Upland Castle Rock Irish Red Ale

Formerly brewed at Upland Brewing Company
Style: Irish Ale
Bloomington, Indiana USA

Weak aroma but I get a little cinammon. Bitter flavour, not offensive but also nothing special- floral hops, maybe slightly fruity.

On tap at brewpub. A deep almost murky red (though filtered) with a decent head. The aroma is nearly absent, with maybe a little malt smell? The mouthfeel is very good, with nice CO2, though a little watery. The flavor is substantial chocolatey malt. A little chocolate aftertaste. It kind of tastes like a good Killians. Not a bad beer.

The molasses is very apparent both in the aroma and in the finish. There is a delicate and pleasant balance between the malt/molasses and the noble hops. The result is a complex medley of flavors and a velvety mouthfeel. Ron Smith has yet another award-winning recipe to his credit, and Upland does a great job with it.

Pours a nicely clear amber with orange to brown hues and a large long lasting creamy tan head. The aroma is full of fresh carmel and toasted malts and also has a freshly milled crystal malt aroma. The flavor begins with a full smooth character leaving a very sweet crystal malt on the tongue. Some noble hops become only slightly noticeable. A bit too sweet and the malts get slightly earthy and sour. Definitely more malty than anything else, but it has nice head retention, and a decent smooth character. I’ll call it a nice beer.

On tap at Legends: Medium amber hue with a small frothy head and good lace. The aroma has notes of carmelized and smoked malts, grassy and floral hops, a hint of fruit (apple and pear), and a dusty ester. A bit of DMS as well noted. The taste is quite straight forward, sweet malts followed by smooth bitterness and not much depth, quite bland after half a pint glass. I can see where this would appeal to the masses more than the beer geek, but then it does offend either. The feel is a touch watery and chalky, seems to have a hard mineral water aspect. Okay, I’ve had worse in the style. Brewed for St. Paddy’s day I guess, hence why it ended up at the University of Notre Dame!