Peaks and Pints Brown Out Night

Peaks and Pints will celebrate the brown ale Thursday, Nov. 29 pairing browns, imperial browns and barrel-aged browns with brownies.

OK, before you give us crap, let’s address the obvious: even though the brown ale is named for its color, things aren’t quite that simple. To begin with, the hues of this commonly misunderstood style can actually range anywhere from dark copper or amber to deep brown or sometimes ruby. The term itself was first coined by London brewers and referred to a whole family of classic British varieties, such as their mild ale in the early 18th century.

There are really two types of brown ales nowadays — the more traditional British brown and its Americanized cousin. British browns can be dark, rich and nutty, and sport strong malt characteristics and most are brewed from 100 percent brown malt. American Browns share their British brethren’s caramel tones and rich malt backbone, but tend to be markedly hoppier. Most brown ales are traditionally lower octane affairs and are drinkable by design.

OK, are we good?

Let’s get to the goods. … At 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, Peaks and Pints will pour Against The Grain The Brown Note, Boulevard Brewing Plaid Habit Imperial Brown, The Lost Abbey Gnoel de Abbey Holiday Brown Ale, Rogue Ales Hazelnut Brown Nectar and others. Peaks and Pints encourages you to wear brown, too.

What can brown do for you?

PEAKS AND PINTS BROWN OUT NIGHT, 6 p.m. to close, Peaks and Pints, 3816 N. 26^th St., Basecamp Proctor, Tacoma, no cover