Pennichuck Engine No. 5 Firehouse Red Ale

Brewed by Pennichuck Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Milford, New Hampshire USA

Pours a deep red/brown with not much carbonation. No head. Light smells of malt. Very light body. First taste is rather bland malts followed by a slight bitterness. Very light and mild. Less flavor than I expected.

Noogfest ’08. the body was dark brown with a light khaki head. The aroma was malty with some caramel. The taste was bread crust with some oranges. A bland beer.

Date: 05/31/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Noog Four-O

Appearance: clear dark red, wispy beige head, bits of drippy lace,
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma with a nice bready character, light earthy hops,
Flavor: sweet caramel malt flavor, lots of balancing dry earthyness, lasting bitter finish,

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Bottle at Noogfest Four-O. Pours amber brown with bubbly beige head. The aroma is sweet and toasty, with some rootbeer notes. The flavor is toast, melon, some caramel, and just a bit of piney hops. Simple, but decent.

12oz bottle sampled at Noog4 thanks to JC Watts. Pours chestnut color with minimal head. A touch of cardboard in the aroma and a bit of malt. In the flavor there is again a touch of cardboard but also malt, molasses and pine like hops at the finish. Body and mouth feel were style appropriate. Nothing too fancy but a drinkable red ale for sure.

(Bottle, thanks to hopscotch) Pours a dark reddish brown with a tiny off-white head. The aroma is light medium malty and light hoppy with tones of light dark caramel, nuts, earth, touch of citrus/flowers, touch of roast/mild coffee, light dark fruity - light raisin/light prune and dark ripe berries. The flavour is medium earthy with a light nutty, light caramelly and light roasted/vanilla café latte maltiness. Some hints of hops in the flavour as well with light tones of flowers and mild citrus. In addition, some hints of dark fruits. The mouthfeel is soft with a light tart sting. Light to medium sweet, light to medium bitter and with a medium dry finish. Light to medium bodied. Not that bad for a red ale.

Bottled. Poured a nice shade of clear, deep garnety-brown with a short-lived cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up toasty caramel and nutty notes.. had an overriding air of something I can’t entirely place, but I didn’t enjoy it (almost an ill-conceived cross between vegetal notes and earth). The flavor was along the same lines.. caramel and darker fruits at the core, picking up well-placed dry-roasted chocolates.. bitterness was moderate and earthy in nature.. finished very dry with pine, fruit, and chocolate. Light-to-medium bodied and dry on the palate.. nothing particularly bad here, but I didn’t care for it.

Bottle; poured an orange tinted brown; darker than expected. Aroma was very malty; a good amount of caramel, fruit and earthy must. Flavor was a bit surprising. Although there was a bit of wateriness, I found the flavor above average for the style. Some good caramel and fruit with a solid hop finish. Decent sessionable.