Ninkasi Believer Double Red

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

22oz bottle. Poured a deep brown color with a reddish tint and a smaller sized off white head. Aromas of bread, earthy, roasted and toasted grains, and caramel. Tastes of caramel, earthy, chocolate, and grainy.

Draft at the Bistro’s 7th Double IPA Fest; Nose of citrus hops; brown with a small off-white head; Citrus hop bitterness and caramel showed up in the flavor

Draft at Uber. Pours deep grainy, murky brown with a thinnish dirty white head of some moussiness. Sharp piney/woody hop nose. Medium body, firm carb, and plenty of woodiness on the attack, too. In fact, the woodiness may change form a bit as it moves through the palate, but it’s always there from the nose through the finish--pinier on the nose, more leathery on the attack, and a bit more tobacco-like on the finish, but always there. This is nice stuff, but the subdued dark malt flavors under a harshly resiny hop payload thing is maybe starting to get a little played. Not that it’s tiresome, it’s just waiting for a cool idea to shake it up a bit.

22 oz bottle. Pours dark amber with a very slight red hue. Big foamy head with a ton of lacing. Aroma of subtle maltiness. Flavor is mainly sweet malt, with some roastiness, and some hop bitterness in the background. Not much of a finish, some bitterness that disappears quickly. Very rich. Not as complex and full bodied as I would expect for a strong ale. Regardless, still a decent beer.

Bomber. Pours cloudy (lots of chill haze) coppery amber with a lacy pale yellow head. Lots of sweet caramel aroma with a little citrus and grass. Medium body and moderate carbonation. More caramel, earth and citrus in the taste. Crisp finish.

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.

Bottle, with many thanks once again to bitbucket. Pours a very very dark red, medium-depth but persistent beige head, nice, sticky lacing. Nose is hops, fruit, caramel grains and mat. Hops and big toffeeish malt are immediately present on the palate, big, heavy, moderately sweet, and a bit boozy throughout. Basically an APA or Bitter on steroids. An interesting effort, worth tasting, if it wasn’t 800 miles away, worth trying again.

(22oz. bottle) Pours a hazy amber body with a small beige head. Aroma of nuts, toasted bread, caramel, grapefruit, and some chocolate. Flavor of citrusy hops, caramel malt, and nuts with a moderately bitter finish.