dissipates fast.

S- Rich, sweet malts, not much else. Fairly standard, not bland, but on the border of bland.

T- Better. A smoky, robusto supremo coffee malt goodness takes center stage. Hopped enough to provide some good counterbalance. Not the best B+T, hell, tastes more like a standard stout, but it's tasty nevertheless.

M- Too thin.

D- Fairly high, would have liked a better, fuller mouthfeel, although I'll have no problem finishing off this growler. I can't say I'd buy it again, though, @ 11$ I can get many better growlers for a few bucks cheaper.

Serving type: growler

11-15-2009 22:35:33 | More by ShogoKawada

Ezone024

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Growler poured
dark brown color, with thick creamy butterscotch head.

smells of roasted carmel and toffee with bready english malts

tastes like chocolate butter.
and drinks smooth as that sounds!

great beer to drink by your fire place with your dog. throw your sweater on throw on some football and indulge in a growler of TPA's Dirty Penny.

Serving type: growler

10-13-2009 22:07:36 | More by Ezone024

dbmcrorie

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation:
64 oz. growler poured into an American pint glass. No freshness date or inclination to the style.

Visual:
Wow. Pours thick into a pitch black body with slight brown hues when held to the light. Massive 3 finger head surprised me, khaki-brown with nice retention. Average lacing and a nice bubbly cap stays on top of the pint till the end.

Aroma:
Buttery diacetyl and rich biscuity malt punches the nose. Soft cocoa and espresso beans in the middle with hop earthiness around the edges. A slight smokiness piques, but doesn't linger. Slightly boozy in the finish. I'm curious to try the two ales on their own and compare which notes come from which brew.

Taste:
Porter-like chocolate and caramel malts create coffee, toffee, roasted almond, vanilla, caramel, and biscuit/bready flavors. Plenty of sweet flavors, but not overly sweet/sugary. Hops provide a decent balance with earthy peat flavors along the back of the tongue. Slight astringency between the hops and darkly roasted malt. There is a faint flash of dark berries somewhere in the middle, but has a hard time being distinguishable with all of that roasted malt. Full bodied with a creamy/oily mouthfeel. Rich chocolatey finish with a boozy cocoa aftertaste.

Overall:
Great version of the bottled Black & Tan style. Normally I can enjoy this style bottled, but am never impressed. However, this definitely took me by surprise; worth buying again. Rich body and a great aroma. Despite it's heaviness, it's extremely drinkable and easy to put back a few pints - glad it came in 64 oz's.
Would pair greatly with any savory or hearty dish, such as corned beef hash, clam chowder, shepherd's pie, etc. Would also stand up to rich chocolate/coffee based desserts such as chocolate cheesecake or tiramisu.

Cheers!

Serving type: growler

07-21-2009 23:23:40 | More by dbmcrorie

ChugsMugs

Maine

3.9/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

bought as a growler and poured into standard chilled pint glass.

A- massive head, solid inch and a half of thick dirty white foam. Almost black in color, charcoal/black licorice, hardly affected by light when held up. Some bubbles collected along the bottom of the glass but none racing up the edges.

S- faint sweetness, molasses maybe. Hard to fully describe the scent other than it definitely had some sweet tones to it.

T- pretty sweet in taste. not rich or bitter. most tastes are faint and subtle of molasses or chocolate. Complex blending of subtle tastes with no single one overpowering the rest.

M- not creamy but not thin either. A perfect balance. mild dryness left on tongue. Faint leftover taste in mouth made me take sips quicker than usual to get it back on my tongue for identification.

D- bought the growler hoping to split it between two nights, but enjoyed it too much to put down. Just subtle and not overpowering enough to pour glass after glass, but not weak enough to mistake for poor quality. I will gladly get it another one!

Serving type: growler

06-22-2009 19:58:26 | More by ChugsMugs

bgjohnston

Connecticut

3.8/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

I have enjoyed several growlers of this beer. It pours dark, with a nice head and good carbonation at first, but it goes flat if you don't finish the growler in 1 night. Probably normal, but too bad since I can't buy it in smaller containers.

Taste is smooth, with roasted chocolate flavor, and very drinkable. Not so drinkable that I can pound away the whole growler in one sitting, but very enjoyable as a refreshing beverage in warmer weather.

Serving type: growler

01-16-2009 21:03:53 | More by bgjohnston

deltatauhobbit

Maine

3.2/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Found this for the first time in Maine and was pleasantly surprised, I've been wanting to try something from Olde Burnside for a while now.

Pours a dark brown, almost black color, a little light shines through for some dark ruby hues, great sized head that fades slowly to leave some decent lacing.

Smell has a weird metallic aroma to it, not all that pleasant, slight caramel aroma.

Taste is rather bland, has that metallic feeling that the smell had, good carbonation, seems to me that they might have soaked some dirty pennies in this beer for its signature flavor.

Bit disappointed but hopefully I'll get a chance to try some of their other offerings in the future.

Serving type: growler

12-27-2008 23:08:42 | More by deltatauhobbit

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured a dark brown out of the growler with a full rocky tan head and good lace.

Lots of toasted malt here, bready scents, maybe some hop.

Toasted maltiness, brown bready, some hop bitterness, and hints of sweetness -- maybe a little vanilla. Pretty decent. Fresh brew flavors.

This is medium bodied with substantial amount of carbonation. Maybe would have liked it to have a little less.

Overall, you can put these down. Wish it was available in a bomber or smaller, and not in a $10.00 growler, but hey...why am I bitching -- right next to it was a $16.00 Rogue Dead Guy Growler! This was very decent. Worth the try.

Serving type: growler

10-03-2008 23:12:42 | More by OtherShoe2

erosier

Connecticut

3.6/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark brown/black from the growler with a light airy caramel colored head that is huge - something like 3 fingers. It smells of dark malted grains and some light hoppiness, almost a homebrew smell to it. The taste is pretty good. Mostly a roasted grain taste to it with a hint of chocolate aftertaste. Not much hop flavor to it, but it seems to be there. The mouthfeel is nice and velvety and it is a decently drinkable beer. Definately worth a try.

Serving type: growler

12-26-2007 13:35:11 | More by erosier

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

3.68/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a growler into my frosted Ten Penny pint glass.

A: Pours a very nice brownish-black color that reflects dark ruby when held up to the light. A nice two-finger tan head billows to the top and fades to a decent lace.

S: An aroma of french vanilla coffee and toasted bready malts swirls into my nose. No real hop presence detected.

T: Those toasted malts are in full effect, but with a very slight herbal hop mixed in. It tastes more like a deep, burnt mahogany brown ale, then again, pre-packaged Black & Tans are sort of a unique style all their own.

M: It's a medium-light bodied brew. There's a bit more carbonation in the mouthfeel than what I'd expected, but then again, who knows what makes up the lager portion of this Black & Tan.

D: It's flavorful, light enough to drink for a session, and uses its relatively average ABV to full advantage. I'd pick up a growler of this again.

I think Ten Penny is one of the better Conn. breweries, but still has a pretty limited scope in terms of styles. Though I'm used to drinking layered Guinness and Harp black and tans, I think their blended version is better than average.

Serving type: growler

09-02-2007 19:44:06 | More by Gambrinus1184