Full Sail Nugget Special Red Ale

Brewed by Full Sail Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Hood River, Oregon USA

Pours mahogany. Nice head, quickly diminishing. The beer was nicely balanced, bitter and hoppy with mild caramel sweetness.

Bottle poured a hazy deep red color with a nice thick tan head. The aroma had big sweet caramel with some roastiness and just a touch of hops. Flavor was very malt dominated with a good bitterness to balance. Nice semi sweet finish.

Bottle: Deep caramel, reddish hued, large frothy off-white head, clingy lacing, very light carbonation.   Stale wet hop nose, slight barn, a little musty basement.   Soft malts on the tongue, a little mealy, some straw/hay aspects, very very slight caramel, barely noticeable.   Hop profile is minor, but balances well with the soft malts.   Not that terribly big for an Amber, and in fact, seems a little on the lighter side.   Definitely lighter than I was expecting.   Just doesn’t taste Red enough.   Clean at least, but overall a bit too light.   Looked great, smelled okay, tasted a bit better than it smelled.   Meh... nothing makes this stand out.   Sessionable, easy... but fulfilling... nope.   The only good thing I will say about this, is that if you want an Amber Ale that is clean and on the WAY lighter side, this is your brew.   Can anyone say, watered down?

mild aroma--caramel, lemon, pepper. cloudy pale amber with minimum head. (with how dark Ful Sail’s amber is, to have the red this light is odd.) thin flavor--a more comlex sission, with carmel, resin, peat.

Bottled. Beer is clear, medium warm-brown colored. Head is initially small, off-white, diminishes into a healthy ring.<P> The aroma is hoppy with moderate notes of resin/pine, light notes of grapefruit and lemon zest; Malty with a light note of toasted grain, moderate notes of shortbread and caramel; Yeasty with a light, pungent note of moldy basement and a trace of dough.<P> The flavor is lightly bitter, light-to-moderately sweet, lightly acidic with a long, light-to-moderately acidic and bitter, lightly sweet finish.<P> The body is medium, the texture is watery-to-velvety and the carbonation is lively.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, off white, mostly diminishing. Body is clear dark amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately hoppy (grapefruit, resin, flowers). Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. Just another hop-centric brew, but pretty decent in the mouth experience...well balanced and a pleasant texture.

Sampled at the 2007 Blooms & Brews Fest at the Oregon Gardens. This was the one i used my last toekn on and as fate would have it, was my favorite beer of the show. It pours a clear dark amber. Nose is nice and hoppy. Are these Nugget hops used in this? Taste is a nice balance between caramel malts and a nice piney.citrusy hoppiness. Nice medium/full body. medium carbonation. Very tasty!

Bomber. Pours a solid dark red, mild off white head. Subtle aroma of caramel malt, fruity hops. Flavor with a nice helping of toasted, roasty malts. Maybe a dash of chocolate burried in there. Solid bitterness from grain and hops. Balanced herbal hop character. Long finish with bitterness and light floral notes. Body is pretty light. Good beer.