12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Word on the street is that this is essentially the same beer as this; http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/864/46125 but the beer has been "tweaked" a little in terms of the recipe, and (obviously) it has been re-branded as part of Red Brick's image overhaul. The pour gives a nice, mahogany body with some light chill haze. The head is tan and light and bubbly. Retention and lace are below average. WOW! The nose and tastes are ENORMOUS bubble-gum...
Notes on beers brewed by
Red Brick Brewing Company
Fred Brick
"Fred Brick" brewed by Red Brick in association with Fred Crudder of "The Fred" fame, and Taco Mac's beverage manager. (Nothing like naming bars and beers after yourself!) Anyway... ...16 oz pout at Taco Mac on the East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Pour offers a nice clarity with a lighter than expected golden color. It certainly doesn't have much "Red" or "Amber" color. Head is about average and offers some lace. Looks OK. Nose and tastes offer the usual Red Brick experience. Solid, OK,...
Red Brick Brown Ale
12 oz single. What? I've never reviewed this? Seems unlikely, but here we go. Pour is quite a light, orange color that one would perhaps associate more with an IPA rather than a brown. Head is decent, but retention is not great. Lace is present, but fairly wispy and not especially sticky. Large caramel malts with also a (apparently odd) bourbon note! WTF? Anyway, in the taste the beer gets back to being "normal" with extra malt caramel and some rounded sweetness. A little touch of smoke for me...
Laughing Skull Amber Ale
12 oz bottle, completely new and different beer from the old, Czech/Bohemian Pils affair. As is sometimes the case, an interesting turn of events lead me to pick this beer up for the first time; I grab one in a mixed sixer at Mac's and then head downtown to meet Wes at Cypress for a quick lunchtime pint. Low and behold, ABC's Chris is at the bar and he pulls a couple for me - thanks Chris, you're very kind. The story behind the new beer is that it was born out of a combo/blend that some guys...
Red Brick 15th Anniversary
22 oz bottle adorned with an impressive gold foil top. Unusual to see Atlanta Brewing putting it out there in a few different ways; bombers, foiled, bourbon-aged, anniversary offering, transparent label, special release etc. Nice clarity on the reddish-brown pour with a flimsy white head that breaks up quickly. Some watery lace and some legs when we swirl it. Nose is strong with alcoholic vanilla coming to the fore. Tastes are all vanilla bourbon dominated, but the power is restrained and not...
Red Brick Black Brick
On tap at the Brick Store on 10/16/2009. Description precisely as follows; 80% Altanta Brewing Co. 2007 Winter Ale + 20% Atlanta Brewing Co. Brown Ale, then aged in Jack Daniels barrels since 2007. Described by the brewer/brewery as a "Sour" and appears on the Brick Store menu as such, BUT only because it seems difficult to classify, and as it has been fermenting away for a couple of years. Classified in terms of the closest style available on BA, but fairly inaccurate. Very dark, still,...
Red Brick Solstice Roggenbock
On tap at Taco Mac Metropolis on 06/23/09 - from notes; 16 oz pour. 30 year anniversary beer for TM from ABC. In summary, unoffensive but not much character that would suggest that this is a Roggenbier. The pour is a very surprising bright yellow affair with good clarity, some nice head and decent lace. Looks are possibly the strongest feature of this brew. Light on taste, in fact rather sweet. Almost no rye taste when compared to some other beers that contain the grain. Simple malty, bread...
Red Brick Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter
A quick note on this beer. This is the same beer that used to be called the "Red Brick Winter Brew" up to and including 2007. In 2008 the Winter Brew reverted to a new style, a Belgian Ale. Whether this becomes the norm for the "Winter Brew" or it becomes a rotating style remains to be seen, but for now my review of this beer (The Double Chocolate Porter) sits here, under the heading of the original Double Chocolate Oatmeal Porter; http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/864/8574/?ba=Ding No...
American Best Bitter
Apparantly (I've never been here before so I am guessing slightly) this is part of the "Peachtree and 14th" rotating cask series at TAP, Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA, USA. Surprisingly light, golden colored beer that reminded me of a (recently) popular English Golden Ale in terms of its appearance. Low carbonation (as expected) but more thin head and lace than I was expecting. Nice biscuit malts are present as I would I expect, and these do linger nicely into the aftertaste. Tasty brew with a...
Red Brick Helles Bock
On-tap at Taco Mac, Marietta, GA, USA. $4.50 for the 16oz pour. Very attractive golden, orange hue that had good clarity, nice carbonation and a decent white head and some good lace. A close look at the body seems to reveal a little oily, viscous nature - more of that later. Taste is relatively crisp and refreshing, but ends with a surprisingly large alcohol taste. Not sure if it was actually the alcohol, or whether it was just a "taste" of alcohol. The mouthfeel is a bit viscous, and together...
#’s Ale
Part of a sixer from Green's, Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. 12oz bottle. Great looking pour into the Young's Imperial Pint glass. Big, billowing head and some nice lace - good retention too. Light copper color with very good clarity and some fine, but very nice carbonation. Pretty darn good looking beer. Soft, soapy hops in the nose but this is very reserved. Taste shows somthing unusual - a simple, balanced and well made beer that is not trying to prove anything, rather it is content to be a...
Red Brick Oktoberfest
On-tap at the Taco Mac on the East West Connector, Austell, GA, USA. Lifeless looking pour with a head that dies away quickly to leave almost nothing on the surface of the beer. No lace. Mid-brown, uninteresting to say the least. Sweet malts in the nose and some in the taste. Wouldn't guess this was supposed to be an O'fest, it seems like an amber/sweet lager without any distinguishing character. Utterly bland beer (not offensive, but just blah..). This is a typical ABC beer. Not bad, not...
Wizard’s Hat Brew (Mellow Mushroom)
OK, origins of this are not really very clear, but the best I can come up with is this; ABC have been contract brewing a beer for a group of restaurants in the Atlanta area, noteably the Pie Bar, for some time. The Pie Bar has been marketing this as "Numbers Ale", but to my knowledge ABC has never sold this as such. Anyway, the word is that ABC are attempting to create a beer that they can market to groups of restaurants, namely Pizza joints, BBQ places and Mexican restaurants and each case it...
Red Brick Summer Unfiltered Wheat
2006 version of the Summer Hefe from Atlanta Brewing, this time in the bottle. Classic lemon, butterscotch colored pour into the Tucher Weizen 500 mL glass. These Hefe's look great in that glass, a real classic look. Looks like a banana! Great rocky head, but it does lose its appearance at little too quickly. Nice lacing though kinda makes up for that. All the standard characteristics with cloves and bananas as large as life. Very slight extra bitterness in the finish which makes it a little...
Red Brick Blonde
Pretty pale Pilsner type appearance with a small head that disappears to leave some decent lacing and some surface cream. Carbonation is good and "tops up" the surface head nicely. Some fruit acid type character or pepper in the aroma. Interesting tastes that lie somewhere in the Pilsner/Cream Ale range. Definite initial dry hop bitterness, but this fades quickly to give a creamy dryness in the finish. Finish is quite long and there is a pronounced dry/bitter aftertaste. A little malt in the...
Kelly’s Light Irish Stone Brewed
Not at all bad. Never going to be my favorite style, but this hits the spot on a hot Atlanta Spring day. Good looker, with a clear pale straw color, excellent head and some lacing. Good bitterness all the way through and a definite thirst quenching effect. No skunk and decent level of carbonation and crispness. Reminded me a lot of a Kolsch. This is not a great beer, but I was happily surprised by its general drinkability and quality. I wasn't expecting much, but got a little more than I...
Red Brick Winter Brew
This is a hidden gem - at least in the Atlanta/SE beer scene. I've been living in Atlanta for the best part of five years, all that time paying close attention to the beer scene, regularly going to all the best stores in the metro area and have been on the ABC brewery tour, and I didn't know this existed until I found it in Mac's downtown on the individual bottle clearance shelf! Great looking Porter with an amazing aroma coming from the opaque, black body. Chocolate up front, with a hoppy,...
Red Brick Summer Unfiltered Wheat
I enjoyed this beer very much. Drank it at the brewery on one of their Friday night tastings. There is no doubt that the flavors and aromas in this beer are more subtle than many others of a similar style, and that it was thinner than many Hefe's, but those characteristics added to its drinkability on a hot day. A golden yellow, hazy pour with a substantial head that didn't hang around too long. The fruit and spice notes are difficult to pick up in the aroma, but I am notoriusly bad at...
Laughing Skull Bohemian Pilsener
$3.25 on draught, Mellow Mushroom, Douglasville, GA, USA. Very strange this one, I would not have guessed this was supposed to be a Pilsner had I not known. Looks like a standard macro lager, but had a very odd taste. I thought it was spicy, not a mild spice either, quite a pronounced peppery type taste. Having said that, it was refreshing, cold and enjoyable. I would like to give this another chance. Decent macro type pour with a nice head that hung around a little. Not bad, a bit odd, needs...
Red Brick Pale Ale
$6.99, Six-pack, Publix supermarket, Villa Rica, GA, USA. Very attractive, pale orange, clear pour with a nice head with some good retention and a little lacing. Blast of floral hops up front, that softens but lingers, giving a surprisingly bitter finish. It certainly wasn't very bitter, but much more than I was expecting. Malts here are subdued. Enjoyable, and quite meaty brew for such a light color and the style. Good value and well worth investigating when in Atlanta.