Celtic Irish Red - John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Jason

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Nice toasted, almost roasted maltiness. Slight hop bitterness with a caramel sweet malt back ground. Very smooth being that they had it on nitro. I even surprised myself when I looked down a few mins after and the pint was empty.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2002 15:59:23 | More by Jason

Todd

Massachusetts

4.05/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Lovely true red colouring and a pure white nitro head that is amazingly tight, creamy and resilient. Ultra smooth on the palate with a near Boddington's type profile. Malt sweetness and light floral hop character are balanced and soft.

The bro and I ordered the "Cask Bitter" but got these instead, which actually turned out to be okay. A top-notch session beer IMO.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2002 09:00:12 | More by Todd

zoso1967

Michigan

3/5  rDev -20.2%

03-25-2012 21:30:05 | More by zoso1967

plaid75

New York

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured a medium amber hue with a two finger frothy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured an earthy nutty malt with caramel and peat.

The taste was earthy and smoky with a spicy caramel and balancing grassy hop. Some butteriness at the finish.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style and with a dry finish.

Overall a tasty malt forward ale.

Serving type: on-tap

03-24-2011 17:33:29 | More by plaid75

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes. On tap at the Harvard location.

Pours a nice amber color with an off-white head. Several fingers of lacing at first though this falls at a moderate pace and leaves a bit of lacing behind. The nose is a bit plain with some slight biscuit malt and not much else. The taste is pretty nice with some caramel, biscuit, and light earthy hop characteristics. Good mouthfeel with a nice malt backbone and some slight bitterness. Good drinkability and an all-around fairly-solid brew.

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House, 33 Dunster Street, Cambridge

11-12-2010 03:46:34 | More by Thorpe429

LilBeerDoctor

New York

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at JH. Pours a clear dark amber/brown with a thick light tan head. Aroma of sweet malts and oatmeal. Flavor is quite malty with some light roasted notes and a slight bitter hoppiness in the finish. A little sweet but pretty good. The palate is decent. I was somewhat surprised by this one.
7/4/7/4/14 (3.6/5)

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard’s Brewery & Ale House, 2093 Smithhaven Plaza, Lake Grove

03-31-2009 02:36:29 | More by LilBeerDoctor

Jayli

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Location: Framingham, MA Brewhouse

This was a great Irish Red. The beer was served with a very mild head, but had a great reddish coloringn to it. The beer itself was extremely smooth with a mildly sweet after taste to it. One of the better Irish Red's that I have tried as of late. I need to make another trip back to John Harvard's!

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

04-09-2008 00:36:48 | More by Jayli

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.13/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured on 3/8/08 from a 64oz growler that had been filled at the brewpub in Manchester, CT that same day, into a mug glass.

A: The beer is dark reddish brown color, with a very thin off-white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malt, tea and some hops.

T: The taste is malty but not overly sweet with flavors of caramel and tea. The hops presence is mild but it's just right for this type of beer. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and crisp, light-to-medium carbonation, medium body, finish is clean.

D: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, mild kick, very good representation of style. I took a gamble and purchased the growler without sampling the beer first and despite the fact that I think the growler didn't seal right, I enjoyed this beer. I'd like to get the chance to try fresh from the tap.

Serving type: growler
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

03-09-2008 01:57:00 | More by TheManiacalOne

sinstaineddemon

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

this dark red brew poured with a head the tan color of aged newspaper, a strudy head, that lasted. i detected a faint vanilla aroma, with the malt. However, when i tasted it, was surprisingly smooth. I couldn't believe how easy it went down. Can't wait to try this again.

Manchester, Ct location

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

04-04-2006 11:56:42 | More by sinstaineddemon

gentlebubbles

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Harvard Square location.

A glowing reddish amber under a white openwork head that leaves plenty of lace.

Faint sweet scent.

Quite sweet and caramelly with hints of toffee and some spice in a resiny finish.

Just right in the mouthfeel, with light conditioning. A nice, unassuming session brew.

Serving type: cask
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

01-23-2005 22:54:52 | More by gentlebubbles

ark57

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It is a clear reddish color. there is little head and it does not leave any lacing. The aroma has some roasted qualities as well as a slight sweetness. The medium body has a nice caramel maltiness. It goes down real smooth. There is s light bitterness in the finish. Not a bad beer.

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

03-22-2004 14:14:02 | More by ark57

Stingray5

New York

4.18/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a very dark red, looks almost like a stout from a distance. Small off white head. Hints of caramel malt in the aroma, with some dark fruit notes. Would like a little more here. Substantial mouthful leads to a serious malt fest, with lots of caramel, fruit and some bitter chocolate.

Much heavier than I'd anticipated, but drinkability was just fine. Another nice brew from John Harvard's.

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

03-15-2004 04:59:25 | More by Stingray5

necoadam

Connecticut

3.73/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this stuff to start out the evening. Came out two days ago actually. The appearance was very nice on this beer. Nice shade of reddish amber with lots of head. Smell was mostly malts and some caramel notes in there as well. Taste was malty and caramel kicked in, but was quite balanced (some hops hopped in for the balancing effect). Mouthfeel was so smooth and creamy. Cask-conditioned beers...yummy! I must say they did a terrific job with this style of beer.

Serving type: cask
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

03-07-2004 04:13:19 | More by necoadam

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled on cask at the Harvard Sq. brewpub.
4.9% abv, 24 IBU.

This red ale poured a clear, red-amber color with white foam that left lace on the glass. The smell was very modest (some caramel malt). The taste was mellow: malty with a light hop finish. The taste was good, but just on the light side as flavor goes. The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy, characteristic of a cask-conditioned ale. This ale was nice and mellow and easy to drink.

Serving type: cask
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

03-29-2003 23:33:48 | More by UncleJimbo

IrishRedRock

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

As someone pointed out already, this truly is a red beer. It did not seem to have any real aroma...I had trouble picking out anything distinct. Maybe a soft malty aroma, but that was the extent of it. Cigarette smoke overtook me.

The body is surprisingly full, with a nice dose of maltiness in the middle, then a cherry-like fruity sweetness followed by a mild hop bitterness. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I didn't expect much and it turned out to be pretty good.

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

02-22-2003 11:17:14 | More by IrishRedRock

jdhilt

New Hampshire

2.7/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

John Harvard's Cambridge. Coppery dark color as expected. Dry hay overtones in the nose. Some lace, good head and medium carbonation. Hoppy after taste. The ABV is 4.8%.

Serving type: on-tap
@ John Harvard's Brew House, 1487 Pleasant Valley Rd, Manchester

09-22-2002 19:18:07 | More by jdhilt