Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale
I’d seen this beer on shelves many times over, but never really had the urge to pick a bottle up. Perhaps, I wasn’t in the mood for a brown ale on those visits, or maybe it was the crazy bird lady on the label that threw me off. Regardless, I finally decided to try the beer out last week.
About the only thing I knew about this beer going into it was that it is produced by Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven, makers/owners of the La Trappe brand of Belgian-style ales. It’s been quite some time since I’ve had any of the La Trappe beers, but felt that my memory would be enough to pull out any comparisons between those and this bottle of brown ale.
Appearance
Tilburg’s Dutch Brown Ale pours a chestnut brown in color with a smallish, off-white head.
Aroma
An earthy nuttiness arrives along with toffee, caramel, hints of raisin and a solid malt character. There’s a lightly lingering Belgian yeast note as well, but it’s fleeting.
Taste
Honestly, this isn’t a bad tasting little beer (5% ABV). It’s got a solid, malt-driven character with touches of caramel, toffee, nuttiness and lingering yeast. It’s slightly sweet with a moderate amount of carbonation. There’s a bit of subtle hop bitterness that adds a light tingle in the lightly drying finish.
Overall
Well, this brew is sort of like a toned down Dubbel in that it’s got a some of the characteristics you’d want in that style, but with a less pronounced yeast and fruit character. I did like the earthy and nutty qualities that it brought to the table, but beyond that, I’m not sure it’s one of those beers that I would go out of my way for in the future.
Rating: 3.5/5
