Bridge Road Brewers Fat Man, Red Suit, Big Sack India Red Ale at 7.5% ABV (2014 Advent Calendar #6, 330ml, no bottle date or best before)
Pours cloudy medium amber with three fingers of loose off-white head that just keeps growing, great retention, and heavy chunky lacing. (5/5) Nose is biscuity bready caramel malt, citrus, earthy, some tropical fruit and pine. (7/10) Taste is moderate to strong sweet, strong bitter. (7/10) Medium to full body, moderate carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish. (4/5)
No, I don’t have a red suit. Shut up. As far as the beer goes, I dunno what the hell an India Red Ale is supposed to be, but this feels like a malt-forward DIPA to me. More to the point, it feels like a DIPA that’s malt-forward because it’s getting on in age and the hops are fading fast. It reminds me of some of the really hoppy New Zealand beers I’ve had, probably not only because it’s using the same “down under” hop varietals, but because they too had apparently taken the slow boat before getting in my hands. That malt-forward character is not my preference, but I’d love to try it fresh. Anybody want to send me to Australia or New Zealand, for research purposes? (14/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
