Copper Creek Belgian Red

Brewed by Copper Creek Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Athens, Georgia USA

Date: April 05, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Beerfest, Classic City
Appearance: hazy amber, frothy off white head
Aroma: sweet and spicy aroma, sweet caramel combines with fruity esters, lots of spicy phoenolics, very peppery
Flavor: lots of peppery flavor on top of the overall spicy character, sweet malt balances the spicyness, light bitterness follows the spices for a long bitter spicy finish

Date: April 11, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Aroma: big sweet spicyaroma with lots of ginger
Flavor: sweet and spicy flavor, ginger comes through along with a peppery character, caramel sweetness
Overall: ginger gets to be too much by the end of a pint

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark reddish-brown body topped by a thin, off-white head. Smell: Aroma of caramelized pale malts, slightly grainy, with notes of fruity apricot. Taste: Caramel malts with a taste of caramelized sugars and just the teeny-tiniest pinch of cocoa. Toss in some apricots. Spicy hop character with a medium amount of bitterness, though the beer still finishes fairly sweet and fruity. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Drinkability: An enjoyable ale, though it across as more of just a basic red than a Belgian red, as I never found an characteristically Belgian esters or phenolics.

Really strong caramel malt but not as distinctly belgian in the aroma as I expected. Tasty.

Pour was a dark red color with a thick head. Aroma of sweet malt, light spice, faint fruit. Taste is also more malty than fruity, with some ginger, and light spice. Mouth is medium bodied and lightly carbonated. Overall, a decent effort.