Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.5%
NOTE: I mixed up the Starr Hill Snow Blind with Ellie’s Brown Ale. This post has been corrected to the best of my limited memory.
What I was doing while I drank it
Sitting in a chair, as is my wont.
Reactions and Insights
This hit the spot. It’s been warm out—I actually had a gin and tonic at a bar last week—but I really want to feel Christmas-y and wintery. This is malty, but not oppressively malty. It’s also mildly spicy and bready, dark and belly-warming. It’s a good beer.
Would I drink a case of it?
Another way of phrasing this question is, “Would I drink this beer 24 times in a row?” I can only drink IPAs 24 times in a row; that’s why the answer is usually no. But if I had a giant fridge and could rotate among four different cases, other styles of beer might make the cut.
I also think my beer palate is expanding and I’m proud of that. I’ve recently more than once thought, “Good for you for liking this, I don’t think you would have last year.”
Still, I probably wouldn’t include Ellie’s Brown Ale in my dream case rotation. But a half-case, maybe, during December and January.
Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
Sure.
Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
Yes, it did, and I wished I could have another one to kick me even closer to the holiday feeling.
Beth’s Grade
7.75
Objective Grade
8.25
Label Notes
It’s thoughtfully, but not trendily, designed. It’s got a lot of shadows and textures, which wre common in design about seven years ago. The illustration of the Great Dane (I think it’s a Great Dane, I am bad with breeds of animals) looks a little doubtful and forlorn but also can’t help looking stately, and transfers the stateliness to the beer. My least favorite part is the big A on the Avery label.
Label Grade
7.5
I think it’s a brown labrador.