Red Star Apricot Ale

Name: Apricot Ale
Date: 07/24/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

hazy dark copper, wispy beige head, light sweet fruity aroma, rich caramel malt flavor with a lot of sweet fruit character, the caramel and fruit are in good balance, earthyness yields a light bitter finish

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Draught @ Brewpub: This one pours a hazy, dark golden color. There was almost no head and lacing to this one at all. The aroma is of sweet apricots, but not overdone. Not much else makes it through the apricot aroma. The taste is definitely apricots. Perhaps a touch too strong, but still not overdone. Light to medium beer behind the apricots. A touch of tartness in the finish. This is actually a very enjoyable beer. It is smooth and refreshing.

When I sampled this brew the name was simply ’Apricot Ale’ , the word ’Ignatious’ was not included. Hazy and slightly darker than the ubiquitous pale yellow american lager. No head to speak of. Has some fruitiness in the aroma but not sure if it is apricots or not. Has an interestingly odd unique taste that is tart and certainly fruit like. This brew is much better than most fruit beers I’ve tasted. To be placed in the fruit beer style may be doing it an injustice. Aged apricot may be the correct description four the taste. Hardly any bitterness can be detected during the session. Certainly above average for a good fruit beer.

This is the best beer to come out of the Red Star for quite some time. Sampled on draft at the brewery this fine brew poured a dark copper color with a medium sized yellow-tan head. The aroma is sweet and fruity with a definite apricot note. The flavor is rich and fruity with enough malt balance to keep this one from getting too sweet, which is often the failing of most fruit beers. This one keeps the beer maltiness while still offering a definite fruit presence. Hats of to the brewer for maintaining a fine balance on this one!