Is "Southern English Brown" really a thing?

[boingy]

When I saw those BJCP browns I just assumed they were trying to expand their much criticised coverage of English beers.

For me, Manns is a mild, whatever the label might say.

As for Maxim, despite me drinking it every second Saturday for the best part of two years, i have no idea what it looks like. This is because I, and pretty much everyone else in that particular establishment, drank it from the bottle...

[Jim]

Well, Double Maxim was (is?) a fairly dark beer (iirc) and quite strong compared to the keg bitters which were around at the time I used to drink it. I would never have described it as a mild, that's for sure.

Here's a picture of the new version in a clear bottle that appears to be a copy of the Newky Brown bottle in shape (my memory is it used to come in normal-shaped brown bottles).

Double Maxim.

I never saw it on draught - though if it ever was, Eric will know about it.

[woblylegs]

ye it was on draught Jim. the coach n horses in Annfield plain had it on draught. i quite liked double maxim. better than NBA
just nipped to asda and got a bottle on Manns brown ale to try. its not bad. more of a mild than a brown ale but is very dinkable

[f00b4r]

Double maxim can be found on draft, although I can't remember seeing it. There is also a stronger brother called Maximus that they make.

[timmydog]

Newcastle brown (aka 'dog') has changed at least a couple of times since I started drinking it. It was my drink of choice at university in York (i.e. The north, close to Tadcaster) in the early '90s because it was a nice beer and you could put your thumb over the top and dance without spilling it.

It had more flavour and body in my memory, without much, if any sweetness.

I also think that there isn't a distinction between northern and southern. I lived in London and Hove for a while and sampled whatever was available. Don't think that I remember thinking that brown ales down there were any different to up here, but I wasn't looking for it, nor was it a side by side comparison...

[timmydog]

The chemical that they're taking out is caramel used for colouring. It's carcinogenic in the same way that toast, chips, crisps, toffee, etc are. Browned, caramelized carbohydrates are bad for you! Ban them all! Having said that brown colouring has no place in beer IMHO

[Hugh Jampton]

Newcastle Brown has always been sold in clear bottles which cause most beers to become sunstruck and taste skunky. That obviously doesn't happen to Newcastle Brown. Perhaps all the chemicals and additives stop that happening or maybe they just mask the bad taste. I know it's pasturised, that must help.

[boingy]

Here's a picture of the new version in a clear bottle...

That's just wrong diddly wrong.

[Nosferatu]

As quoted from the Maxim website http://www.maximbrewery.co.uk/brands/double-maxim.aspx " Double Maxim is brewed using Maris Otter & Crystal Malts and English Golding Aroma Hops. It delivers a mouth of full and rounded flavour that is well balanced and smooth and leaves a pleasant and lingering and slightly sweet aftertaste.
Roger Protz described it as "an undoubted classic. It is a fine example of a North East brown ale. It is a good balance of ripe grain and spicy hops, with a long bittersweet finish."
I always viewed DM as Vaux's version of NBA , used to drink a fair bit of it back in the day as Trillians was one of the few Vaux pubs in Newcastle city centre . The new version is still a very decent drink .

[SHIELDS EXILE]

I think southern is more sweet and mellow, half way between Chimney or Pelforths andNewcastle northern style.

[john luc]

I hope the style does not disappear soon as I have brewed under it and entered it in our National competition .

[seymour]

I hope the style does not disappear soon as I have brewed under it and entered it in our National competition .

Good luck in the competition, john luc!

The beer as described in BJCP guidelines sounds delicious, and the beers I've tasted which are brewed to these BJCP guidelines are delicious. I was just skeptical about how prevalent it actually is in Southern England, what exactly the guidelines are based upon, and if actual Englishmen even think about it the way BJCP does...

[SHIELDS EXILE]

The best brown ale I have ever made all grain ,last year was Double brown from Ron pattinsons let's brew listings,have been drinking Newcastle since1962 and the Whitbread recipe is great.Next best I reckon is Pelforths French Brine ale.

[DaveyT]

Randy Mosher's Nut Case Brown Ale is very good. I was struck by the colour; there was no hint of darkness, just a solid brown colour. Previously, all my brown beers have been either dark or golden, never just brown. It would do really well with a rye addition, too.

In Newcastle, we always talked about the local hospital, the Royal Victoria Infirmary, having a special ward for people who'd drunk NBA for too long. Can't imagine that's true though. It had that kind of reputation amongst my peers, though, and may people steered clear of it as it made them 'proper radge' (aggressive).

[themadhippy]

In Newcastle, we always talked about the local hospital, the Royal Victoria Infirmary, having a special ward for people who'd drunk NBA for too long

yea its called the mortuary