Please help me find good Brown Ales

For the past three decades, Newcastle Brown Ale has been my favorite adult beverage.

A few months ago, I noticed that the packaging had changed, the bottles have gone from clear to brown, and that there is also a new label. Further investigation revealed that it is no longer imported from England, and as of March 2019, the brand is brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California and Chicago, Illinois.

It may be my imagination, but as a very loyal customer,  it just doesn't taste the same to me.

The microbrew world is overrun with IPAs (please stop), but Brown Ales are hard to find. Black Hog makes a decent, but different, version, and I think Gritty McDuff's had one, though I can't find it locally anymore.

Please help me find another source of quality Brown Ale.

I really enjoy Maduro by Cigar City. 

After that, I have no suggestions because I'm not sure that I've had more than 3 others, 1 of which was Newcastle.

In reply to mtn :

I second this.  It's the beer equivalent of a good cigar.

I'm a general fan of Brooklyn Brewery and Bell's but cant really speak to their brown ales.  I do like Lazy Magnolia's Southern Pecan

Ooof!  I can't believe they ruined Nukey Brown.

Been a while since I've had it, but Samuel Smith makes a Nut Brown Ale.

https://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/shop/bottles/ale/nut-brown-ale/

Woody said:

A few months ago, I noticed that the packaging had changed, the bottles have gone from clear to brown, and that there is also a new label. Further investigation revealed that it is no longer imported from England, and as of March 2019, the brand is brewed by Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California and Chicago, Illinois.

It may be my imagination, but as a very loyal customer,  it just doesn't taste the same to me.

 

I absolutely HATE when a smaller brewery sells out to a mega corp!  They always change the recipe of the beer.  ALWAYS.

In reply to ThurdFerguson :

I agree, but Lagunitas puts out decent stuff at least. 

Woody, I've started to transition to local places and bringing a growler home.  Gotta support local as much as possible. 

I'll show my ignorance of beer types, but as someone who has enjoyed Newky Brown quite a bit, give some dunkel type beers a try.

No idea where a beer connoisseur in relation to each other along the beer spectrum though.

Local microbrewery (Backpocket) makes a very enjoyable dunkel called Slingshot.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30553/56149/

Doubt you can get it up there but Bold City Brewery here in Jacksonville has Duke's. It's pretty good. 

i'll second the observation that Newcastle got funky weird at some point.  used to love it as a brown ale fan, haven't had it in forever now.   i see brown ales on tap usually but very rarely carried outside of special beverage stores.

Savannah River Brewing Co (local here in my town) does a Dynamite Brown Ale that's tasty.  probably only available down here in GA/SC though.

Fullsteam brewery in Durham has an amazing brown called the Working Man's Lunch, but seasonal and not really carried anywhere.

Mr_Asa said:

Woody, I've started to transition to local places and bringing a growler home.  Gotta support local as much as possible. 

I support Black Hog. They are so local that there is a sign nailed to a tree on the mountain bike trail that leads me to the brewery.

In reply to Woody :

That's local as berkeley

I will have to try the Lagunitas brewed stuff.

If the recipe hasn't been altered, the primary change you might be tasting is the fact that the old Newcastle was pasteurized for import into the states and the Lagunitas brewed stuff likely isn't.

Personally I dislike that pasteurized flavor. I prefer my beer to still be alive. If you do like that try to find a bottle of Sam Smiths Nut Brown ale

It too is a pasteurized import brown. Super similar. It won't have that clear bottle "skunkiness" but I have never really noticed that with Newcastle.

Microbrews are just too regional for me to make a recommendation.  What we have here, you likely don't in your area.

The local Vespa/Lambretta club used to be really into Newcastle and would base the stops on their ralleys on locations that served it. I have had a fair bit of it in my time. 

A couple years ago, I noticed that Beck's wasn't tasting the same.  Looked on the new box, yup, it says "German" or "Germany" on it like 6-8 times.  Looked at the real fine print and it says "brewed in St. Louis."  Stopped drinking it right then.

Dos Equis Amber is pretty good.

I was really into brown ales for a while, and loved Newcastle. Sucks that they changed it. That said, Sam Smith's Nut Brown Ale is really good if you like that sort of thing. I'd try that.

https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/corsendonk-pater-abbey-brown-ale/994/

https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/brooklyn-brown-ale/529/

those two are on the 1st page of https://www.ratebeer.com/search?beername=brown+ale

Corsendonk and brooklyn.. can't go wrong there.

negro modello is also another easy to find one.  

As someone who also enjoys(ed) Newcastle and has a similar disdain for IPAs, this is distressing .

Following for brown ale suggestions.

I also noticed that Newcastle had seemed to change for the worse…I suspected it was just me but now it appears the change was real.

Anyway, what’s all the hate on IPA’s.

Hops are your friend, they work tirelessly to offset the sweetness of the malt along with providing spiciness and aroma.

Beer’s that wimp out on hops are the zinfandels of wines…wishy-washy little cowards that really don’t have any values or principles, pretty much just going along to get along.

I, for one, would much prefer to be offended than bored; Prove me wrong.

Bells Best Brown is my recommendation. Not a fan of browns, but don't mind that one.

RX Reven' said:

I also noticed that Newcastle had seemed to change for the worse…I suspected it was just me but now it appears the change was real.

Anyway, what’s all the hate on IPA’s.

Hops are your friend, they work tirelessly to offset the sweetness of the malt along with providing spiciness and aroma.

 

Beer’s that wimp out on hops are the zinfandels of wines…wishy-washy little cowards that really don’t have any real values or principles, pretty much just going along to get along.

I, for one, would much prefer to be offended than bored; Prove me wrong.

 

IPA is a E36 M3ty style that originated out of need, not taste. Literally the entire reason it exists was because it was too hot to brew beer in India, and other beers would go bad on the way over. They all taste like a painkiller that you need to swallow but for whatever reason you leave on your tongue for a few seconds. You swallow, and there is relief, followed by a E36 M3ty aftertaste. And the problem is exacerbated by the fact that every single microbrewery, nanobrewery, pico brewery, femto brewery, all the way down to yocto brewery has at least 4 of them on tap - I'm sure there are good ones out there, but I haven't found a single one yet. 

Lagers, Porters, Stouts, Pilsners, Kolsch, Brown Ale... I've found and enjoyed examples of all of them. Even wheat beers, which are just naturally unflattering to my palate, I've enjoyed from time to time. But IPA? Nasty.

You're welcome to your opinion, of course, but you're obviously philistine swine who shouldn't have a platform to give it. 

In reply to mtn :

I'll put you down as undecided in terms of giving my post a +1

RX Reven' said:

In reply to mtn :

I'll put you down as undecided in terms of giving my post a +1

Gave this one a +1 though

mtn said:

RX Reven' said:

In reply to mtn :

I'll put you down as undecided in terms of giving my post a +1

Gave this one a +1 though

BTW, I'm basing my opinion on Institution Ale Company's Mosaic beer.

I just checked their website and they list the style as Pale Ale...is that categorically different than India Pale Ale???

What's in a name...if you find yourself in Camarillo, Ca do yourself a favor and stop by their microbrew.

Newcastle was bought by Heineken in 2008, so any selling out to big corps wasn't recent. :)

As for brown ales, "Downtown Brown" by Lost Coast Brewing in Eureka CA is pretty good.  Dunno how available it is outside of CA though.  https://www.lostcoast.com/beers#Downtown-Brown

Over hoppy beers are the skinny jeans of beers.

Not sure if you might be interested in veering toward a red ale, but I really like Smithwick's Irish Ale when I can get it.  Don't find it often behind the Redwood Curtain, though.

Looks like some stores in Connecticut carry it.