Friday, June 4, 2010

339. Two Brothers Long Haul Session Ale

More from Two Brothers, which is all good with us. This marks our seventh beer from Two Brothers—Resistance IPA, Domaine DuPage, Bitter End, Heavier-Handed, Moaten, and Cane & Ebel make up the list of beers we’ve sampled from Two Brothers. As well, Long Haul is the second in the J Series from Two Brothers.

Light and lightly nutty at the start, Long Haul pours a clear reddish-brown, or about the Crayola definition of burnt sienna. The head is white and clings to the edge of glass, leaving behind small amounts of lacing; there are low levels of biscuit malt aroma in the nose, which follow in the opening flavor of the beer, and it is also lightly oaky and tannic. Beginning with a combination of biscuit and nuttiness, Long Haul is smooth and oaky in the middle, along with a light brown malt flavor; the finish is bready with a slight rise in sweetness and a bit of sharpness that tastes tannic. The body is medium to light with a low to medium carbonation; the main bite in the body comes from the oak—the mouthfeel is clean with an almost sour-like quality that comes from the oak flavors present in the beer, ending smooth on the palate, but not as clean as it could. Pretty tasty, although Long Haul seems to be between styles—it’s not quite a red, it’s not quite a brown, although it does have some of the characteristics of each. We do appreciate the effort on Two Brothers’ part to make a smaller, session oriented beer, one that has complexity, nuance, and flavor. And for that, we are thankful.

From the bottle: “An incredibly drinkable ale, light in body but full of flavor. Oaky notes blend with the complex balance of malt and hops. This is a beer you can enjoy for the long haul.”

From the Two Brothers website: “Another offering from the J Series. Long Haul is ages a minimum of four weeks in our oak foudres. This incredibly drinkable ale is light in body but full of the complex balance of malt and hops. This is a beer you can enjoy for the long haul.”

Somewhere, far in the distance, I hear a rim shot sounding...

ABV: 4.2%
IBU: 27

(6/4/10)

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