Sunday Night Suds - Saranac Chai Brown Ale

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at Saranac Chai Brown Ale.

As has been their habit as of late, the good folks at Saranac have introduced a number of new beers in their winter variety box. In addition to old favorite Pale Ale (reviewed here (kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/03/sunday-night-suds-saranac-pale-ale.html) and more recent offerings 4059 Porter (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2012/11/sunday-night-suds-saranac-4059-porter.html) and Legacy IPA (reviewed here kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2014/02/sunday-night-suds-saranac-legacy-ipa.html ), the winter box contains the Chai Brown Ale along with Long John Lager and Into the Dark.

The Saranac website indicates that the Chai Brown Ale is made from a blend "of brown ale and chai spices - a lively, balanced brew with hints of coffee, cocoa, and vanilla."

I am not familiar with Chai as a spice (Mrs KB even corrected me that it is not pronounced like the Hebrew word for life). To me this beer taste like a light version of a Brown Ale with some earth and bitter spice. I don't taste any vanilla or cocoa and the bitter is more of traditional bitter and not a coffee note.

I did not find this beer to be an exceptional Brown Ale and would not attempt to pair this with anything other than a stew or similar smoky rich meat dish.

Saranac Chai Brown Ale is under the Kosher Supervision of the Va'ad of Detroit as is every other beer produced at the Matt Brewery plant in Utica, NY. Keep in mind, Saranac brews some of its High Peaks series off site and these bottles do not have kosher certification from the Va'ad of Detroit.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about this beer, please follow this link www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/99/133450.

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.

If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

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