Hoplanta - Red Brick Brewing Company

lnashsig

Texas

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Many thanks to ahlthe3rd (Hugh) for the chance to taste this one. Always down to taste something new and hoppy! "Hoppier than a bullfrog with a stubbed toe". Awesome. Poured from bottle into my Victory tulip. Pours a super cloudy yellow/orange color. Lacing on this is phenomenal- all over the glass. Smell- citrus grassy hops, nice blood orange and grapefruit aroma, tropical mango/papaya. Really nice aroma here and great appearance. Taste- not what I was expecting from the aroma at all. A blast of bitterness is there, but it almost is mingled with a peppery/smoke flavor? A bit of astringency and possibly some plastic flavors on the end, but not a huge detractor to the beer. Super grassy hops here, it really dominates the flavor. This is a pretty interesting and unique beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 02:13:19 | More by lnashsig

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.8/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle - $1.69 at Olde Crabapple Bottle Shoppe in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a gently hazed, light copper-hued body with a growing, lasting, off-white head. Quality lacework on the descent.

Smell: Strongly floral hops, but also an infusion of citrus and a mite bit earthy over a basic, simplistic base of bready malts.

Taste: Lightly bready malts with a small, small nibble of golden syrup sweetness. Notably floral hops with sips of lemon and white grapefruit juices and a light telltale earthiness. Moderately bitter. Juicy, floral on the bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body. Medium carbonation.

Overall: Not quite as expressive as Sweetwater's IPA, but it's fairly decent.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2011 21:56:53 | More by ChainGangGuy

mmmmmbeeer

Georgia

4.22/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle -- No bottling date but, being this was just released, this can't be more than a couple weeks old.

A -- Honey amber color..a bit cloudy. 2 finger head with decent head residue floating after it sits. Moderate lacing

S -- Very sweet citrus...grapefruit...smells like a solid IPA

T -- Not near as sweet as the smell. This beer is full of hoppy bitterness! Very much on the piney side. I'm not sensing a whole lot of malt...I think they were aiming for an unbalanced hop bomb and they succeeded.

M -- Resinous

O -- I typically don't review beers that I drink but I thought giving a local brew a little bit of love for something that was surprisingly good was in order. While Terrapin and Sweetwater put out quality IPAs, I think that Red Brick has upped the ante a bit by releasing something that, to me, is much more in the West Coast vein of IPAs....in-your-face hops with little regard for balance.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2011 01:00:00 | More by mmmmmbeeer

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.4/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Comes out of the tap an opaque, cloudy honey golden with a fairly thick pale honey head. In fact, it looks a lot like honey, real honey fresh from the hive. Hoppy aroma has a sweet honey-like overtone and a nice evergreen note. Flavor - woo wee, seriously hoppy, very evergreen, with a sweet undertone and just a little bitterness. Full-bodied texture is quite rough and fizzy, leaving behind a hoppy, tingly, slightly honey-sweet finish. Recommended!

Serving type: on-tap

12-09-2011 23:20:53 | More by Cyberkedi

ccarney2

Georgia

4.1/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Deep orange color that pours about a finger of an off white head. Kind of a hazy/mildly cloudy body, but has a beautiful almost "glow" when held up to a light. There are lots of small carbonation bubbles rising to the surface that maintains a decent head all the way to the bottom of the glass. Moderate lacing.

Smell - The hops are definitely showcased here, and it works. I didn't expect too much from this in state offering, but as soon as I took the first smell that all changed. This beer has a wonderful hop aroma that compliments the malt character rather than overpowering it. Sweet citrus smell up front that kind of fades to more of a piney funky nose.

Taste - Short window of sweet malts mixed with orange up front, but quickly fades into a more bitter but kind of mellow flavor. I really wished the great citrus shined for a little longer, because towards the end of the flavor it just sort of drops off and turns to nothing but bitter. Still good in my opinion though.

Mouthfeel - Fairly highly carbonated for the style, not to the extent of being excessive though. Nice mouthfeel, sticks around your tongue for a while.

Overall - I was definitely happy to have picked this up in a mixed 6-pack. It is a beer that I haven't really heard any hype about, but it impressed me a good bit. Very nice IPA with a good blend of fruity citrus and a nice bitter finish.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2011 05:43:03 | More by ccarney2

elgiacomo

Georgia

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

12oz bottle, fresh release (but date code is missing from bottle). Served at around 45F.

Pours murky orange/amber with lots of bits of floaties flying around. Two finger off-white long-lasting head that is quite dense and foamy and leaves some super sticky rings and spots of lacing.

Aroma is primarily floral and grassy with some notes of apricot, citrus and pine, bread and caramel malts underneath. Good but not great strength.

Flavor is orange and grapefruit citrus, apricots, resinous hops and some pine, fairly hefty caramel malt backbone, a bit of sweetness but finishes mostly dry with good bitterness. Minimal alcohol.

Mouthfeel is medium-plus bodied, creamy, good to strong carbonation.

Very solid IPA from Red Brick. Quite hoppy but balanced with a good malt backbone.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 23:29:41 | More by elgiacomo

rajendra82

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The orange amber colored body was typical of many IPAs. The carbonation fizzle was brief, and the head that formed was two finger thick, with large craggy foam. The aroma was hoppy, but lacked that oomph to punch you in the nostrils. It was a rather mild floral and grapefruit hop smell. The taste was also mildly bitter with a grassy or metallic tang to it. The malts provided a honey like sweetness to counter the bitterness. The body was a touch shy of medium thick, and there was some stickiness in the mouthfeel. Seems like a by the numbers IPA. Not bad at all, but could use some additional boldness to bolster character.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2011 05:13:10 | More by rajendra82

Thur123

Georgia

3.98/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A new locally brewed IPA, picked up at FPBS in Athens. Bottle states: "Hoppier than a bullfrog with a stubbed toe."

The smell is piney and bitter fruit hop aromas. The malt is not too present in the nose. The yeast floats around in tiny clusters evenly throughout the body of this brew.

The flavor is better than expected given Red Bricks 16 year history, but they have made a bunch of changes in the right direction lately (IMO). This tastes like a much dryer and more pine bitter IPA than say Sweetwater or Terrapin offerings. It finishes crisp and only slightly bitter compared to it's up front resin and sharp grapefruit flavor due to a clean and somewhat sweet malt base.

The mouthfeel is fine, neither too thick or heavy.

Overall I'm happy this offering is around. A locally made fresh IPA that offers a different take on the style is needed in GA and I believe it would hold up elsewhere as well. It's a bit on the bitter side when I think IPA, but it's also a nice change.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 07:55:55 | More by Thur123