You must try a Newcastle Brown Ale. Very smooth, no aftertaste.
By the way, Happy Birthday Marine!
There was a campus bar back when I was in college that used to serve Newcastle on tap. I would get a pint (or three) every Thursday when I’d go for lunch. One of my favorite beers of all time.
And to you! Tomorrow is indeed a special day, 237th! I bet Tuns Tavern and Brewery was awash in beers or ciders that day as they offered up a pint or two to the new recruits - those first Marines.
Aftertaste in a good beer is a feature, not a bug. (”Finish” is the term used.) The brown ale style tends to be fairly lightly hopped, so the finish is more subtle than something like an IPA.
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style11.php