Tasman Red IPA

Beer Name: Tasman Red IPA
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
ABV: 6.75%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Tasman Red IPA is from the same series of beers as Third Voyage, at least if the bottle and label style is anything to go by. It has a crazy looking person on the bottle if you're looking for it.

Tasman Red is a very deep ruby colored beer that arrived with about a finger of head. This head was thick and fluffy, and it faded away slowly while leaving a heavy lacing pattern behind. Another plus was that this beer came in a clean glass, so I had nothing to complain about. There is a nice aroma of citrus and pine hops, and there is also some caramel malt to go with it.

This beer has a very big flavor, mostly hops but with some maltiness in there as well. I suppose it would be apt to call it a "bold" beer. The hops are probably the main flavor, but the malt has enough presence to avoid being overshadowed. The beer finishes bitter, with an aftertaste of lingering malt with a bit of hops. I had this on draft, and it seems like it would be much better this way than from the bottle. There's just something about it.

Final thought - I enjoyed this beer, and it was very good with food. It's sort of a mix between a red ale and an IPA, and there's noticeable contributions from both. I would probably be glad to drink this again if I see it out somewhere.

-Jon

Winter Red Ale

Beer Name: Winter Red Ale
Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Last time there were bottles of Otter Creek at Mom & Chuck's house, they had accidentally set their refrigerator far too cold and frozen the beers. This resulted in some beer volcanoes, and made the beers undrinkable. This time was much more successful, so I was actually able to enjoy a few of these OC brews.

Winter Red Ale is a seasonal beer that I drank straight from the bottle. This means that I have nothing to report on its head retention or lacing. On the other hand, even in a bottle there is a nice piney hop aroma. There's also a little toasted caramel in it as well. It's a nice combination, so hopefully the flavor can match up.

Well this is much more drinkable than the last red ale I had, so that clears up the issue of whether it was the beer or the style. There's a light hop character to it, but the star of the show seems to be the malts. They have a nice grainy caramel to them, with the hops keeping things interesting. The beer leaves a light aftertaste on the back of the tongue. Unfortunately, after about 2/3 of the bottle, the flavor shifted from a nicely balanced beer to a sort of off-putting bitterness.

Final thought - Things were pretty good at the beginning, but the flavor kind of went south after a little while. I think this would be a very enjoyable beer as long as you finish it within about 10 minutes or so. Open it up, start the clock, and get drinking!

-Jon

Roller Dam Red

Beer Name: Roller Dam Red Ale
Brewery: Great River Brewery
ABV: 5.4%
Serving method: 22-oz draft in a pint-like glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

We had a long time in between the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception, so we figured the best way to fill in the gap would be to find some grownup juice. The bar/restaurant in the hotel would probably serve nicely to fulfill this goal.

There were only 2 beers on tap that I had never tried before, and I couldn't read the other one, so I went with the Roller Dam Red Ale (although, if I'm telling the truth, the tap only said "Great River" on it, so I had to ask what exactly would be flowing from said tap). If I ever own a bar, I am going to make it much easier to know what is on tap.

The Roller Dam Red Ale is, as you might expect, a fairly reddish copper colored beer. It poured without any head, and it was so cold that the glass started sweating and prevented any kind of lacing retention. The aroma is a grainy maltiness, with some bready qualities. This thing tells me "bready" is not an actual word, but how else can I make the word "bread" into an adjective? Stupid English. I am expecting a malty sweetness to this beer.

The flavor of this beer matches pretty well with what I was expecting from the aroma. It's mostly malty, with just a little bit of hops near the end. But not much bitterness from the hops, just a sort of hoppy sensation that mixes with the sweetness from the malt. There was a medium carbonation to the beer, and a very light mouthfeel.

Final thought - I usually don't go for the red ales for some reason, but maybe I should. This was a pretty good beer despite not being on my list of top styles. Perhaps I should expand my horizons more often. Also, this beer is Iowa's first contribution to Mmmm, beers! Welcome, Iowa.

-Jon

Firehouse Amber Ale

Beer Name: McNeill's Firehouse Amber Ale
Brewery: McNeill's Brewery
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by Feb 2011

Day 10 - The fridge is starting to look a little lean. The number of selections has been declining steadily. I'm not sure we'll make it to Christmas.

I first tried this beer at one of the many brewers festivals this past summer. Then I saw a bottle of it at Ryan & Casey's, so I figured I'd give it another go. Unfortunately, this was the same day I got a very spicy burrito that paralyzed my tastebuds, rendering them incapable of savoring my newfound brew. So today is the day we finally give the Firehouse Amber Ale its due.

This beer is a cloudy golden orange color with a thick head that disappears very slowly. As it fades, it leaves a very heavy lacing behind. The aroma of this beer is lightly hoppy and citrusy.

Firehouse Amber Ale has a slightly bitter hoppy taste and then a sort of sour flavor in the aftertaste. I like the hops, but I don't think I really care for the sourness. There's a slight carbonation here which adds a nice bit of action to each sip. There isn't much other flavor going on here, which is kind of disappointing. I remember this beer being different the first time I had it.

Final thought - While it's not a bad beer, I'm just not a big fan of this one any more. I am not sure what happened between that first taste and now, but things just aren't the same. Sorry Firehouse Amber Ale; it's not you, it's me. We've just grown apart.

-Jon