North Coast Red Seal Ale

Brewed by North Coast Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Fort Bragg, California USA

Sample as the third course of a North Coast beer dinner at Teller’s. Pours a reddish amber with some cloudiness and a small, creamy off-white head. Aroma of hops, pine, grapefruit citrus, tea, caramel malts, and floral notes. The flavor also has nice notes of pine, hops, grapefruit, and tea, with a nice malty backbone and caramel sweetness. Very well balanced, but almost too much so, as individual notes are hard to pull out. Comes across as just a nice, straightforward, drinkable, refreshing APA. Medium bodied, with moderate carbonation and a dry finish. Malty, hoppy mouthfeel.

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a pint glass. The color is a amber color with a off white head with some slight lacing on the glass. The smell is a bit sweet but not very forthcoming with much a real flavor profile. It is a hoppy but not too strong. The taste is a bit herbal with a bit of a tea feel and a soft flavor that keeps a quiet profile than what I am used to. It is a bit bitter but still keeps a sweet sugary flavor when it hits the back end of each sip. The feel of this beer is light but does tease at being a heavier flavor is to come. Have a bit of a robust signature but does not take too much away from it’s quiet presence. It is enjoyable and is not too overwhelming on the pallet.

12 oz D’s Six Pax, Pittsburgh - A dark copper body makes way for a thin-white, non-lacing head. The flavor is nicely balanced with non-cloying malts setting up an earthy, grassy, Northern U.S. hop flavor that is prevalent without being bitter. A nice medium to heavy body allows for the more subtle flavors of the beer to be showcased. All around a good APA, glad I picked this up. CP

12oz shorty bottle. Medium thick orange-red color. Thin but steady off-white head. Nice mixture of earthy hops and amber malt in the aroma. Smooth and medium bodied, with a light West Coast bitterness. Not terribly exciting, but certainly a well crafted Amber. Not as malt centered as most ambers, more balanced by the hops. A classic Amber, pretty good.

dry hoppy beer with grapefruit and grassy flavors. nice, but nothing very exciting - pretty standard, a little too dry, a little too low in abv. Good though - nothing wrong with it.

It poured a slightly hazy dark golden liquid with a small white foam. Smell of fruit, peaches and honey. Stingy mouthfeel. Taste of various fruit, honey, sweet and snuff (snus). An odd mix of tastes. Drinkable but nothing for me, there are better options out there.

Woody, resin hop; bitter amber malts. Both are represented in equal measure. Appears more red-orange than red, despite its name. Minimal head. Murky with a nice consistency, and lots of carbonation. Woody hop flavor, a malt that sits somewhere between amber and a prickly pale. Feels chewy, ashy and sandpapery. Strong for style. A really good, pretty hoppy amber. I like it very much.

A nice change from intense beers. The aroma is somewhat bland but nothing bad. Very managable ABV and a refreshing taste that makes this a good sessionable brew. Nice caramel malt and slight hop bite with a thirst quenching finish. North Coast brewing is like Copenhagen..........it satisfies.