Ellicottville Nut Brown Ale (NY)

This newly bottled beer from Ellicottville (contract brewed by Southern Tier) was known as Buchan Nut Brown when sold in growlers and on tap. It pours clear copper with an off-white head. The aroma hints at citrus hops, and these are apparent in the taste too, although only in the background. It's also faintly soapy. Still, the hops are arguably more prominent than the malt, and I don't detect much nuttiness at all. It's really a pretty light brown ale, not nearly as flavorful as those from Dogfish Head or Smuttynose. Maybe those aren't fair comparisons, but to me this is disappointing.

I wasn't crazy Ellicottville's Pale Ale either, but that one at least made an impact (I thought it was too severe). I'm wondering if there were issues translating this from tap to bottle, or maybe problems with consistency.