Brau Brothers Ring Neck Braun Ale

I wrote this in november of 2007:

Brau Brothers Ring Neck Braun Ale, 12 ounce brown bottle. Appearance: opaque, ruddy brown, small head. Aroma: caramel & nuts, nice and malty, good and toasty. Taste: medium-bodied, with flavor of nuts, and toffee. Dry finish. Grows in complexity through the life of the drink. Getting a deeper feel that reminds me of a Belgian dubbel...makes me wonder what the malts are. Hops seem to be on the way-down-low, but are around here somewhere. Missing something, though, could use a little this, a little that, to make it memorable. But quite good...As an autumnal seasonal, not bad at all...I can feel the warmth, already.

And I wrote this last week:

Brau Brothers The Ring Neck Braun Ale.

"First brewed in the fall of 2006, RingNeck Ale was a stepping stone for Brau Bros in terms of melding styles and pushing ingredients to produceunique flavors and aromas. This ale is nutty, with noticeable chocolate and raspberry. Moderate body and carbonation allow the malt to come through. Fuggle vines edge the southern face of the brewery's hop yard and make up the bulk of hop additions. The focus is on malt, however, with toasted oats and biscuit malt highlighting the bill. "

Deep mahogany hue, close to chocolate, with dark fruit edges. Slim head, nothing to talk about there.

Aroma: sweetness aplenty, nuts, cocoa, toffee, some fruit. Very slight appearance of hop bitterness, just enough to hold down the fort.

Taste: Very clean, medium body, faint finish. Sweet malt reigns supreme, rings through in the flavor, shines, and softly plays out, ending peaceably and serene. I scoffed at the 'raspberry' part, I must admit, but it's there. Well-crafted, but not what I personally prefer. I can drink it, and appreciate it, but for my tastes, I'd ask for more hops, more body, more something. But, that's just me.

Not a bad beer, just not for me.