Far West Hedgerow Red Ale

Formerly brewed at Far West Brewing Co
Style: Amber Ale
Redmond, Washington USA

Dark amber color. Medium head. Aroma is malty and slightly sweet. A medium bodied red ale. Malts are slightly roasted, nutty and sweet. Hops are spicy. Dry hopping adds to the malt sweetness. Nicely balanced. Very drinkable beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Afterstaste is slightly bitter.

Bomber. Pours a deep, dark, clear amber with coppery/medium amber highlights around the narrow parts of the glass. Thick, tightly bubbled tan head with occasional clingy lace. Bready, caramely, anonymous malt nose. Moderate attack but more on the restrained side; medium body, light carb, bold flavors. There’s that caramel and bread again when you get to the mid-palate, but the hops are brilliant; dry, herbal, peppery--they really make this refreshing and different, with a lingering earthy finish. Like I didn’t miss these guys enough already, now it turns out they made a pretty killer amber, too. <sigh>

Dusty bottle found on the shelf at Pete’s of Bellevue, a year after the brewer went out of business. Actually it tastes pretty good - sort of pre-aged. Pours a clear mahogany with a scant but lacy white head. The aroma has caramel notes all through it, maybe a little molasses and plum. Smooth medium body, moderate carbonation. Plenty of caramel, and nuts in the flavor, along with a touch of vanilla, sort of drifting into chocolate territory. Crisp pine and grass finish.

Bottle: Reddish caramel, thick and cloudy, big frothy sand colored head, very nice lacing, looks great!   Sweet malty nose, seems like a touch of honey.   Smooth malt base, very slight hop bite up front that quickly dies down.   Finishes somewhat abrupt, doesn’t seem to carry the malt all the way through.   Lingering hop presense after the finish.   Moderate body and mouthfeel, wanting to be bigger.   Very pleasant and smooth drinking Amber.  

Sampled from bottle. Pours a slightly cloudy amber with a thick, tan head and remarkable lace. Aroma is citrus and floral hops with a subtle sweet malt in the background. Flavor is caramel and chocolate/toasted malts with a bit of American hops (pine/citrus). Good flavor but kind of simple. Medium-bodied, well-carbonated. An enjoyable session beer.

Bottle from K’s Deli. Probably one of the last ones left anywhere, since they went out of business! Hazy dark red, with a medium off white head. Very nice aroma; a little rasberry and some nutty malts. Very sweet taste on first sip. A sour berry taste that I didn’t expect from this beer. Balanced well. This is almost a fruit beer in my book. Sad to see this brewpub go. The few I’ve tasted from them were quite tasty.

The beer pours a limpid mahogany color with the head behemothic in size, spumescent in texture and the color a beauteous light tan with the lace forming a tight skirt around the glass. Nose has a light hint of the hops but malt sweetness dominates, a touch earthy also, quite crisp and clean with the start delightfully sweet, nice malt presence and the top fair to middling in its feel upon the palate. Finish is prickly in its acidity, the hops delectable in their spicy bite, quite dry aftertaste that lingers sweetly on the tongue, quite quaffable tis true, and a fine example of a Red Ale.

A beautiful copper color with a pungent strawberry-caramel nose, but the body is sweet and full of chocolate and caramel leading to a chocolately sweet finish.