Today’s beer is a lovely little treat from my local railway arch bar/restaurant, Tracks. Before I start the review I just want to say in the wake of Lockdown 2.0, if you have the means, support your local businesses. They can all really use the help at the moment! Five Points Brewing Co., based out of Hackney, is making a first appearance on the blog. However, I know the brewery and their beer well. Not only have I had the opportunity to visit the place but we also stock their brews at work. This is ‘Brick Field Brown’ which I have not had. It’s also the first Brown Ale I will have ever tried so was excited to get stuck into this one.

The beer pours a very interesting almost cola like colour that gradually becomes dark ruby red as you drink. The is a slight nutty aroma to the beer while also having hints of roasted coffee as well. The flavour on this brew is incredibly complex. There is a caramel like sweetness to the start while also being very reminiscent of a stout. The finish has a slight hoppy bitterness to it that is rather moreish. Very easy drinking and goes down super quick.

A quick note on the bottle art: Very minimalist with simple branding. Beer and brewery name with the description clear on the front of a white label looks basic but I really enjoy it. A contrast to typical craft beer branding.

Brown Ales were a traditional English staple and I think the idea would put of a lot of people. However, this is no bog standard beer and is actually very complex and full of different flavours. A malt heavy front brings forward caramel and brown sugar flavours while the back end is a nice balanced bitterness to offset the initial richness. It’s all been cleverly done and I think the associations of the style would result in people missing out on a very good beer. This beer would be incredible on cask I am sure of it. To be fair it comes as no surprise to me that it’s good as Five Points have never failed me on a brew so far. They create incredibly solid staples. Will most certainly be heading back to Tracks to grab another of these over lockdown.

Score: 8.5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Willamette
• Malt: Naked Golden Oats
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 5.4%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Location: Tracks ( https://trackse7.com/ )