Nectar Ales Red Nectar

Brewed by Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Paso Robles, California USA

Bottle from Trader Joe’s in San Francisco. Funny label in that it doesn’t tell you who makes this beer, nor what style it is. Anyway, it pours a clear amber brown with a thin sand-coloured head. Very malty aroma with bread crusts, caramel, floral hops. Palate is much more hop-driven than the aroma implies. A welcome surprise-- excellent!

Bomber poured a clear dark reddish copper with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of carmel, bread and light citrus. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of carmel, bread and light fruitiness with a smooth slightly dry moderatly bitter finish.

on tap 28April07. Dark garnet color, tan head. aroma of piney hops. Flavors of spice, pepper, rose, rich grapefruit-hop flavors as well. medium bodied. creamy texture. paired with a Dungeness Crap Salad Sandwich @ Daily Grill in SF.

12 oz bottle. Dark tea with a small ivory head. Leaves lace. Smells like cream soda. Sharp carb dissolves into cherry pits and lemon ginger snaps. Dries with peach and crabapple. Interesting stuff.

Pours deep caramel amber w/ a full, semi creamy froth. Decent head retention w/ good residual lacing. Aromas of pretty hopsy flowers. Medium nectar w/ ample residual effers. Big chunky amber malts w/ not a trace of sugar. Posseses a generous hop profile. Flavors of hay are prominant w/ mild carameling. The finish has a mild velvety bitterng component.

Sampled March 2007
This was one of those brews that hooked me on that fresh hoppy taste back in the first few years of my drinking craft beer, lets see how it has held up over the years. The beer pours with a darkish tan colored head that billows up to three-fingers in height. The head has some staying power to it and even leaves a touch of lacing on the sides of the glass. The beer is a brilliantly clear, reddish cranberry color. The aroma has a nice fresh hoppiness to it that is on the sweet side. Aromas of candied orange peel, brown sugar glazed grapefruit and touches of biscuit malt are the most dominant parts of the aroma, though you have to dig for that last bit.

The beer has a nice malty sweetness to it up front, and the malt character is quite clean and bright. I don’t remember the malt being quite this refined, I seem to remember a bit more muddy crystal malt character & I am glad that either my memory is hazy or that the beer has changed for the better. Still it is the hops that lead the way here; a nice bright bitterness starts out as a hop bite and lingers on through the finish. The bitterness is nicely balanced by a crystal malt character that adds fruity overtones to this brew. A citrus hop focus also adds more fruit character to this brew with notes of grapefruit, orange and tangelo.

This is still quite a solid drinking beer, a lot of others beers have come along since this brew, but this is one of those that led the way from me, especially with its citrus hop focus. Ultimately this beer is still the session brew that I remember, even if it has lost some of its once, cutting edge vibrancy.

This is from an old beer of the month club. No sediment. Poured a smallish light tan head that quicly faded to a thin partial cover; a bit of lace. Nose is good- malty, hoppy, grapefruit, cherries? Good play between hops and sweetness. Hazy copper color. Nice mouth. Session beer. *urp*

Lots of malt,light fruit and some honey in the aroma.Pours a dark copper with a light off white head.Flavor is lots of malt with some honey in there as well.Medium mouthfeel with a sweet malt finish.