Guest Video Review by Jeff Lyons

Well here it is, my first beer ever from Derry, New Hampshire’s Kelsen Brewery, courtesy of our own Jeff Lyons, the master of New England beer reviews. If you’ve never seen any of Jeff’s reviews, you’re in for a treat, and just for fun I’ve included one here on this page. No extra charge!

Kelsen describes themselves as a nanobrewery, meaning their volume is extremely small and distribution super-limited. Kelsen beers are not sold outside New Hampshire, making this an exceptional score for me. The really, really cool label doesn’t hurt either.

From that label: There are only a few moments in life that can change your view of the world around you. This may be one of those moments. What you are holding is a highly hopped brown ale that transcends the characteristics found in many examples of the style. Paradigm Brown Ale has a wonderful hop aroma that is apparent the second you pop the cap. Your first sip presents you with frothy foam and the taste of delicious chocolate malt that is more typical of darker colored beer. The malt flavors carry the hop bitterness through the entire sip and it finishes with a smooth texture that leaves your mouth watering for more. Is this another ordinary brown ale, or has it changed your view of what a brown ale should be? Kelsen Paradigm Brown Ale has an alcohol content of 7% by volume and 47 IBUs. Apparently the price is $8.99 a bottle, since there was a sticker on the cap with that price on it. Kelsen Paradigm Brown Ale pours to a dark mahogany color with a thick creamy head of tan colored foam and a soft, ever so gentle sweet cookie malty nose. Chocolate chip anyone? Taking a sip, I get more of that sweet, gently nutty, softly cookieish chocolate maltiness that is just fantastic to this malt lover. As the beer progresses, notes of molasses, brown bread, brown sugar and just a hint of raisin emerge. The finish has a balancing bitterness, but not as much hop aroma as I expect from an American brown Ale. Still, the malt is the story here and it makes this beer truly exceptional. And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box . *Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer. (B)=Bottled (D)=Draft (G)=Growler

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