Enjoyable light-bodied dark ale furnishes sweet cashew-hazelnut roast and bittersweet black chocolate blast with slim orange-grapefruit bittering. Soft vanilla cadence and mild chicory nuance suit nutty finish well. Updated 2013 version (with generic label) afforded creamier mocha essence, richer caramel-burnt molasses penetration and deeper nut-charred hop roast.

Moderately dry chestnut-hued medium-bodied ale drapes scant coffee sourness above supportive nut influence and Turkish taffy illusion. Mid-palate chocolate malted richness settles to milky finish revitalizing initial coffee bean nuttiness.

Iced coffee affirmation deepens ashy mocha dryness, prickly burnt hop bitterness, dry wood tone, and smoked spicing. Cereal grains sweeten oily macadamia-hazelnut-walnut finish of complacent chestnut-hued fare.

Musty dark fruits and pungent nut grains overwhelm gentle hop flow to subtle coffee finish. Moderate cocoa bitterness, pale malt sweetness, and berry piquancy pervade mildly spicy aftertaste. Softer, drier, and less harsh than most nut brown competition.

Disappointing nut brown lacks firm caramel-grained foundation to nullified mocha-nutty finish. Too light, foamy, and watery with nary a bitter nut presence to carry the astringent load.

Swampy tan-headed, brown-bodied dark ale invites roasted nuttiness to sharp hop char and creamy mocha malting for up-front maltose penetration. Walnut-skinned peanut shelling lightly embitters maple-sugared hazelnut, butternut and cola illusions. Perhaps less assertive and gentler than richer nut browns, but mild silken nature perfect as crossover fare for pilsner-lager fans.

Sweet mocha-cocoa-tobacco confluence dampened by phenol fizz, compromising nuttiness as sugary malts get soapy. Brewery defunct: 2006.

Milky fudged toffee influence picks up distinct nuttiness overriding chocolate chip cookie, hazelnut coffee, marzipan-pasted butterscotch, and sugared fig sweetness as well as a symphony of secondary flavors. Black chocolate, vanilla, and maple undertones mesh well with chestnut, almond, and pecan illusions at midst as imminent rum raisin climax tags creamy hazelnut-candied mocha finish. Absolutely splendid.

Yummy milk chocolate creaminess, caramel nougat resilience, and toasted barley richness perfectly counter bitter hop fizz. Buttery serendipity and subtle spicing add relaxing backdrop to shrewdly nutty medium-bodied champion. Due to low mainstream sales, Chicago brewer retired this excellent brew around 2007.

Samuel Smith churns out such world class brews is it any surprise this may be the best nut brown ale on the market? Rich mocha malt penetration, sweet yeast resonation and enduring chestnut finish retain crisp distinction. Maple-sugared honey-sapped hazelnut, pecan, and almond detected at backend. A shade lighter and less creamy than Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout.

Not to be confused with brewery’s altogether fine “Hex” Nut Brown, later version brings more pronounced dark caramel essence to black chocolate richness and well-integrated honey thickness. Aromatic tobacco sweetness and chalky cocoa tinge furthermore differentiate convincing new-sprung interpretation.