Bring Out Your Red

Red beer seems like an extremely boring descriptor, but many examples that fit under this seemingly vague category can be quite tasty, if not glorious. If, where you live, winter is still hanging on, and, like me, you’re not yet ready to give up the ales of the season, there are numerous warm-fermented, scarlet colored gems to be had. However, if you’re feeling a bit more like spring, and the cold-fermented beers are what you crave, there are a few red lagers that fit the bill.
One of the classic styles is Irish Red Ale. Irish red ales will, obviously, appear red or amber in color, will have a malty, toasty, caramel-like aroma, and are similar in smell to their taste. Expect a buttery-toffee-like sweetness, in some cases similar to tea, can be grainy and earthy as well but aren’t too strong tasting.
Irish red ales have little-to-no hop scent or flavor, are extremely smooth, tend to be light in carbonation, medium-to-thin in mouthfeel, and are easy drinking session beers.
Even more hop-oriented, but not all the way to pale ale levels of bitterness, the American Amber Ale is a red beer of balanced flavors, fuller body and deep, rich amber colors. One of my favorite, go to red ales is Bell’s Amber, followed closely by Highland Gaelic Ale. Both are delicious, but exhibit hop levels that are not overwhelming, yet keep the beers from becoming sweet. Anderson Valley’s Boont Amber is also highly recommended.
However, if you want sappier, resinous hops from your red ale, there are many delicious options. A moderate level of hops can be found in Rogue’s American Amber Ale and Ballast Point’s Calico Amber Ale. Bitterness begins moving into pale ale range with North Coast’s Red Seal Ale and Troegs Hopback Amber. And, if you’re searching for just enough malt to keep the hops from reaching IPA level, Green Flash Hop Head Red, Bear Republic’s Red Rock Ale and the elusive Nugget Nectar from Troegs are the beers for you.
Where red lagers are concerned, expect a bit more malt than your typical golden or yellow beer, and a moderately complex flavor and aroma profile should be present as well. All-malt examples will be less sharp and fizzy compared with adjunct brewed lagers. Compared with the Euro amber lager styles of either Vienna Lagers or Oktoberfest beers which are quite specific to their respective categories, the American Amber lagers can vary quite a bit.
Brooklyn Brewery’s Brooklyn Lager is an all-malt based beer with three varieties of hops (along with being dry-hopped) to create a balanced and exceptional American beer. These options may be too heavy and complex to throw back several of them on the beach in the middle of summer, but they are perfect choices for March. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.