Avery Ellie’s Brown Ale – Brew Review

For me, this was a particularly fitting and somewhat emotional beer for this week’s Brew Review. I won’t get into why just yet.

I’ve already mentioned before that I love porters, and up there with them I’d add brown ales. Ellie’s is what I’d call the perfect brown ale. It has that roasty, nutty, chocolaty taste that I love so much, with a (shocker!) deep brown color. The head isn’t quite as large as the one pictured, but it was decent … if you care about that sort of thing.

Sometimes, with these darker ales, you’ll get a nasty, bitter aftertaste with a mouthful of grassy hops. It tastes like you were downing a brew at an outdoor beer festival, then tripped and did a face-plant in a pile of grass clippings; believe me, I know — long story. Ellie’s has none of that aftertaste and is a complete pleasure to drink.

The only downside to Ellie’s is that it doesn’t go down very well with food. It’s a bit on the heavy side, and the flavors are so strong that it sort of cancels out the flavors of what you’re eating. If you’re going to have this with a meal, it’d be best with something on the spicy side, in my opinion.

Now, getting to why this beer was fitting for me this week. Ellie’s is named in honor of the Avery Brewery owner’s dog, who passed away in 2002. We lost our dog of 12 years just last week, so I admire that Avery was able to honor his faithful companion in naming a great beer after her. Though I won’t be able to name my own beer after our dog, he’ll always be remembered here in the McDuffee household, whether or not I’m hoisting up a pint of Guinness in remembrance … for Guinness was his name.

Photo Credit: Avery Brewing