Sometime, about a decade ago, it looked like we could save brown ale. The American variant had potential ,a full new world hop aroma with a clean fermentation and a nutty , caramel , lightly  chocolatey malt profile. It wasn’t as food friendly as English Brown Ale but it was a start. The number of times I have been asked for beer and food matches and have thought the best option would be the smooth crystal and chocolate malt character and light fruity fermentation character of a traditional brown ale. But there was almost never such a beer available. The best we could do was the American Brown Ale style , darker , roastier and with a new world dry hop character but it was better than nothing. It really was I told myself ,  better than nothing.
However it was not to be. The trends of beer drinking have left both English Brown Ale styles and the American variant sadly unpalatable to the modern beer market. I mean you can’t even sell traditional IPA anymore. I would love to brew brown ale but I know it would be money squandered, perhaps its time to dust off the home brewery. I can’t help but think this situation leaves us all the poorer.