Maritime Pacific Flagship Red Alt Ale

Brewed by Maritime Pacific Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

12oz Bottle - 99 Bottles
A deep redish color brew with a thin head. This was a off brew with some metalic flavoring at the first and the finish was very bitter. A good malty flavor but the hops where too bitter for my taste. Will try another later to see if it gets better.

12-oz. Pours a crystal clear dirty-penny medium amber. Scant white head loitering around on top. Odd nose; kind of thwarted; some bitter nuts in there, some overbaked bread (kind of like biscotti a little). Attack is moderately assertive; medium-light body, palpable but not distinct carb, and forward flavor. Bitter earth, old leaves, fresh cut hardwood, it’s a funny mix of dark, dry flavors. It’s satisfying, but it’s kind of hard to know what to make of it. This was one of the lesser-rotated go-to beers for me for years, and now I can’t even think what I might have said about it 5 or 10 years ago. Probably a good sign that consciously tasting dozens of styles and hundreds of beers forces you to look with fresh taste buds at the old familiars. I’m starting to think this beer’s real genius is with rich (but not dairy-heavy) foods, something like beef stew or maybe roasted/grilled game.

Bright red color. Not very assertive flavor, but not bad either. Very smooth maltiness is rounded out by a moderate amount of hops--although I didn’t really taste much flavor from the hops other than straight bitter.

Bottle. Pours amber with a nice head and lacing. Aroma is a nutty attic with peach and caramel. Flavor is a sea-worthy malt with a touch of buttery nut. Average mouthfeel. Not bad; solid amber with a nice blending of flavors. I’ll have more.

Bottled. Pours a reddish amber with a lacy yellow-tan head. Floral and citrus hops in the nose, along with the malt. Somewhat watery body with medium carbonation. Some nuts and toffee in the taste. Dry and somewhat bitter finish.

Draught Slightly hazy red-foxy beer with telltale full whipped cream nitrokeghead. Bitterish, and just a slight bit bready. Whiff of diacetyl. Woody bitterness in the taste, going over in hops. Not very assertive pale & coloured malts underneath. Deceptive creamy feel from the nitro hides a rather watery texture. Well, ho-hum ale. The "Alt" moniker is totally usurped.

(12 oz bottle: Bottleworks in Seattle, WA) Okay, so this isn’t the best red ale I’ve ever tasted, but it’s still quite good. A fairly caramely and sweet malt flavor is balanced by floral, moderately bitter, lightly citrusy hoppiness. The nose isn’t all that aromatic, but it’s dominated by the caramely malt, plus the floral hops has moderate presence. Standard medium body, but there’s a nice creaminess and slightly oily mouthfeel for a smooth and soft palate. Medium amber and slightly hazy in appearance, the beer is covered, at least initially by an off-white and finely bubbled head. The head fades to a wide ring surrounding a few wisps in the center. Lacing is sporadic, but at least present on the glass. Not as good as the Dark (Amber) Ale, but it’s definitely more than just a generic and boring American red ale.

This beer pours a clear reddish amber color with a thin white head and a small degree of lacing. The aroma smells like your average red with hints of grains, malt, nuts and vegetables. Flavor-wise this was extremely bland...cottonmouth dry finish...hints of citrus and very weak malts. Dry grassy mid-sip, slightly acetic. Mild carbonation with a small amount of prickliness. Seriously...what the hell was this beer all about? Very little flavor, bitter and dry. I was not very impressed....leave it on the shelf.