Mad River Jamaica Red Ale

Brewed by Mad River Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Blue Lake, California USA

A nice tan head sits atop a hazy tea colored beer and is the perfect size for a 16 oz. glass. Thick sticky lacing. Aroma of sweet nut and toffee. Some crisp hop as well. Grainy and bitter cereal flavor with unroasted malt. Spices provide some depth and hops provide a bitter aftertaste. Some licorice of both red and black varieties. A bit of floral hop shows up late. Feel goes from smooth to thin late with some peppery zing. Multifaceted is always enjoyable in a beer and this one was that. A fun beer to drink.

Bottle.A very dark amber pour. A very nice hoppy aroma for a red. A nice full body,very nice mouthfeel,with lots of hop flavor,and just the right amount of malt to balance it out. Very enjoyable. A+

pours a cloudy dark copper-red with a small tan head, really good lacing.
smell is of roasted malt, nuts, brown sugar, caramel.
taste is creamy, roastiness of malts and nuts, burnt caramel, brown sugar, hint of spice and pepper, hops come out in the back, ends a little bitter and dry.

Bottle. Pours a red color with a long lasting white head. Aroma is malt and a little sweet. Taste is a little hoppy but it has a bitter kick to it. This was an above average beer.

Poured from tap a reddish-brown with a large frothy off-white head. Aroma is quite malty with some bread and hops. Flavor is initially sweet with malt and toasted grains, a little nuttiness, and a slightly floral hoppiness, but then ends in a lingering bitterness and somewhat dry. The palate is full with malt and rushes through sweet to end in a dry bitter. Overall, good with a great start but grew a bit to bitter toward to end to keep my attention and make me want more. I’d drink again, but not often.

i actually wasnt looking forward to this one much. im not a fan of hop-heavy beers. but the sourness and bitter flavor are so strong that you cant help to appreciate this beer. the color is a gorgeous dark red, cloudy almost like it was a red hefe. aroma isnt much, but the flavor is strong and hoppy, with a citrus bang and grassy finish. but it still has a nice balance of malt and nuts. really quite impressive.

12 oz. bottle from By The Bottle in Vancouver, WA--Poured a deep deep amber body with an alive creamy off-white head. sweet, malty, sugar, caramel, nutty, sticky nose. Mildly cloying gritty, chewy mouthfeel. Big citrus hops profile with a depth of malts and nutty, fruity boldness. Finish was a bit dull and underdeveloped. Not too bad, but something missing.

Sampled at Oregon Brewer’s Festival, July ’08. Fruity and hoppy, but balanced with maltiness for sweetness. Very tasty.