As I've mentioned many times in the past, my wife is from Denver so I get ample opportunity to make my way to that haven of great beer and tour many of its breweries. One of the first I toured years ago while we were still dating was up in a tiny mountain town named Idaho Springs. There I was introduced to the local brewery pub Tommyknocker's. The beer alas was good, but not great. Fairly inconsistent in my opinion, and also lacking in flavor. They were all ok, but nothing that I would go out of my way for. Well last time I was in Denver, we actually went back to Tommyknockers, and in going through some of their beers, I was able to taste their Imperial Nut Brown, a souped up version of their Maple nut brown (made with real maple syrup). It was fantastic, so months later I was extremely excited to see it at my local Central Market. Let's see how it held up.
The Beer: The beer is actually a 10th anniversary ale and weighs in at 9.8% alcohol. Made with Chocolate and crystal malts and a blend of American and European hops. The beer pours a very rich dark brown with a taupe cafe colored head. The nose is malty and raisiny with a bit of roasted malt notes. The mouth is rich, maple sugar, raisins, chocolate, creamy. Put it all together and it's reminiscent of pancake batter with hints of nutmeg. Very smooth over all, if a bit sweet. Only slight hints of alcohol. This would be a great dessert beer, the biggest negative is what you would expect. Its almost cloyingly sweet which would prohibit one from drinking multiple pints. Overall I think its one of their better beers, and I'd give it a B. Here's what the folks at BA had to say.
1 comment:
I'm a sucker for Tommyknocker's regular Maple Nut Brown (maybe I'm just a sucker for browns in general). But I split a case of the Imperial Nut Brown (in bombers) with my brother when it first came out. I had a few right away, but hung onto a half for a while. I drank them a few months ago (3 years or so after purchase) and loved them more than the first time. I probably shouldn't have waited so long, but the time really mellowed the beer out, which was nice for a 10% beer.
I'm happy I'm not the only one who likes it and it's nice they turned it into a full time brew (and it's available in a much more drinkable 12 oz bottle, too).
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