 RedSox2004 (353), Pacific Palisades, California, USA
Dec 26, 2008 Christmas night, kids are in bed, the toys are all broken, time to settle down with what I think will be a wonderful beer. And boy, does this deliver. Dense, two finger head with great retention and incredibly sticky and intricate lacing. Strong aromas of both caramel malt and piney hops but the hops smell lingers longer. Taste seems to be a battle between the two for my affections, and I am duly flattered. Hops lean toward a spruce tips sensation, but some citrus is also evident. Caramel malts, with peppery spices and honey combine to make a strong counter to the bitterness. Meium to full bodied, nice carbonation, and the hops dominate a very pleasant aftertaste. High ABV is warming, not overpowering. Great finish to a great day.
kosko20 (302), Bemidji, Minnesota, USA
Dec 25, 2008 So cracked this baby open just for Christmas. Pour is a gorgeous ruby orange with a monster sized off white head. Faded some. Aroma is lovely of hops. After it warmed some, hops were less potent and alcohol came thru. The flavor was decent of hops and alcohol but was really thick and chewy on the palate like it had too much going on. Difficult to drink actually even with a lot of impressive flavors.
dmruth (25), Portland, Oregon, USA
Dec 24, 2008 22 oz Bottle (2008). Pours a dark orange/red. Wonderful lacing on the thick full head. A malty nose with a hint of hops. Powerful on the palate with sweeter aftertaste. Nothing is overdone. A balanced and wonderful beer.
Lagunitasfan (432), San Diego, California, USA
Dec 24, 2008 Bottle at Holiday Alesmith tasting. Strong red color. Creamy, thick, fluffy head. Did I mention it was thick? Fruity sweet on the nose with sharpness of hops behind it. Sharp on the tongue. Big pucker factor with the sweetness in the middle of the mouth. Sharp malt flavors stand up. Is spicy. Yum.
SamGamgee (1396), Santa Cruz (La Selva), California, USA
Dec 24, 2008 Updated: Dec 31, 2008Draught at the Red. Dark amber-red with not much of a head. Aroma of pure butterscotch and a bit of caramel. The flavor is very butterscotch dominated with a some green, oily hops and modest bitterness. Pretty sweet and malty. This just tastes weird, like a couple shots of butterscotch liqueur got dumped in my imperial red. The hops struglge over the sweet, candied body. Quite a let down. I*ve got a bottle that I*m going to save for new years; hoping that its different than this odd tasting keg.
(2.9) Rerate: 22oz bottle. Better beige head over a rich dark red body. the butterscotch is gone, but this is still to sweet and alcoholic; the hops are there, but they just get clobbered by all the sugar and alcohol. I’ll bump it up a bit, but I still feel that this is way overrated.
nramsburg (200), New York, New York, USA
Dec 23, 2008 Pours to an orange amber color with a good sized head. In terms of aroma theres a good deal of alcohol and yeast on the nose and, for the holiday style, surprisingly less spice than Id mistakenly, assumed.
It isnt terribly thick; reasonably creamy without overpowering.
A bit of caramel, perhaps pine as well, I didnt register the citrus as much, but perhaps thats just my palate.
Smooth finish, refreshingly balanced hops and malt.
This beer really stands out for its steadfast commitment to balance.
edmajorjoe (79), Vail, Arizona, USA
Dec 21, 2008 A nice belnd of hops and malts. Very good pour with a beautiful, thin and everlasting head on pour. Copper colored with a sweet scent and delicious taste.
nickd717 (1276), Palo Alto, California, USA
Dec 19, 2008 Updated: Feb 8, 2009Bottle at Hop Devil Grill in NYC, then tap at City Beer Store in SF. Really solid winter beer. They did not spare any hops on this one. Amber/red color with medium carbonation. Complex flavor profile with spices, citrus and pine, spices, sweet malt, and bitter hops. Fairly full palate.
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