Our afterschool babysitter had to cancel today, so I had to leave work early. I have a lot to get finished up this evening and was feeling a bit stressed. So, first, I cracked open a Backwoods Bastard and then grabbed this one out of the beer fridge. I pick this one up during one of our trips up to Minnesota.
Location: Poured into a TEKU pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL
Numbers: 6% ABV, 65 IBUs, 180 Calories
Appearance & Aroma: It’s deep red in color with some brick-brown-red highlights and is pretty clear. The head is off-white, thick and creamy and feel after several minutes. The aroma is earthy-hoppy.
Taste & Feel: The body is medium and the mouthfeel is crisp. The flavor up front is lightly malty sweet with some earthy hop flavors. The flavors all mix and mellow a bit in the middle, and an earthy-spicy hop flavor opens up in the finish. There’s a malty undertone, but the hop flavors are a mix of earthy-spicy dankness. The dank mix of hops lasts briefly in the aftertaste.
Food Pairing: with the earthy hop flavors, I’d definitely pair this with a salty meat. I think a burger would be perfect, but a pot roast would also be great.
Overall Impression: The mix of hop flavors in this beer was more muddy and muddled instead of adding a lot if flavor depth. While the maltiness was present, it wasn’t as rich as I expected from a red ale. Overall, I found this beer to be just so-so, and not one I’d likely look for again.
My Rating: 
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