When people look back on the COVID19 pandemic, I wonder how many will compare it to prohibition in reference to its effect on breweries. In the last year a lot of breweries had to close their doors, or at least operate at a greatly reduced capacity. Some breweries however, found a creative way to keep their brewery operating during the pandemic. They decided to make hand sanitizer.
When the pandemic hit Canada, breweries like Troubled Monk followed WHO guidelines and started producing hand sanitizer in addition to their regular lineup of beer. Not only does this help everyone stay safe by making sure there's more sanitizer to go around, but it helps the brewery protect its bottom line in these tough times. Open Road is crystal clear and a deep, leathery brown colored ale. The head is packed, cream colored, and decently lasting.
Rich, malty aromas are the first thing I notice. Open Road's nose is full of chocolate, combined with nuttiness. Leather and damp earth give this brown ale's nose depth, helping it from skewing overly sweet. Cocoa, nuts, and the rest combine seamlessly into a rich malty whole before leading into a gentle finish that gives me peppery hops.
Open Road is a smooth, full bodied brown ale. Up front sweetness is a combination of caramel and cocoa powder. The center is rounded, sweet, and definitely malty but with a gentle toasted quality, helping keep it from being overly sweet. Flavors of tobacco and damp earth help add depth of flavor and overall structure to Open Road's flavor profile. As with the nose earthy, peppery European hops give a notable bitter finish.
I'm giving Open Road American Brown Ale 8.25 out of 10. This beer is rich and flavorful, smooth, and drinkable. The flavors and aromas are all nicely balanced, each element leading nicely into the next. I particularly enjoy how dryness combine with flavors of tobacco and damp earth, keeping the whole flavor from being really sweet. It gives the beer a more-ish quality that make me want to go for that next sip.
No comments:
Post a Comment