Alpine Beer Company McIlhenneys Irish Red

Brewed by Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Irish Ale
Alpine, California USA

22oz bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!). Poured a medium and clear brownish color with a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of caramel and fruits. Tastes of pretty much the same. Thinner body.

Bottle at the Yeha. Poured a dark, dark amber with a white head. Strong caramel and fruit aroma, almost barley wineish. Taste is much fainter than the aroma, consisting of mostly light caramel. Decent session beer though definitely thin.

From a far this sits a shadowy dark blood red, up to the light it has a wonderfully clear ruby brown tinted body. The cap is small and faintly thick with a light stained ivory color. Minimal lacing sticks in small globuals. Nice aroma of candy bar chocolate and caramel with a wiff of subdued cherry-like fruityness and vanilla. Taste is outstanding for an Irish Red. Complexingly delicate and well rounded flavors of malty fruityness bringing a partial red apple and date filling, feathered in vanilla cherry coke without the overly sweetness or active carbonation. Mild but fulfilling with a calming smooth character. Great finish of lightly dry candy bar chocolate and caramel swirling off into a return of some malty fruits and vanilla. Tthe mouthfeel of this beer is awesome. Big full smooth body. Succulantly easy to quaff. Its smoothness is like no other Irish Red I’ve ever encountered. Its milding charm is very enthralling and the finish is spectacular. My kind of beer. Tasty, well rounded, smooth, full, candyish with chocolate and caramel with a sweet fruity center that helps keep a terrific balance. Damn good stuff!

Bottled. Pours a redish amber with a white head. Aroma is sweet malty, and fruity. Taste is malty and slightly sour

(Draft: O’Brien’s in San Diego, CA & 22 oz bottle: Sprouts Market in El Cajon, CA) I’m not a big fan of Irish ales unless they have a nice malty character, and this one from Alpine is pretty malty. The sweet, toasted maltiness is the main attraction here and is quite tasty, though I think I’d rather this be a bit more malty and less sweet. Only a mildly bitter hops here, so it’s not a large component, but still provides a little balance. Body is medium "plus" initially, but it does thin out a bit in the finish. The beer is not very aromatic but it is lightly toasty. Ruddy brown in color with no haze. Light tan head fades quickly to just a small ring. A solid beer, one that I enjoy but not in my elite of the category because of the sweetness.

An amber beer with an off-white head. The aroma is acidic and dominated by caramel - and so is the flavor. It lacks the berry notes I expect from an Irish Red.

Bottle. Amber colour with a small tan head. Light sour fruity aroma and taste. Medium body and a light dry finish.

Deep red-amber body with a medium thick beige head. Aroma of caramelized malt with a fruity, plum-like quality. Medium-high sweet caramel malt flavor. Very mild hop character. Light bitterness with some slightly drying warmth in the finish. Would benefit from further attenuation and a touch more hops. Thanks DarkElf.