Time to hand the podium to a guest reviewer from the UK – here’s Kev Hedges, and his take on Newcastle Brown Ale.
When I first looked at the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle it had an air of sturdiness and strength about it, and along with its dark brown almost black opaque look, it had a powerful and contrasting yellow label to offset the dark coloring of this ale perfectly.
Newcastle Brown Ale Review
So what does this dark, handsome-looking ale actually taste like? One thing you can say for sure is that it definitely does have taste. Unlike many types of ale, particularly the weaker ones, Newcastle Brown has that strong, malty kick in the taste and it comes with no after taste like you might get with ginger beer or tonic water.
In fact Newcastle Brown Ale appears to be strong and difficult to drink but when you actually take a sip you become instantly surprised by the ease at which it is to drink. The aroma of this ale I found to be very feint and without much at all in the way of a powerful smell. To some tasting this ale reminds you of biscuits, you know a bit like those wheat biscuits and there is an obvious fizz to the ale too. You cannot actually see any bubbles going on in the bottle as it really is so dark in appearance, but it is surprisingly light to taste.
If you prefer to pour your ale into a pint glass and not drink straight from the bottle then you will notice a very short lived head. Most ale I have tasted over the years has always had a long lasting and frothy head which is a little annoying when the froth sits on your lip. But you don’t have this issue with Newcastle Brown.
After a while of drinking this bottle I noticed it was a little watery and could have done with a bit more thickness in the drink. When you see its dark appearance you automatically assume that the beer should be thick, creamy and strong but it is not. It is also easy to guzzle this ale as it is not particularly high in strength and you are not likely to get too smashed after just a couple of bottles.
Metasip Grade: B+
I am going to give this Newcastle Brown Ale a B+ Metasip Grade as it certainly tastes light and easy to drink and I was happy with the malty effect on my tongue.