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| Irish Red Ale, not a style I can get excited about |
The beer pours a rusty red colour with a thin off-white head. Aroma is subdued with sweet malts being the only dominant aroma. Medium bodied with a nice level of carbonation. A nice beer, however it does not provide any standout characteristics. The hops are very subdued, almost invisible (which many will say is in keeping with the style), while the malts are there but don't offer enough of a punch. Also I discerned a very slight metallic aftertaste which didn't help.
Overall very dissapointing after I really enjoyed their stout and blonde beers.
To me, Irish Red Ale is just not a style of beer that you can get excited about. A nice change would be for some of the Irish brewers to go more the route of an American Amber Ale crossed with an Irish Red, this would provide you with the chewy malty background but then also give a nice hop punch that would balance everything out.
