Bison Organic Red Ale

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Berkeley, California USA

Color lives up to style. Deep cloudy red-amber. Small creamy white head. Nose of caramel and malts. Bitter taste that disappears in finish. Decent, bu tnot well balanced. Very hoppy. Guy buy @ $2.99 @ People’s Co-Op in Portland, OR

22oz bottle. Poured a deeper amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, citrus, toasted and roasted nuts, and a little earthy. Tastes of caramel, citrus and nutty. Tastes and body on the thin and almost watery side.

Sampled April 2007
Intensely over carbonated, I end up with about 6 fingers of head and a scant finger and a half of beer in my glass after the first pour. The head is a soft, amber-tinged, tan color and starts to form quite the rocky surface as it very slowly subsides. The beer is a brilliantly clear, cranberry-amber color that has lots of madly streaming rivulets of carbonation streaming through it. The aroma smells strongly of crushed soda crackers and freshly milled malt. Some light hop notes are also noticeable with notes of green herbs (almost vegetal) and a touch of citrus.

The taste is lightly sweet up front, with a soft citrus character. Pretty quickly though a strong, cooked vegetal note takes hold; it is sort of a cross between broccoli and maybe even something like asparagus, though not really. There is a solid bitterness here, which melds well with a bergamot citrus character. The finish is dominated by a dry, toasty, almost roast-like grain flavor. The beer has a fairly light mouthfeel that seems quite appropriate for this beer. This is an interesting beer, on the one hand the malt and hops taste quite fresh and even vibrant at times, but the weird vegetal note can be quite off-putting when it is noticeable (thankfully, the vegetal flavor seems to fade with time).

Red? I’m all up for mixing up styles but yellow red ale? Anyway, this beer was actually quite tasty. Strong aroma of roasted malts, and fresh hops. Good flavors of hops and biscuity malts. Some cereal.

22 oz bomber. Dark amber, almost reddish brown ale, nice bubbly/thick creme coloured head. Malty aroma, also rather "buttery"., some rather thin hops hit the nose also. Malty flavour, slight sourness, candy cane sweet, hoppy taste to finish which thankfully ends the sweetness rather abrubtly. Gets more hoppy as it warms. Ok mouthfeel , average for the style, and dry in the end. Overall an odd beer, but it does improve as it warms, dont drink this one too chilled.

This had a huge,extremely long lasting head.Too long lasting that it was annoying waiting to drink the beer.Great sweet inviting aroma.Color was brown,no red.It had a somewhat caramel flavor with rice?Slightly sour and bitter finish.I don’t really care for this beer,but it’s not bad.Just not good.Kind of in between.Tastes like they mixed a shitty beer with a good one and slapped a label on it.I think they need to put down the doobies and rethink this "red" beer.Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale is 10 times better.

Seems to almost have more hops than malts, which makes since given this description. Very very heady. Really pretty decent.

Nice citrus hops with a pretty balanced malt flavor background. One of the better organic brews I’ve had. I betcha this would be pretty special at the tap.