Review: Newcastle Brown Ale
One look at old standby Newcastle and you feel like you’re in for a treat. A nice medium brown but not too dark, frothy head, looks like it can’t miss, right?
My latest encounter with Newcastle (reportedly the #2 imported beer in the U.S.) was hardly the experience I was hoping for. In lieu of a rich brew I found it to be thin and watery. Lightly bitter, but hardly rich. Kind of oily, and not much more pleasant than drinking Budweiser.
Could it have something to do with the fact that Newcastle closed its historic brewery in 2005 and moved to the city of Dunston? (That’s right, Newcastle is no longer made in Newcastle.) The company also tried to modernize the beer’s look in 2000, a failed attempt that temporarily removed the “ale” from the label for a few years. (It returned in 2004.) I don’t know if all the meddling did something to what’s inside the bottle, but this isn’t the Newcastle I’m familiar with.
B- / $8 per six-pack / newcastlebrown.com
October 31st, 2007 at 9:35 am
I was a die hard “Newkie Brown” drinker till about 2004ish. Then I stopped liking it. I thought it was cause my taste had changed but I guess it may be because they changed the beer, I think it is sweeter. The funny thing was that in the UK in 05 I couldn’t find a single pub that had it on tap… Now I’m into Smithwyck’s and even convinced my local pub to put it on tap.
February 10th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
[...] it’s a good choice. I prefer the Golden, but this one works just fine. I’d take it over Newcastle any day. [...]