Brew By Numbers 09|05 Brown Ale
- Chris Lee
- Mar 12, 2016
- 2 min read
On My last visit home to Canada in November, my brother brought me a few cases of Dogfish Head's "Indian Brown Ale" from New York. I was impressed by the IPA'esque qualities that had been evoked on a Brown Ale. It was spicy, bitter, and sweet all at the same time. It was a great style that is not all that easy to come by and not many breweries tackle a hopped up Brown Ale. Enter Brew by Numbers.
One of the best parts about living in the UK is the access to British Craft Brewers who's products we simply don't find back home in Canada. Brew By Numbers has a reputation that preceeds itself and a range of quality beers to back it up. I've had a few Brew by Numbers beers in the past and I've always liked the quality and styles.
09|05 is impressive. The hops used are listed on the bottle so you kind of know what to expect before diving in. Its a brown ale at heart, but it really lives closer to a brown pale ale stylistically. Is that a thing? Let's hope so! From the brown ale, you get that traditional English yeast character, lightly fruity and full of malt backbone. The Chinook & Centennial hops shout pale ale and add an expected, yet welcomed, addition of spice to liven up this beer. 09|05 has an obvious complexity that delivers exactly what you would want this beer to taste like. 09|05 is the perfect union of the two aformentioned styles. Definitely worth seeking out.
Aroma: milk chocolate, earthy, dank grass, rasins, hint of grapefruit, light bit of mocha, damp flower petals, molassis, brown sugar,
Body: dense & light foam, light to medium body, dry, semi sweet & sticky.
Palette: Pithy grapefruit, brown sugar, rotten orange peel, orange creamsicle, dry & sticky aftertaste, floral notes, lightly piney.
Pairing ideas? I wish I had a curry dish or pad thai to eat along side this. I feel that the dry bitterness would be the perfect palette cleanser for a semi spicy to hot food dish. My top vote goes to pad thai. You would get a little bit of contrast but mostly complimentary flavours that would layer bitterness under peppery spicyness.
This really is a great beer. Its not going to blow your face off with originality but it is going to deliver on quality. I would buy this beer again and I would even use it in cooking up something on the grill. I think that this beer boiled down could make an amazing base for a barbeque sauce. Anyways, worth the effort to find and worth a solid A in my books. Well crafted and it delivers!
Support your local brewery
Chris
