Monthly Archive for July, 2009

Although labled a brown ale, the overall style is known as a Flanders Red Ale. They are typically brews that range from red to brown in color. The style often uses a Lactobacillus yeast strain producing a high lactic acid and giving a sour taste, also sometime a Tannic acid producing that lip puckering feeling. Often aged for long periods in oak barrels, aged batches are sometimes mixed with younger ones to balance them out.

Produced by New Belgium Brewing Co, as part of their Lips of Faith line. Starting off in 1989, they have made great strides since then. I’ll let them tell their story: ” As our aspiring young home brewer rides his mountain bike with “fat tires” through European villages famous for beer, New Belgium Brewing Company was but a glimmer in his eye. Or basement. For Jeff Lebesch would return to Fort Collins with a handful of ingredients and an imagination full of recipes. And then there was beer. Jeff’s first two basement-brewed creations? A brown dubbel with earthy undertones named Abbey and a remarkably well-balanced amber he named Fat Tire. To say the rest was history would be to overlook his wife’s involvement. Kim Jordan was New Belgium’s first bottler, sales rep, distributor, marketer and financial planner.” There is much more, but also unique for them is their addition of employee ownership to all employees upon completing one year of employment.

Appearance was a candy apple copper, deep. Minimal carbonation, but produces a light and long lasting Lacing on the glass. Hold it up to the light and I swear it looks like neon sunset shining through.

Aroma had raspberries come to mind, but tart ones at that. Definite malt smell with a faint spice aroma. It smells like tart raspberry soda that got into a fight with some malt. A nice woody flavor creeps in amongst all that sour malt giving it a nice balance.

The malt hits you right away, but soon after that, a sticky tart, sour flavor comes out, almost like a pack of apple sour patch kids mixed it up with the hops and malt on playground after school. Didn’t notice the spice as much, but a slight caramel malt was definitely present, reminding me this was based on a brown ale.

Overall: fantastic. I’ve had Lost Abbey’s Cable Car Wich is a fantastic sour and this is close. Lower in ABV though, about 6%, and went well with my sweet potatoe fries.

This one is an example of  an American Amber Ale or Red Ale. This style is usually heavier on the malt, sometimes toasted or even smoked, contains hops  and very often has a fruity character to it, with spices sometimes present. Varying degrees and varieties of hops are often used. The American Amber Ale or Red Ale, is a kind of a catch all category for ales that are amber in color all the way to red. American Amber Ales are more or less, hopped up Pale Ales with have had crystal or other colored malts added to a Pale Ale, thus producing the darker color. American versions can sometimes even border on being an IPA, or India Pale Ale, with colored malt added in.

Bear Republic Brewing Co hails from Healdsburg, California. Tucked away in Sonoma County, which is known for it’s wine, Bear Republic is opening a new facility in Cloverdale, California. I wasn’t able to find much about the history of Bear Republic, but they appear to have begun as a modest brewpub in Healdsburg, with some ties to mountain biking. In fact, their website boasts that Red Rocket is the brew of choice for mountain bikers.

Poured a deep copper color into a tulip glass (should have been a pint glass, but this was the first thing I grabbed), dark enought that it almost appears brown.  Moderate amount of carbonation produced a nice little set up bubbles that trickle on up to the top of the glass. The head is minimal, but that is nit uncommon for this style. The lacing left over sticks well to the glass.

Aroma is of caramle and roasted malts. This hits you immediately. At the same time, the pugnant hop aroma is just as prevalent, giving the overall aroma a nice balance. Some spice is detected, as well as faint citrus notes, although the citrus is not so prevalent. Worthy of another snif.

When tasting this one, I wasn’t sure if I had an IPA or not. Damn, but the hops were bountiful and bitter! Another sips finally brings out the roasted malts. The caramel was not quite as prevalent, although still present along with some definate spice.

Mouthfeel had a medium body to it. Exactly what I would expect form a beer tossed into this style. Crisp, yet not too much for an Amber ale.

Overall, a very nice brew. Similar in some ways to Green Flash Brewing Co’s Hop Head Red. I am always surprised and pleased with American Ambers, as they most often are so hopped up you can not help but get all giddy anticipating the next bottle. Red Rocket weighs oin at around 6.8% ABV, average for this style. Paired well with the Brat and steak fries I had for lunch. This one would also go well with a nice dish of homemade vanilla ice cream.