Loakal Red - The Bruery

kojevergas

California

2.25/5  rDev -44%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Served on-draught at the Bruery provisions store in Orange, California as part of a taster. Serving volume was 2 oz. At the time, I thought the serving temperature was entirely too warm, but they're The Bruery, so this can't be attributed to barstaff error. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a one finger head of fair cream, good thickness, and decent retention. Clear ruby colour.

Sm: Amber hops, yeast, light cherry esters, and a hint of ammonia. Moderate in strength.

T: Very oak-ridden, with light wine notes. It's got a strange tone to be sure. No yeast comes through. It's built simply, but balanced. Strange in an unwelcome way.

Mf: Smooth and wet, complementing the style and taste fairly.

Dr: Drinkable for the relatively high ABV. Low quality.

Serving type: on-tap

09-24-2011 23:05:23 | More by kojevergas

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours 1 finger of beige head. Good retention and lace. Color is a caramel copper amber.

Aroma: Floral hops and some malts. Very amber like. Light oak and vanilla with some caramel and bread.

Taste: Very malty. Biscuity. Oak, floral hops, and vanilla show. Very malty, however.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and bitter. Medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. Ends dry and malty.

Overall, this wasn't really for me. I dig the hops, but too much malt here. Very dry. I won't have too much.

Serving type: on-tap

01-16-2011 22:26:14 | More by mothman

craytonic

District of Columbia

3.08/5  rDev -23.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Small head, decent head and lace. Amber-copper pour.

Smell: Plane jane hops and malts, similar to some random beer one might get at a bar when ordering an "amber"

Taste: Very malty amber ale; very standard.

Mouthfeel: A bit thin, agressive carbonation. Very dry.

Drinkability: None of us were crazy about this one, not my favorite Bruery offering.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2011 03:19:25 | More by craytonic

mikey711

New Jersey

3.13/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Excited to try this one, again a very generous soul provided me with it

A: Muddy redish brown with waaaayyy to much head that took forever to go away. The lacing was good

S: Strong oak and vanilla tones along with some. A slight floral hoppiness and tons of toffee and caramel notes

T: A bit too sugary sweet for me with a hint pine hoppiness present in the finish.

M: Pretty smooth but slightly cloying

D: Happy to had tried this but do not think i would seek it out in the future. maybe if enjoyed fresher it would have been better

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2011 00:55:37 | More by mikey711

claytong

Vermont

3.2/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

appearance - a dark crimson mahogany in color. off white head that sticks around a bit.

smell - hops, wood, typical amber malts

taste - wood is off a bit and not mixing well with this hops for me, i dont like ipa or dipas aged in wood generally and this is what this is like for me.

mouthfeel - medium and medium on carbonation and body. a bit of sticking in the mouth.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2011 14:20:13 | More by claytong

MrKennedy

Australia

3.23/5  rDev -19.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle thanks to nicks6217, poured into a Lost Abbey tulip.

Poured an amber red, mostly foam (75% foam, 25% liquid at best) and this foam certainly gripped the glass and always stayed above a layer of film.

Smell was largely of candied hops, very sweet smelling and only briefly did any oak make its presence known. A little one dimensional, but a good sign of things to come. Expected vanilla from the oak, but that didn't happen for me.

Taste was the one dimensional candied hop from the nose hitting the tastebuds. It wasn't something that beated you into submission, more something that was always there, and not in a bad way.

I was a big fan of the mouthfeel, it managed to parch the mouth, presumably from the oak, while leaving you ready to come back for another sip.

Not what i expected, but overall, it is an ok beer for a tasting or a session. Drinkability was very good, taste was sweet and one dimensional.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2011 22:38:29 | More by MrKennedy

Philousa

California

3.3/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark rust, barely opaque. Lots of head and good lacing on the glass. Citrus hops greet the nose, followed by sweet and spicy amber malt, a hint of oak wood to finish. Sweet amber malt greet your tongue, followed by bitter hops and a bitter oak flavor lingers for a while. This brew is high in carbonation, but if you let it sit a while or swirl it a bit it evens out.

The sweet amber malt in this beer is great in flavor, but it's overtaken by the oak bitterness that lasts forever, wiping the sweet taste from your palate's memory. This also happened with The Bruery's Batch 300 Tripel. They really need to rein in the oak flavors. The overcarbonation wasn't really an issue, but worth noting. This is so close to being a great brew that I can taste it (get it?). That said, this is probably the most drinkable ales that The Bruery has produced.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2011 04:01:29 | More by Philousa

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark golden orange/apricot color with a 1.5 finger white head that settles into a lasting ring.  Streaks of soapy lacing left behind.

Slightly earthy aroma with lots of sweet malt notes, bready yeast and subtle funk.  Hints of toffee, caramel, biscuit and light fruit.  Not as hoppy as expected.

Medium bodied with a dry, resinous hop presence that lingers over sweeter notes into a dry finish.  
More hops than nose suggests. Subtle creamy texture with some faint citrus that gives off some sweetness to balance the  malt presence.  Hints of caramel, toffee and bready yeast but hops are still prominent.  . Decent amount of dry bitterness but still well balanced with above average drinkability.

Serving type: on-tap

01-26-2012 01:09:29 | More by corby112

ptykozoon

California

3.5/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a pretty maple red with a nice ring.

Chocolate, raisin, sweet fruit, cherry, oak. Smells brilliant.

Taste is non-comparable to the smell, very subtle and light. Orange, light light fruits, hops. Very mellow.

Dry, bitter mouthfeel.

The nose is wonderful, but the taste is less dominating than anticipated.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2011 23:20:46 | More by ptykozoon

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

750mL bottle, very generously sent along by rmjavanut, poured into my Duvel tulip.

Loakal Red pours an impossibly deep maroon, to the point it's beginning to cross the line into brown. Cherry highlights are readily apparent when the beer is held directly up to light though. The khaki colored crown is enormous to begin with (four plus fingers), and retention is off the charts. The frothy cap never disappears completely, but slowly drops and collapses into the center, almost as if I had dropped a scoop of ice cream into the glass that was slowly melting. Nose is a very good blend. It's equal parts citrus and caramel, with just a hint of oak coming through as well. Caramel and grapefruit show up again in the taste, but are both overpowered by the oak influence. There's some straight oak flavor, as well as an almost sour tannic quality that is way too potent. I'm a little let down that Loakal Red's not a little hoppier seeing as it advertises itself as a "brash red ale" on the bottle. Mouthfeel is great, medium bodied, and exceptionally chewy for being so. This would have been a problem if the beer was as hoppy as I was anticipating, but with a more subtle hop flavor it works. Carbonation is just about picture perfect too, medium to high and with enough verve to elevate what Centennial characteristics there are, yet it stops short of being fizzy. I really like the idea of Loakal Red, blending a barrel aged version of a beer this style with a fresh batch is fairly unique, but the tannic quality from the oak barrels, not to mention the oak flavor, ran roughshod over everything and ruined what was an otherwise excellently executed beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2010 04:11:04 | More by axeman9182

portia99

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary snifter.

A - Hazy, brownish amber color with a thick pillow, several fingers high, of dark tan foam. Tons of lacing left on the glass as the foam slow dissipates. This is one of those beers that needs to be poured in stages - took at least 4 to fill the glass to an acceptable level after letting the foam die down a bit each time.

S - Tons of oak with some citrus mixed in. This is extremely woody on the nose with some lightly grapefruity hops, sugar sweetness and some caramelly malt on the side.

T - Hoppy bitterness up front, again - as with the aroma there is a very high woodiness to it. Bitter, light citrus, some spicy hops and sweet and lightly roasty malts.

M - Medium bodied, very foamy with a medium intensity carbonation. Again, I keep coming back to the wood aspects as a defining character in this beer.

O - Did I say this is very oaky/woody? Too high for my tastes. I think the wood seems to be smothering the hops a bit. Earthy and caramel/toffee malty sweetness helps but doesn't counteract the wood enough. Cut back the wood...or maybe it will mellow (unfortunately as well as the hops) and smooth out a bit with time, but not sure that will do it any service either. Somewhat enjoyable, but definitely not up there as one of my favorites either.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 13:21:01 | More by portia99

OakedCanuck

Washington

3.53/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

750ml poured into cervoise.

A - Pours a hazy copper with red and roan hints. HOLY CRAP head! I poured this beer so slow that barely any was coming out and it still foamed all over the place. It literally took about 20 minutes to settle and achieve a half poured glass. Yikes.

S - Nice fresh forest, pine, a kind of log cabin smell with nice caramel and toffee malts.

T - The description on the label indicates a sawn log component to it, and they were right! Nice piney hops with a huge oak component. Decent caramel malt backbone, some vanilla and a touch of pepper.

M - Way too much carbonation, very fizzy in the mouth. Somewhat tacky from the caramel.

O - I would like to try this one fresh off the tap, I have a feeling it would be quite different. I love the 'outdoor' flavour component to this and would have it again for sure.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 19:02:58 | More by OakedCanuck

Thorpe429

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to drabmuh for opening this bottle. Served in a snifter.

Pours a dark amber-red color with a really nice light tan head and quite a bit of lacing as it goes down. The nose brings a fair amount of citrus and pine hops plus a bit of oak and some sweet amber malt. The taste brings more of the same with a fairly-strong oak presence plus some citrus and pine hops. Body is medium with a slight bitterness. Overall, a decent beer but a bit time and the flavors and scents never really seemed to pop or meld. Hopefully The Bruery will stray out toward styles like this more often, as this was a step in a positive direction.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 23:45:59 | More by Thorpe429

trappistlover

Arizona

3.58/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(750ml bottle from Provisions Store). Pours dark copper with chunky 2 finger off-white head. Aroma has wood, orange and lemon pledge (perfumey). Taste has strong wood flavor, but the hops aren't as prominent as I thought they'd be. Medium bodied with a slick/creamy texture. Finish is smooth. Mouthfeel on this is fantastic. It just coats the mouth. I'm not a huge fan of oaked beers, but this one's pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 04:44:30 | More by trappistlover

BeerImmediately

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a 750ml at Bruery Provisions this evening.

Pours with a fairly short, tan, tight-foam head that fades to a ring, with a nice amount of lacing. Body is murky amber brown.

Aromas are tame - spicy herbal quality with touch of citrusy hops.

Flavors are good for the style. Nothing is overdone. Good vanilla sweetness to balance the the tight, citrusy hoppy bite.

Mouthfeel is smooth and clean.

This is a really enjoyable beer that I wish I could try on draft. Just glad I had a chance to have one while out here.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2011 04:56:46 | More by BeerImmediately

Ineedabeerhere

Connecticut

3.6/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks Andrew!

Pours a nice rubyish red color with some lighter highlights. Nice head formation and great retention, leaving tons of lace. Off to a good start.

Aroma has a good base of caramel and some hearty malt, nice wood character, with a good herbal- orangey hop note. Taste is big as well, good amoutn of residual sugar, medium-full mouthfeel with good toffee-ish malt, oak character, caramel. The bitterness is relatively on the lighter side, but it's there. Some vanilla in the finish. It's a very nice beer with no real flaws- I'd be happy to drink it again !

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 02:10:35 | More by Ineedabeerhere

ehammond1

California

3.65/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On Tap

The Bruery Provisions
Orange, CA

Hazy, brown and red amber. Thin off-white head and plenty of lacing down the glass. This beer looks relatively thick.

This beer has an exceptional aroma about it--just a wonderful combination of caramel, baking bread, molasses, some sweet fruit, along with oak and earth. Tremendous! I wish every red could smell (something) like this!

Though the flavor did not translate nearly as well, and after the incredibly rich aroma, I was quite disappointed with the overall flavor. It seemed too muddy and earthy, with a hint of salty unpleasantness, without any of the vibrant sweet and bready components I found in the aroma. Surprising, because in this instance, the flavor did not at all follow the aroma.

Medium to thick bodied.

An ultimately disappointing red, if only because the aroma was so incredibly special! I'll certainly try this one again, hoping for something different. That smell alone is almost worth the purchase price!

Serving type: on-tap

08-02-2011 22:22:01 | More by ehammond1

bashiba

Iowa

3.68/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured a cloudy and dirty dark red with a big fluffy white head, long lasting and big retention.

The smell is dominated by sweet and bready caramely malts with a hint of brown sugar, rye and oak.

The flavor is very malty and bready with a light sweet and brown sugary with a light bit of citrusy hops.

The mouthfeel is fairly thick and chewy with a touch of resiny hops.

Overall its pretty good for a strong amber I like the buiscuity bready malts and the touch of rye with just a hint of oak.

Serving type: bottle

07-19-2011 00:57:37 | More by bashiba

beagle75

Iowa

3.75/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a growler into a tulip pint glass.

A: Slightly hazy, dark amber color with over one finger of persistent parchment-tinted foam head. Heavy lacing remains on the glass.

S: Mild but decidedly woody and resinous, with dark citrus and faint vanilla. The malt backbone is similarly restrained, smelling of slightly metallic crystal malt.

T: Begins off-dry, with caramel, pine, newly-sawn oak, and dark flavors of citrus and roast. Acidity is moderate but smooth, decidedly citric in quality, adding to appeal. The middle is very earthy and tea-like, with a mineral edge that returns, tasting of hard water in the mildly bitter vanilla finish. Whiffs of transient oak linger on the palate.

M: Thin to medium viscosity, watery but smooth on the palate, with low carbonation.

D/O: There are a few beer styles that are more likely to cause a certain type-casting of their producer; the kind of association which, for better or for worse, will forever connect brewer to style. American IPA is one such style, and the Bruery seems intent on not having their reputation tied to it. The practical outcome is that they find all sorts of other, less-conventional vehicles for hops delivery. Here, they pack a hoppy red ale with a lot of assertive oak--it is definitely not an IPA, but it stands in well enough. If anything, it is one of the most reserved and understated of all their more popular hoppy beers: less focused on the hop profile than Humulus Lager, and less intense in general than Cornballer or Old Richland. It drinks easily, but lacks that compelling extreme-ness of its cousins.

Serving type: growler

05-20-2011 16:43:35 | More by beagle75

Halcyondays

California

3.78/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at The Bruery itself, on-tap Review No. 500,

A: Pours a dark red with a medium white head, average retention, some good lace.

S: Crystal/red malt heavy, with notes of oak and citrus.

T: To me a bit like a mini Woodcut No. 3, though the residual sugars are lessened in this beer making it much hoppier. Good oak component (mostly a wood flavour, not vanilla); the hops are fairly prominent bringing a lot of white grapefruit and melon.

M: Medium-bodied, soft and spritzy carbonation, fairly smooth, easy on the palate.

D: A solid red from The Bruery. I'm not usually the biggest red fan, but this was nice, I think the oak aging helped to round out the flavours making it almost a light barleywine.

Serving type: on-tap

09-25-2010 00:19:17 | More by Halcyondays

nkersten

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into a NB globe. Pours a slightly hazy red with a two finger white head that settles into a really creamy cap with good lacing. Smell is citrusy orange zest, lots of bright fruity hops, malty sweetness, some oak, and a slight homebrew tinniness. Taste is good, but I would have preferred more of the hops that were in the aroma. Some citrus and pine hops, malty sweetness, a hint of oak with a bitter finish. Medium bodied with a medium carbonation, a bit sticky. Very drinkable but not my favorite red. Smell was the best part of this beer, I bet it is amazing when it is really fresh.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2010 21:21:03 | More by nkersten

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-amber with a light cream colored head

S-hoppy caramel malts. some grapefruit. smells like a typical creamy hoppy red ale.

T-comes in with a roasted hoppy taste of caramel malts. matching after-taste. light tasting...the flavors are very mild.

M-medium carbonation with a dry finish

O-pretty decent red ale. it has a subtle complexity to it, much like caviar. unfortunately, thats not how i like my beers. i'd still enjoy an entire 750mL to myself though!

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2011 17:34:45 | More by AdamBear

gregshead

California

3.8/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From written notes, reviewed on 11/29/10 -

A: Pours with a good finger of light tan head which dissipates but leaves behind a thin foam lining.

S: Red ale sweet smell with oak aromas

T: The oak taste dominates almost to the point where it tastes sour/tart. Sweet malt/caramel flavors to come to the palate. Doesn't completely the style for me.

M: Lots of carbonation fizzling on the tongue. Nice light feel.

D: I think it's a little strong in the oak tastes and doesn't fit the Amber/Red category. However, still a well made beer that I would enjoy having again.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2010 06:25:21 | More by gregshead

ElSid

California

3.8/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The Beers of California

#30

On-tap at the Bruery

I was able to allocate two bottles of Black Tuesday for myself through the new online system. Since I was stopping by to pick up my bottles, I figured I would have a couple of glasses.

A: Deep copper brown with reddish-orange hues. This brew is topped off with an off-white foamy head which sticks around leaving blankets of foam atop this beer.

S: Earthy with notes of pine needles, faint citrus, along with caramel and brown sugar sweetness.

T: Somewhat toasty with a good amount of bready maltiness. Earthy pine bitterness builds on the burnt sugary malt base to a warming alcohol finish with faint citrus highlights.

M: Good syrupy linger with moderate carbonation, medium mouthfeel and incredible reticular retention on the glass.

O: As straightforward as a Bruery beer can get, this red ale boasts wonderful hop bitterness built upon a standard red ale malt base. Although somwhat lacking in malt complexity this brew is a decent hoppy take on the American Red Ale.

Serving type: on-tap

12-10-2012 04:34:17 | More by ElSid

Dlish

California

3.83/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- real dark red, solid large head retention.

S- Lots of hops, some malt little bit of Carmel and flan. I'll get some Belgium yeast.

T- Really big citra hops, lots of hops, there is a good amount of malt profile very sweet but it could use more actually. It be better if it could be a double red, I mean it is boarding on it anyhow. Still something is a little off, just taste a little green.

M- Good amount of carbonation, nothing more I can say.

O- Overall not bad, probably one of the most drinkable beers from the Bruery but for the price it is not worth the price tag.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2011 03:15:40 | More by Dlish