Adrift Irish Red Ale lacks stylish clarity. Tart orange-dried fruiting, weary Scotch malting and wispy cereal-grained sweetness whisked away by brisk carbolic Seltzer spritz. Understated biscuity malt bottom falters.
4-leaf clovers added to St. Patrick’s Day (2013) Irish Red Ale may not influence pleasant medium body in any noticeble way, but the dry peated whiskey overtones should suffice. Sweet crystal and caramel malts enhance its citric-spiced spritz and rye-breaded biscuit bottom. Alcohol-burnt hop astringency may overly embitter tart orange candied finish. ‘Lucky’ son of a bitch on the label’s a scream. On tap at Andy’s Corner Bar, honey-toasted Vienna malt creaming, spiced orange-cherry tang and grassy hop astringency lead the way.
Respectable Middle Eastern medium body based on classic English amber. Subtle peach, lychee and passion fruit illusions hide inside mildly creamed cookie dough yeast and sweet caramel-toffee malting.
Confusingly indistinct ‘ruby farmhouse ale’ lacks stylistic specificity. Closer to a British-styled pale ale with its nominal barley toasting and mild hop spicing, but not far removed from an English Bitter’s dewy peated minerality and rye graining. Belgian ale yeast may induce lulling citric florality.
Unspecific medium-bodied Irish Red Ale immediately goes askew as no prominent flavor profile shines through. Mild hop-spiced honeyed tea entry picks up musty fig-soured dried fruiting, grape-stemmed cherry stone remnant and wispy orange oiling. Dry grain-toasted bottom and ethereal mossy peat leathering mired by coarse astringency.
OK tin-canned version of amber-hazed moderate body proves to be a dependable, if subdued, Irish Red Ale blending saison-like fruiting with toasted caramel malts. Wispy orange-soured grapefruit peel entry fades into cherry-dried green apple tartness above peppery juniper hop spicing. Black tea dalliance and earthen minerality negatively affected by coarse metallic rusting as well as funky compost waft.
Approachable amber-ruddied red ale brings tart fruited caramel malting to honeyed maple nuttiness, finishing closer to a delicately sweet brown ale. Tart red cherry, red apple and orange fruiting contrasts astringent alcohol burn and ESB-like leafy hop bite. Oats-toasted praline, pecan and walnut illusions round out its balanced profile.
Exquisitely perplexing copper-hazed pleasantry brings dry fruited alacrity to honeyed maple malts and wintry spicing. Naval orange-peeled bittering softly embraces red apple, cherry and apricot musk as well as tertiary cinnamon-swirled nutmeg-allspice nicety. Resinous pine undertones, peat whiskey niche and medicinal 7.2% alcohol astringency deepen backend of assertive (if somewhat dischordant) delight that’s stylistically robust.
Messy Irish-styled red ale tries blending too many disparate elements. Pasty Scotch-licked entry tersely abandoned for wavered orange-dried cherry souring and cardboard-like caramel malting. Spiced apple respite adds pleasantry. But scattered vegetal snip downgrades initial pulse and acrid tea-like herbal spell comes undone.
Convincingly well-balanced ‘deep red ale’ brings honeyed caramel malting to cereal-grained barley roast, oaken vanilla midst, tertiary Maraschino cherry sweetness and chewy cookie dough reminder. Earthen backdrop deepens over time. A bit slick but nicely rounded.
