Slumbrew Attic and Eaves

I mentioned at the beginning of the fall that I had a little hop burn-out. I love IPAs but I needed a little break from the big bitter beers. While I’ve still sampled the occasional hop-bomb, my focus this fall has been on malt forward lagers along with a few ales. One style that catches a lot of flak is the brown ale. Brown ales have been a staple of British brewing for centuries, and were a common style during the early days of the American craft brewing movement. The development of the ultra hoppy West Coast style IPA was a major factor in the ascent of the craft beer industry in the US, and many hopheads are not a fan of some milder malt-forward styles like brown ales. It is unfortunate, because there are many breweries that make tasty versions of the style. I’ll admit that brown ales aren’t usually my first choice if I go to a new brewery I’m probably starting with their IPA, porter, or a Belgian style. That being said, I do like the occasional brown, especially in the fall when I want a more hearty brew. Slumbrew apparently agrees. For the last few years their fall seasonal has been their take on the brown ale, named Attic and Eaves. Slumbrew brews Attic and Eaves with an assortment of roasted grains along with Cascade and Fuggles hops. It is available on draft and in 22 oz. bombers during the fall season.

Slumbrew Attic and EavesSlumbrew Attic and Eaves pours a chocolate brown with a small off-white head. The scent is mild, with some roasted malts at the forefront. The malts dominate the flavor, notes of toasted grain, milk chocolate, toffee, honey and roasted nuts. There is a bit of hoppiness, touches of earth, pine and lemon with a little bite in the finish. The beer is medium bodied and drinkable so it hides the 7.5% ABV very well. The finish is clean with just a hint of malt sweetness in the aftertaste. This is a very solid version of a brown ale, complex malty flavors with enough hops for balance. Hoppy Boston score: 4.25/5.

Previous Slumbrew Reviews:

Slumbrew Island Day, Slumbrew Snow Angel, Slumbrew Trekker Trippel, Slumbrew Sittin’ on Hop of the World

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