This is a medium-sized tree that has a distinctly upright habit; care should be taken to avoid splitting under heavy crop loads. It is highly susceptible to fireblight and somewhat susceptible to scab. Brown Snout is a productive variety, but like many cider apples it tends to biennialism and needs to be thinned to maintain regular production. It is very late blooming, and a pollination partner should be chosen carefully. Brown Snout is an apple that is used predominanly for cider; it is not typically esteemed for fresh eating.

Brown Snout produces a late-season bittersweet cider apple. It is a smallish fruit with a greenish yellow base that is heavily russeted around a shallow calyx, whence its name. The juice is a mellow, dark cider with high tannins. Eve's Cidery writes of Brown Snout: "It is one of the best. Bittersweet with soft, warming tannins that are never bitter." This apple does not store well and should be pressed soon after harvest. From WSU: Tannin (percent tannic acid): 0.16; Acid (percent malic acid): 0.31; pH: 3.64; SG: 1.051; ^oBrix 12.9.

Thought to have been discovered on a farm in Yorkhill, Herefordshire, Brown Snout was eventually propagated by the H. P. Bulmer Company and planted across the west Midlands.