Irish Red Ale - Santa Fe Brewing Company

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

3.88/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Poured into an Irish pint glass.

Look: Dark red amber. Cream colored head recedes to a film. Light lacing.

Aroma: Faint malts, barley, caramel sweetness.

Taste: Malty sweetness and grains spill into a brief hop balance.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light.

Overall: A good session beer, and mostly true to the style.

Serving type: can

04-21-2013 16:02:20 | More by JuicesFlowing

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.68/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz can that I got a case of for cheap. Dark red-brown color, good head. Smells super malty, not bad. Flavor is robust and malty, cereal, sort of surprising given the abv. Good session beer even though its a little darker in color. Santa Fe makes some pretty decent beer.

Serving type: can

08-25-2012 01:14:58 | More by ArrogantB

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The old adage that 'it pays to advertise" certainly held true in this case as a recent thread posting on my part to try and jump start The CANQuest (TM) resulted in a veritable deluge of CANs.

From the CAN: "Your new Irish drinking buddy"; "Product of USA, Taste of Ireland".

The Crack unveiled yet another brimful craft CAN and the inverted Glug had a cascade-like effect that resulted in over two fingers of dense, tawny head with great retention. Color was a deep, coppery red with NE-quality clarity, which brings me to the reason for this choice of beer tonight. I ran into my high school flame today and her hair was as red as it had ever been, while mine CANtinues to clog the drain of my shower. Cheers, baby! Nose was not as malty as the style would lead me to expect, but instead had an underlying minty hops quality to accompany the caramel malt sweetness. Mouthfeel was full, not quite creamy, but close and the initial taste was cereal-like malt followed by the minty hoppiness noted on the nose. Finish was very malty and lingered well after the swallow. I am not a huge fan of the style as a self-avowed hophead, but this was very tasty and coupled with its low ABV, I could easily drink a couple/few.

Serving type: can

08-22-2012 01:50:54 | More by woodychandler

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Another can courtesy of the creator of the can quest, woodychandler. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a pretty mahogany color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of caramel malts. Taste is caramel malts, a bit of hops, well balanced. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a good quality beer.

Serving type: can

08-11-2012 20:39:53 | More by tone77

chugalug06

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Loose tan fluffy head pours on top of a blood red brew, great clarity, but spotty lacing.

Very malty with slight citrus, but nothing major. Almost has a coffee twang..

Very light, dry, and sessionable. Nice medium carbonation with no bitterness and syrup-y aftertaste. Very enjoyable. Deep caramel flavors bury most other flavors.

Slight mess of a brew with no commanding flavors, but another solid offering from SFBC. Keep em' coming!

Serving type: can

07-23-2012 05:13:12 | More by chugalug06

mactrail

California

3.08/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Nice foam-up in the tall Witbier glass. Certainly on the red side of brown. Spritzy on the tongue.

Seems really heavy with the earthy taste. Kind of dank for the modest hoppiness. Light bodied. Not a hint of malty sweetness, though it's not really tart. Just dry. There is a flash of roasted malt in between the dirt and darkness. Aftertaste of bitter nut shells.

A nice mouthful of suds, but the flavor is bitter water with some dried mushrooms. I'll call it average for the style, but don't ask me to drink it. From the 12 oz can bought at the Grapevine in Denver.

Serving type: can

07-13-2012 03:34:36 | More by mactrail

LXIXME

New Mexico

4.18/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

IRISH RED ALE

Just in time for spring, this Irish Red Ale will bring out the malt-lover in all of us. Using a subtle blend of American and Noble hops, this beer is a harmonious anthem to malty goodness. Brewed with the highest quality heritage barley and succulent golden oats, this Maris Otter based brew, bursts with smooth caramel and chocolaty notes with a clear garnet hue. Its delicate sweetness compliments the full-body flavor of this session brew trailed by perhaps this beer’s most intriguing characteristic—its dry finish. To the beer-lover who appreciates a true session beer, this Irish Red offers an excellent balance of malt’s two signature attributes—sweetness and roasty dryness. Slainte!

Availability: March, April, May
Starting Gravity: 13.9 degrees Plato
Ending Gravity: 4.6 degrees Plato
Malts: Maris Otter, Heritage Crystal, Golden Naked Oats, Roast, Crystal 135-165
Hops: Bravo, Hersbruker, Goldings
Yeast: British Ale
Alcohol Content: 4.5%

Above is the description from Santa Fe Brewing Companies website and below is my review of this product.

I poured this can of beer from about an inch above the glass and that gives this beer a medium to big light light brown head the settles into a decent lacing above a clear dark reddish amber colored beer.

The aroma is on the lighter side with light roast caramel malts mixed with roasted cherry wood, if there is such a thing. Also in the aroma there are hints of dark roasted fruits like apricots to maybe prunes, a pretty interesting nose on this beer.

The taste had somewhat of a dark side to it, dark fruits, dark roasted caramel malts, a hint of some light bitter hops.

A medium bodied beer with a light but quite dry aftertaste with some roasted malt hanging around.

I enjoyed this Irish Red pretty much, I think the hops even though you hardly notice them held the malts in check.

A pretty good beer, even if it isn't an IPA.

Serving type: can

06-01-2012 22:30:35 | More by LXIXME