Clipper City Heavy Seas Red Sky At Night

Brewed by Clipper City Brewing Co.
Style: Saison
Baltimore, Maryland USA

Location: Not my first trial of this one, but the rating is from a 12 oz bottle from Gilly’s, 7/25/09

Aroma: Sugar, yeast, spice, fruit, clove
Appearance: Mostly clear yellow-orange color, thin white head
Flavor: Malty sweetness, light spice, hops in the finish
Palate: Light to medium body
Overall Impression: A decent beer, I didn’t get a ton out of this beer, but it was certainly passable.

Thanks Jeremy for letting me try this beer!! Golden color pour with a white foamy head. Sweet, floral aroma with a hint of hops and citrus. Citrusy taste...kind of sour. Some wheat as well. Overall pretty good though. Finished well too.

Pours a golden color with a thin, fizzy, white head. Aroma is of spices, fruit, and sweet malts. Flavor is the same, a little too much spice for my liking. An ok brew but not someting I would buy again

Red Sky At Night is a very credible domestic example of this classic Belgian beer style. While it isn’t quite up to snuff with Belgian example such as Saison Dupont, or Saison de Pipiax, I found it to be quite authentic, and and a great tribute to the style that is under done here in the US. Retailing for $6-$7 a six pack, it is also a very good buy, for such a complex and flavorful beer. Red Sky At Night pours to a beautiful, bright, deep golden color, with a bright white head that eventually fades, and a lively carbonation. The nose on this beer is complex and inviting with lots of spicy/earthy yeast aroma, paired with some grassy hop aromatics, some sweet malt, and hints of pepper. The palate is firm on the tongue but the lively carbonation lifts off the malt heft. This beer has got some sweet and crisp malt brawn, with lots of good grassy/herbal hop flavor paired with spicy yeast, and a touch of acidic sourness. Red Sky At Night finishes with more malty/slightly sour flavors up front, then ends with a spicy yeast note that lingers. I really enjoyed this beer, and found it to be a very well done domestic example of saison. There is a lot going on in this beer, it is complex, but with the with the slightly sour, and hoppy edge of this beer, it works well as a summer refresher. This beer would work well with a number of dishes, and could be paired with both hearty and light fare. At 7.5% abv, it would make the perfect beer to relax with after a hard day, and a great beer to sip and enjoy as the sky turns red.

Pours macro yellow with a big ephemeral head and lots of bubbles streaming to the surface. The nose is sour in that standard Belgian way with a definite sweetness. No malt, hops, herbs or spices are particularly apparent, but nothing necessarily bad smelling. The palate ia average with low carbonation and not much viscosity or wateriness. Striking sweetness and sourness with some floral hops, and a bit of pepper. Some subtle wheat or grainy flavors are present as well. A lingering Belgian sour bitterness. The alcohol is nearly unobservable.

Hazy and golden in the glass. A lingering thin white head has a small bead with some lacing. Aromas are hard to pin down, but I get citrus, some dough and a hint of caramel. Taste and palate are reminiscent of orange soda, with a little bitterness on the finish. Spices are there evident, too. Anise and cinnamon. Not unpleasant, but very bright and fizzy on the tongue.

12 ounce bottle in tulip glass. Pours bright clear orange with a quicly fading small white head and some lace. Very faint aroma of orange fruity sweetness. Flavors are extremely “subtle.” Faint honey orange sweetness, candy suger, nondescript spiciness, mock dry finish. Medium body. I’m a big fan of saisons, but not this one. Too sweet, not spicy or hoppy enough. Sorry. For an excellent Clipper City Heavy Seas brew try the Loose Cannon.

Golden/yellow body with a bit of amber and green (depending on how you turn the glass) hues. Nice big, thickly bubbled, white head. Smells of caster sugar, apples, citrus, bubble gum esters and faint spices. Taste is big and sweet with pears, apples, sugars and clove. A very well crafted beer, taste is refined and wholeheartedly good. Aftertaste is a crisp, sweet and powerful; this is exactly what this style should be.