Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale

Posted by Jim on Feb 10th, 2010
2010
Feb 10

Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale

B- / 3.35
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 4

Poured from a cellar temperature bottle into a pint glass. There is no freshness date on the bottle, but I’ve had it for a number of months, so it may be past its prime. The beer is a very dark brown; not as dark as dark chocolate, but close to that. There was a modest head of tan bubbles that quickly settled to something that’s less than a skim of foam, just a few small bubbles and a little foam lacing, but I can see bare spots as well. Swirling the beer around gives a minimal amount of lacing. There’s a little sweet malt in the nose; maybe some raisin; and some warm, toasted grain. All of the aromas are very slight though. The beer has some sweet malt flavor up from to compliment the aroma. This gives way to a nutty, biting flavor. At first I thought it was an off taste; but after taking a few more sips, I like it. The flavor is a bit watery for my tastes, and I’m the first to say that I’m not a big fan of brown ales, but I like this one. This beer has a light body, but it is also complex. The watery flavor makes it feel light at first, but the robust, nuttiness in the finish gives the beer some punch as you swallow. Very little mouthcoating, just a hint of sweetness can be found if you go looking for it. This beer drinks very easy. I can’t think of any real objections, other than it’s not a challenging beer. The Rugged Trail will never command your full attention, but would be great to drink whilst engaged in other activities.

In other news: 500th post! Woo!