McNeills Ruby Ale

Bottle. Pours a redish color with a foamy white head. Nose is hoppy up front with a caramel type sweet biscuity malt in the backround. Palate is full and crisp with a bit of filmy residue. Flavors of the bright floral hops and some sticky caramel malt notes.

Pours bright mahogany into a shaker. Off-white head recedes leaving spider lacing. Mild caramel aromas. Crisp and slighly sour with caramel from in the slightly hopped finish.

A reddish, yes, ruby, dark amber ale with a thin lacing light moka head. Aroma of caramel malt, cinnamon, perfumey, and light boiled veggies. In mouth, a sweetish malt with oily mouthfeel, very grainy, not hoppy, with some light acidity. Medium bodied. Bomber from Brattleboro Food Coop, 4$.

Impressive rocky head of four fingers--good chunky lace on the side of the glass. Crystal clear dark amber color. A beautiful beer. Lots of crystal malt balanced with a spicy hop aroma. Notes of butter and caramel. There’s also a (very) mild bitterness that I’ve never smelt before in a beer--it’s appealing and unusual. Smooth, creamy feel to the initial sip. Lots of dry-ish malt, some nuttiness. Becomes bitter quickly on the tongue. Pleasant hoppy swallow with a long aftertaste of pepper and cumin. Love the complexity; keeps me interested for a very long time. Worthy of a multiple purchase.

Not an IPA, not even close, but a recent read ale, love the boldness of the hops mixed with the sweet enjoyalbe malt presence. Nice....

Bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with a small white head. Aroma of caramel malt, raisin, and bitter grassy hops. Flavor is quite similar with sweet malt initially, raisins and a bitter finish. IPA?? I don’t think so, it’s not very hoppy. Not that flavorful really, just pretty simple. Just kinda blah. 6/4/6/3/12 (3.1/5)

Bottle. Aroma of big, sweet, caramel malt, light floral hops, seemingly only there to balance the sweetness. Flavor has some of that sweet malt, but not nearly as rich as the aroma led me to believe, partially overtaken by a stale honey sort of character. Medium-light bodied. Ok I guess. Certainly no IPA here though.

Bottle. Slightly sweet malty aroma, some hops. Reddish orange body, off-white head. Don’t know if the recipe for this has changed, but I’m getting far more malt and less hops in the flavor than noted by earlier reviewers. Not much of an IPA character. More like an ESB, or simply an amber ale. Anyway, it’s a pleasant very mild sipper from one of Vermont’s best brewers.