Smuttynose Durty Mud Season Hoppy Brown Ale

Smuttynose Durty Mud Season Hoppy Brown Ale is a new Spring seasonal that I first noticed on our shelves in the first week of September here in Savannah. I realized that the bottle best by date was 6/30/15 after getting home with the bottle. Hopefully the 8.4% ABV will help keep this beer interesting.

The pour is fine, a nice dark brown color with some red shining through the edges, a bit clearer than I was expecting. The aroma does still has a good bit of hoppiness. Some citrus notes are mixing with some big roast, and a bit of brown bread. I can tell this used to be a hoppy beer, but it seems to have faded with time. Left behind is some toasted bread, sweet caramel, mild pine resin, and a limp bit of bitterness on the back. As it is currently I am pretty impressed with the taste, but a stronger hop flavor and punch would certainly have made this an excellent alternative to yet another Black IPA.

I’d like to try this agian fresher, not sure if that will be possible though. When it shows up on the shelf already out of date that is kind of out of my hands.