Here’s a tasty little beer I picked up on a Christmas trip to Nashville: Tennessee Brew Works King Chestnut, their winter seasonal release that they peg in the American Brown Ale style. Now, there is a lot of association with chestnut trees, and I assume that the beer uses chestnuts as an ingredient.

The brewery says:

Once prominent, a blight destroyed almost 98% of the American chestnut trees between 1904-1906 (Wikipedia). In Tennessee, it was called the "King of the Forest." Two of the largest surviving American chestnut trees are actually in Jackson County, TN.

These days, the American Chestnut Foundation is working hard to repopulate the trees across the country. What better way to honor the history of the chestnut than through beer?!

And in a press release, they do add:

Tennessee Brew Works and Treeborn, Inc. who developed the chestnut chip, recognize this long-sought milestone by brewing an American chestnut brown ale with the mild, sweet nutty flavor that only the King of the Forest could provide.

This is the first beer I’ve ever tasted brewed with chestnuts. Amazing, that. I have a chestnut tree in my backyard, and having roasted them, can tell you they are very mild in flavor. This made me wonder how much of a presence they could command.

Tennessee Brew Works King Chestnut has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume with 28 IBUs. It was running $9.99 a six-pack at Kroger in Spring Hill.

Tennessee Brew Works King Chestnut pours to a dark brown color with a thick creamy head of tan foam and a luscious chocolate chip cookie nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a decadent dark chocolaty brownie flavor, is even chewy in body like the latter dessert, and I get a very subtle nuttiness from the chestnuts. The beer finishes slightly grassy, and very bitter in a long dry way. It is quite roasty for a brown ale with a roasty bitterness in the finish.

Just wonderful, a fantastic winter treat not to be missed.

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