Spearhead Moroccan Brown Ale

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:57 pm

Anyone have some first impressions of this?? Raisins, Dates, Figs, Cinnamon seem like a natural compliment to brown ale''s nutty flavor.

Seen this on tap yet?

hopdevil · Post by **hopdevil** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:26 pm

I had this on tap at The Monk's Kettle, during Toronto Beer Week.

While I found it a little too sweet for my tastes, I still found it very enjoyable.
Medium bodied & full-flavoured, nutty, and fruity.
The figs /dates came through in the aftertaste.

A very well-made beer; If it wasn't for the sweetness, it would be such an easy drinker.

ritzkiss · Post by **ritzkiss** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:49 pm

Had it on tap at The Only a while back. Didn't really do it for me - too sweet, too simple of a base, too reliant on novelty of flavors. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't something I would jump to revisit.

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:57 pm

ritzkiss wrote:Had it on tap at The Only a while back. Didn't really do it for me - too sweet, too simple of a base, too reliant on novelty of flavors. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible but it wasn't something I would jump to revisit.

This was kind of my impression of it - The base didn't strike me as strong as say Black Oak's.

Not to detrail, but I think one of the reason why BO nut brown and the Rifleman's Ration impresses me is because they're both very good beers with good simple flavours. Black Oak Nut Brown on cask (minus the beef jerky!) is one of the classic casks in this province.

Spearhead's Belgian Stout wasn't too bad.

Kish84 · Post by **Kish84** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 3:56 am

ritzkiss wrote:Didn't really do it for me - too sweet, too simple of a base, too reliant on novelty of flavors.

I agree with this.

This was at Imbibe about 2 weeks ago. I first had it at Session and wasn't a fan of it. I decided to give it another go, but not wanting to commit to a pint, I asked for a sample first, and I thank them as that's as far as I made it.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:38 am

JeffPorter wrote:I think one of the reason why BO nut brown and the Rifleman's Ration impresses me is because they're both very good beers with good simple flavours.

Exactly. Figure out how to make good beer first before you start screwing around with it.

pootz · Post by **pootz** » Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:19 pm

I went to try it on tap at Imbibe, but they drained the keg in 2 days/ had a sample before but not adequate to form an opinion one way or the other. I hope it isn't as sweet as towelers are saying. Had some wet hop Nickelbrook instead and that hit the spot.

SteelbackGuy · Post by **SteelbackGuy** » Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:34 am

We've had it on tap here a couple times at the ship. It is pretty brown tasting and also pretty sweet. But mostly brown.

It is nicely spiced but also quite sweet. I like it a lot, but only a half pint at a time.

The Mick · Post by **The Mick** » Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:58 am

Im not that crazy about the beer itself. I agree with most of the previous posts about the sweetness, but at Union in Ottawa they use it to make a Spiked Moroccan beer cocktail which is amazing. They have several components to the drink, some of which are house made, like cinnamon simple syrup, but it is great. Each liquor or flavor they use really helps showcase the fig and date flavours in the beer.

MatttthewGeorge · Post by **MatttthewGeorge** » Sat Dec 08, 2012 12:56 pm

The Cedar House in Paris made a mulled beer with it, which I thought worked really nicely.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Sat Dec 08, 2012 1:52 pm

Lots of fig and round spice in the taste, next to crisp hops, fruit middle with pale and toasty malts, finish dry-sweet with a slightly heavy-sweet body. Enjoyed it.

mintjellie · Post by **mintjellie** » Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:40 pm

Belgian wrote:Lots of fig and round spice in the taste, next to crisp hops, fruit middle with pale and toasty malts, finish dry-sweet with a slightly heavy-sweet body. Enjoyed it.

I love how concise that is.