Ninkasi Believer Double Red

Brewed by Ninkasi Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Eugene, Oregon USA

The only other Ninkasi beers I’ve had are the Tricerahops (one of my favorites) and the Total Domination. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Ninkasi just throws hops at everything and hopes for the best. Not that this is a bad thing. True to the name, it certainly looks ruddy. The "rich dark malt complexity" doesn’t make much of an appearance other than in the aroma. I could drink this a lot.

A nice if not typical American strong. Aroma was mostly dish soap with a strong citrus element. Pour was a dark gold wiht a good bit of bubbles and a one finger off white head. Taste was mostly strong and earthy hops with a strong light caramel backbone and a moderate alcohol burn. Very good.

Bomber. Pours a deep, dark crimson, almost cherrywood color. A thick, frothy head of yellowish-tan foam leaves dense, sheety rings of lacing on the glass. The nose is well balanced, with sweet notes of darkly toasted caramel, burnt toffee, cherry, and goji berry being countered nicely by light pine resin and bittersweet orange peel. Flavors are similar, with caramelized dark fruits and brown sugar malts equalizing the biting bitterness of citrus rind, pine, and wildflowers. The twangy berry note is there again, along with fleshy blood orange. There’s a lightly pungent, leathery tobacco note in the background. Falling just on the heavy side of medium bodied, the palate sports a semi-dry, well carbonated consistency. Interesting brew. Reminds me a bit of Cigar City’s Emperor Shennong’s Wolfberry Ale, only not as lush and well pulled together. Tasty stuff.

I’m learning to think of Ninkasi the same way I think of Rogue - decent flavors and good ideas, but everything they brew tastes watered down. This one (on tap at Snoose Junction) pours a dark amber with a small head. Very malty - ripe fruits, and some brown sugars... not nearly enough hops to counter. Above all, it tastes like someone drank half my beer and then stuck it under the faucet to make it seem like they hadn’t. Any ale marked "double" needs to be far stronger than this, in both flavor and abv. I’m disappointed.

Draft at the College Inn in Seattle.

Pours a nice deep hazy red-brown with a small head. Good fruity aroma, Earthy hops with apple and apricot, balancing nicel with the strong malt body (not too sugary, little of that Lagunitas burnt caramel stuff going on).

Pretty durn solid.

Bottle. Hazy ruddy brown color, thin broken soapy white head. Very malt-forward aroma, but some earthy hops in background. Taste has more of a hop presence, but certainly not overwhelming or even significant, more of a simple citric finish. Decent, well-held together, but not hoppy enough for something called a double red.

Far and away a favorite. Large body, and roasted barley and dark malts, and tons of hops, and a good ABV and it just lasts on the tongue. And Wow!

Smells like a barley wine. Deep red malt aroma. Tastes like that cross b/w barley and double IPA. Very sweet, caramel....but a bit of a musty taste lingers in there as well. Nice.