Scuttlebutt Sequoia Red Ale

Brewed by Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.
Style: Amber Ale
Everett, Washington USA

On nitro charge at the brewpub in Everett, Washington. Pours a clear copper amber brew with a creamy and soft off-white head that slowly dissolves to a thin and creamy off-white head with excellent lacing from the nitro pour. Aroma of caramel malt, light apples, brown sugar and roasted nuts. Taste is medium bodied, malty caramel and toffee flavors with a touch of citrus zest. Finish is smooth and creamy with a malty aftertaste and then a mild bitterness.

pine and faint cedar aroma, very northwest. dark brown, respectable head. full bodied and a great range of hop flavor. enjoyable blend.

(Draft: Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. in Everett, WA) Pleasantly aromatic nose features a dry and wonderfully toasty aroma, and is certainly a nice start for this beer. The toastiness continues in the flavor, showing a fair amount of lightly sweet chocolate, and is complemented by a mild bitterness that allows the toasty chocolate to remain in control. Light-to-medium bodied, seems a bit thin, but certainly not watery, and is reasonable enough for the style. Pours a light amber color, fully clear, topped by a light tan head. Plenty of patchy lacing is left on the glass to complete the solid visuals. Overall, not the most flavorful beer, but for the style, it’s more than acceptable, and the toasty, malty flavor is right up my alley.

(Nitro Draft: Scuttlebutt Brewing Co. in Everett, WA) Side-by-side comparison with the standard draft version, and wow, the nitro version is significantly different. Almost all of the toastiness in the draft version is lost here. Instead, the lightly citrusy hoppiness is dominant, and the gently toasty malt base is in the background, so this version is much closer to the official description on the beer sampler menu. Light amber color is the same, but the off-white head is paler in color, and of course, much taller and creamier with incredible retention and dense lacing. All in all, though, I much prefered the draft version, and my ratings are for that.

Deep burgandy with a monstrous rocky head and reeking of amber malts. The malt disappears upon first sip and the hops show themselves in the form of spicy, floral spears of grass. Unusual how the malt is so drastically there one minute and gone the next, but it’s not so depressing when there are hops this interesting keeping you satisfied.

9/8/07 On draught on WABL Yakima trip. Aroma is malty, sweet forward with a strong earthy noble hop balance. Appearance is a very hazy medium brown. Flavor is a very solid blend with sweet malt slightly dominant but great presence of complex grains, earthy noble hops and citrus. Texture is medium bodied with a medium carb feel and dry finish. Overall, great complexity and a true craft flavor that feels very English in nature.

A clear amber in my glass at the brew pub. Not much aroma but the flavor is on. Only a bit of hop balance. Essay drinking and not bad. Good with the wings.

On tap at Scuttlebutt. Pours a reddish brown hue with a decent slightly off-white head on top. Aroma is slightly yeasty and sweet with hops coming in pretty well. Flavor is pretty hoppy and spicy with a nice sweetness coming in from the malts. Easy on the palate and a middle of the road body.

On Tap at Scuttlebutt Slightly hazy redish brown. Good off white head and lacing. Woody maltiness and hopped well. Bitter finish and a nicely balanced beer overall. The Nitro sampled at the same time was similar but I thought also that some of the rich malt flavors were not as noticeable. The creamy nitro head and palate were the main difference.