Hook and Ladder Pipe & Drum Irish Ale

Brewed by High Falls Brewing Company
Style: Irish Ale
Rochester, New York USA

Cask Stillage from the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 26/09/2009 Big malt aroma. Bronze coloured rich on the palate strong in alcohol and malty with a little dryness in a crisp and bitter finish.

Reddish and tan with some caramelly hints, earthy splashes and some rosey hints. A basic Irish Red with some earthy notes on the finish.

Copper to umber in color. Moderate beige head with some rings of lace. Caramel with some mild bleu cheese scents. Interesting, but it doesn’t fit into my peg-hole of Irish ales. I am somehow thinking about a salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Sweet sugary start with caramel and light brown sugar. Mild acidity come in the middle. Lightly earthy in the finish and linger. Sweetness clings to the tongue and distracts. For me this is just another amber, and not necessarily a good one.

Bottle from Grocery Outlet in Woodland, CA. Reddish copper color with a light beige head. Aroma of roasted caramel. Flavor is thinnish. There is a roasted caramel that builds along with some hop bitter. Very smooth. Perhaps a touch of vanilla. Rather astringent. I’d take it over any number of macros. Came in a 12 pack for 7.99, so the price was reasonable. After several quaffs I’m ready to take back the thinnish comment. It’s an inexpensive rather tasty little ale.

Pours a nice bright reddish amber. The aroma is of caramel and spicy hops. The flavor is caramel malt, toast, and light peppery bitterness. Little lingering caramel and hop finish.

12 ounce bottler from a sampler. Pours a slightly reddish brown color with a thin white head, poor head retention and moderate lacing. Earthy and malty aroma with some caramel notes. Taste is earthy and malty with some bitter hop notes. Fill bodied.

(bottle - 12 oz) Deep ruby red pour with a thin tan head. Aroma is hoppy at the start with some mild smoke notes and some caramel. Flavor is malty at the start with some smoke coming through the middle. Finishes a little bitter and lingers for a while on the palate.

12 oz. bottle courtesy of a trade with dkachur. Pours a crystal clear amber with a moderate off-white head that lasted through the first quarter of the glass and left a few patches of lace. The aroma is virtually non-existent. Perhaps there is some faint malt present, but then again perhaps not. The flavor is weak malt with some very mild hops bitterness at the finish. Choose whatever synonym you would like, this beer is dull and utterly uninteresting.