Why did it take me so long to try Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown? I’m sure I don’t know. Lonerider beers have been sold in Georgia for some time now, after all. They were even featured as beer of the month at Taco Mac not so long ago. I’ve enjoyed them all actually, and while a sage recently noted that most of them are on the average side, there’s nothing wrong with that. Then too, there are plenty of gemns as well like Sweet Josie Brown Ale.

I’ll get into the reasons that I like this beer so much shortly, but for now it’s enough to say that this is a very tasty brown ale full of rich dark malt flavors. If you don’t believe me, though, just look at the awards the beer has won as cited on the Lonerider website:

Gold, Great American Beer Festival

Gold, Carolina Championship of Beer

Bronze, US Open Beer Championship

From the bottle label:

As strong-willed as she is seductive, Sweet Josie knows how to draw you in then bring you to your knees. This American brown ale is a complex beer balancing a nice hop bitterness with a generous amount of chocolate and aromatic malts.

Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown has an alcohol content of 6.1% by volume, and is average in price at $8.99 a six-pack. Here’s what I think of the beer:

Lonerider Sweet Josie Brown pours to a russet reddish brown color with a medium sized creamy head formation and a sweet chocolate cookie malty nose. Taking a sip, the beer follows through on that luscious sweet chocolate cookie malt nose that I want in a brown ale with hints of toasted nuts and brown sugar. The sweetness follows through into the finish, where it’s only gently balanced out by gentle grassy bitter hops.

So why do I love this beer so much? It’s the malt, folks. That delightful chocolate chip cookie maltiness really comes through here, and in a day dominated by hoppy beers, that is welcome indeed. This is not a whale or a sledgehammer beer, but one you can gently pull on and enjoy over an afternoon. Indeed, a very tasty and easy drinking brown ale I would love to have again, and therefore certainly will.

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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