Very low expectations for this beer, as the history with Redhook and the aggressiveness of the style put me in a bad mood before I even open the beer. In the updated presentation for the Limited release Series from Redhook. Actually, the style forced me into aging this for a year because I knew I would probably not enjoy the alcohol and hop intensity when it was young. This both is almost exactly 1 year old, and carries a date of SEP 09 2009. Pour and nose are exactly as expecting, giving a...
Notes on beers brewed by
Redhook Ale Brewery
Slim Chance Light Ale
16 oz "pint" at Taco mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. I REALLY wanted to like this since at 3.9% this kind of beer is just about impossible to find in the US. Unfortunately it was DIRE. Appearnace was jst the usual, nasty macro, ho head, no lace, watery pour. Again, nose (virtually nothing) was as expected and par for the style/course. Mouthfeel was from the same stable, but again not to disappointing since, (a) it supposed to be somewhat like that, and (b) that was what i was expecting, however...
Redhook Double Black Stout (with Coffee)
Mmm....very interesting stuff here, for more than one reason. This turned up in GA a few weeks ago and the bottle I am drinking right now is the second time I've tried it. The first time I had it I was pretty unimpressed, but this time it's much better. 22oz bomber from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Good black color and a decent head. Lace is pretty good. Body is a touch on the thin side but does not seriously detract from the brew. Nice bitter coffee notes permeate the air but the taste...
Winterhook Winter Ale
16 oz pint on tap at Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. Interesting one this. The first pint that I was given had a very nasty, plastic taste about it. I was pretty sure it was line cleaner which is ironic given what the line cleaner is supposed to do. The bar manager Ben was called, and he pulled a full pitcher off and the resulting pint was very tasty. Just a little effort is all that it generally takes. Chestnut brown pour with very nice clarity. The head is a little too small for me, and the...
Late Harvest Autumn Ale
$4.00 on tap at Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. I think that there is a problem with the cleanliness of the lines at this Taco Mac. Many of the beers have this strange, plastic like taste imparted to them and this was another of those. Maybe this review is not fair in that regard, but for now these are my thoughts. Looked good in the glass with an amber clarity, small head and some retention. That's where the good experience ended. Lacked taste and had a very, very bitter angle. A lack of...
Sunrye Ale
On tap as part of the $5.95 sampler at Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta, GA, USA. Pour is a very clear, urine yellow with good clarity and a small white head. Lots of carbonation. Nose and tastes have some rye character but it is VERY weak - very muted. Finish is dry and mouthfeel is rather weak as well. Put this against a full bodied Terrapin Rye and it's like drinking soda water! I dunno, this seems like a half-assed effort at a rye beer that falls very flat. Grain characteristics, but no real...
Copperhook Spring Ale
A pint of this was more expensive than a pint of Lagunitas Censored at Taco Mac, Douglasville, GA, USA. Golden pour. Looks OK. small head, disperses instantly. Average beyond average in all respects. Strikes me as low quality and cheap. Mild malts finishing with mild bitterness. The kind of beer that is unoffensive and must fit the AB mold perfectly. Bland as bland can be. Generic APA in a style that already struggles for identity this should be called BLAH beer by Redhook. NOTHING to report...
Long Hammer IPA
Very strange beer. IPA?? Appearance is 100% North American macro. Golden yellow color, typical no head (but some decent lacing) with absolutely no aroma. I quite literally could not smell a thing! This maybe due to the Arctic temperature it was served at, but I'll never know. The beer was absolutely tasteless - UNTIL then ending. A very hoppy, bitter and especially dry finish and aftertaste. Before that - nothing! No taste, no smell. Weird!
Redhook ESB
Very odd color for an ESB - it's much too plae and yellow, but putside of that, pretty nice. Sharp and clean taste to this increasingly common brew. It has some characteristics of an amber ale. Pours really nicely with a couple of fingers worth of bubbly head, but little or no lacing. Another beer which will benefit from a little warming up. I found it refreshing with a clean, dry aftertaste. Sugared grapefruit in the taste and surprisingly hoppy given the Genesis of this beer. Definitely one...