Blogs / Food & Drink / Fall-Winter 2011 / Beer of the Week: Manzanita Gillespie Brown Ale

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Beer of the Week: Manzanita Gillespie Brown Ale

This atypical brown ale goes against the grain to satisfy that West Coast craving for hops

American Brown Ale (8.1% ABV)

At their most traditional, brown ales are mild in flavor, exhibiting a low roast against a medium-low body, and come in at an ABV ranging from 5 to 7 percent. Not surprisingly, this restrained style seldom sets West Coast beer connoisseurs' palates aflutter. That contingent wants its hops and that’s just what they’ll get from this atypical Santee-brewed brown ale. Gillespie Brown has all of the trademark flavors of an Englishman’s brown ale as well as an increased level of roast, extra alcohol and a spike of hop bitterness that brings a nice, piney flavor and a bit of SoCal sensibility into the mix.

Available at: It’s on tap at Manzanita, currently located at 9962 Prospect Avenue, Suite E. That spot, which includes one of San Diego’s more artfully decorated tasting rooms, will soon close when the brewing company moves into its new, much larger facility this spring. The increased space and new brewing equipment that will grace their new brewhouse will allow them to quadruple their capacity, meaning much more of this and their other brews will be available on tap and in bottle at their 500-plus accounts.