Bonfire Brown Ale

Thanks to the crew at Saugatuck for dropping this off last week. To my knowledge, we are the Drop of site for the Michigan beer shipment to the GABF next year. I managed to snag a bottle for this review. Tasted Friday evening prior to my 4 am Saturday morning brew - Hopivore!
Snifter Served
5.5% ABV

Appearance: Fantastic head retention with a dense 1" of froth settled atop the beer. Lacing is dry and styrafoamed against the side of the glass. The pour was a light brown color, nearing the pigment of coke, but in the glass it holds a rich brown with a rubied glow when held to the light. Dissipation finally results in a clustering of larger sized bubbles (eyes) after several minutes.
Aroma: Strong toast based malt aromas permeate from the glass. Interestingly, the smoke scent appears to be a lot more prominent than it is in the flavor. Smokey, earthy and a bit of wood notes come through along with a touch of caramel and even a bit of an acidic roast.
Taste: Up front, a brief acidic flavor churns out a great bite to compliment the mild toasted malt base. Fueling this is the flavor of carbonation which helps boast the hops in the end along with prolonged roast character, paralleled by wood, oak and a touch of un-processed maple sap and burning wood.
Mouthfeel: With all the complexity pumped into this beer, it remains rather drinkable. The carbonation falls middle of the road to perfection as it froths up at the end without too much of a bite. Body is medium to light,   and the finish is dry.
Overall Impression: Delicious, not too smokey and incredibly drinkable. The best adjective for this beer...balanced. Nice work guys.