Station 33 Firehouse Red - North Country Brewing

Hojaminbag

Colorado

2.58/5  rDev -23.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Station 33 Firehouse red is a dark, reddish-brown color with a light brown head that is creamy and leaves a few scraps of lacing behind.

The aroma has toasted malt, and a slightly sharp fruit character to. A good bit of malt sweetness also.

This beer is too warm. It's not cellar temperature. It's not room temperature. It's about what I expect Tea temperature to be, and that is unpleasant. A good bit of toasted malt and a lot of fruit flavors and fruity hops mixed together. Just a touch of sourness creeps in. Caramel malt fills in the background.

Even for a cask, this beer needs more carbonation.

Too warm, too flat. Fairly enjoyable. This one is better on-tap.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2011 21:53:27 | More by Hojaminbag

GreenJetta912

Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

There's some caramel in the nose along with a tiny bit of smokiness and a mild hop character. Sweet nose that leans on the malty side.

Taste isn't bad. The growler tends to lose some carbonation (since I cracked it last night) but in the pub, it's crisper. Definite caramel here but not as much as I expected from the nose. A bit on the dry side but it's balance pretty well. Faint to mild hoppyness but in prefect ratios for the style. Not a bad sip of beer. Nothing really comes out to get you here but it's a great balance and a good session beer. Slight amounts of sulfur from the Slippery Rock water are present but when made into beer it's barely there.

The finish is dry with a caramel subtlety. Good brew!

Serving type: growler

05-07-2011 14:06:51 | More by GreenJetta912

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a hazy orange-ish to amber color with a light tan head. In the aroma, a sweet roast and a sugar cookie batter like smell. In the taste, sweet malts, a dry sugar cookie and a small hop in the end. A smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry pine hop in the aftertaste. Nice red, sweet cookie like but balanced.

Serving type: cask

04-13-2011 19:06:00 | More by OWSLEY069

kimbo33

Pennsylvania

2.65/5  rDev -21.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Has a bit of a minerally taste to it. Also was a bit hazy for the style. Probably not filtered, which is odd cause it doesnt have much taste for an unfiltered beer. I do like the idea of helping the fire department, but I wish the beer tasted bettter. It was way too mild for me.

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2011 23:40:37 | More by kimbo33

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

tap

Pours a hazy amber color, bit of a film for a head.

Smell is pretty faint, but there is some malt there.

Taste is mild, grainy malts, sweet and smooth, no bitterness.

Feel is smooth, moderate to thin, goes down easy.

Pretty refreshing. Nothing special, but an easy to like session beer. Hurt by a lack of a noticeable scent though.

Serving type: on-tap

08-30-2010 01:40:34 | More by Cylinsier

ChuckVee

Michigan

1.63/5  rDev -51.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Had the cask version of this beer at Pipers Pub in Pittsburgh. I'm used to having a nice creamy head from a beer drawn from a hand pump, but this one had none at all. Very low carbonation. The nose was literally non-existant - similar to smelling a glass of water. Very strange. The flavor followed suit with not much of anything going on. Very thin in body - not much in the way of a discernable malt pallete, and only a hint of hops in the tail end of the finish. To sum this beer up in one word - Bland. I was excited to try this beer being that it is local, but ended up completely dissapointed, and $5 poorer. Not a great introduction to North Country Brewing.

Serving type: cask

12-28-2009 23:42:50 | More by ChuckVee

JamesS

Indiana

4.55/5  rDev +34.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Had on cask at Piper's Pub, Pittsburgh, PA.

Came to the table a wonderful deep, blood-ruby red with a nice bit of thick foam and had very nice lacing throughout. Very nice thick malty scent, deep and slightly woodsy. Excellent taste, a very nice maltiness, just south of a brown ale, with a touch of tartness to it and a nice light hoppy finish; unlike a lot of red ales, they did not overhop this one, it was just about perfect. Went down wonderfully smooth, although I know part of that is because it was through a cask ale system. I'd like to compare to a non-cask version, but definitely recommend it on cask.

Serving type: cask

08-29-2009 15:38:17 | More by JamesS

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a dark red to slightly orange color with little to no head. The smell is of caramel malts with some slight smell of citrus hops. The taste is very similar, it has a slight caramel malt taste that is slightly sweet and is balanced out with some citrus hops. The mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, not much going on for the mouthfeel. The drinkability is good, it is a serviceable beer that you could have a couple of, but not go all night.

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2009 01:15:38 | More by goblue3509

Lepley

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

When I go to Slippery Rock this is what the majority of their customers seem to be ordering.
This has been sitting in my growler for two days so I can't be too harsh.

A: Little to no head, might be my fault for not consuming it fast enough. Little carbonation, but pretty good lacing. Deep, murky brown. I have to say I love the color.
S: Malty and sweet. Doughy.
T: A little flat, again probably my fault. Sweet, little hop presence, malty, honey. Very flavorful.
M: Smooth, little carbonation.
D: Pretty solid ale. Another good one from North Country.

Serving type: growler

12-09-2008 04:06:56 | More by Lepley

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A. Served on tap at the brew pub. Reddish orange with some head.

S. Caramel malts, american hops.

T. A woody, nutty, roasted malt body with some citric american hops (cascade,simcoe?). A nice irish red with a good hop profile.

M. Medium bodied and smooth.

D. This is a good session beer, but I would only have a few of these.

Notes: Second time I've tried this one. This seems to be a local favorite. I tried it at the Penn Brewfest and it was popular among my group back then.

Serving type: on-tap

08-30-2008 15:02:04 | More by Stinkypuss

letsgopens

Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled on-tap at North Country, this Irish Red pours woody copper amber with a decent head that holds decently well and leaves little lace.

The aroma is mild and somewhat uneventful with dry hops and a nice malt backbone. Little else is detectable.

The flavor is again mild as the aroma indicates. Primarily sweet malt and just a hint of light roast. Just a bit of fruit is present as well. Fruit and honey arise more in the finish; mild and just a bit bland. Not a bad representation of the style, but not as flavorful as I'd like.

Very clean and crisp finish with moderate carbonation. Not a lot of texture to it. I guess there was not much substance overall. A solid selection, but very mild in all aspects.

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2007 02:34:58 | More by letsgopens

cichief

Virginia

3.03/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Purchased a growler at the brewpub.

A- Very nice deep amber color, with a nice off-white head.

S- Smells of sweet malt and subtle hops.

T- Very nice maltiness, but reasonably well balanced, lots of flavor.

M- Well carbonated, smooth, medium body, lots of yeast in the growler however.

D- A decent session beer, sweeter than I prefer, but in accordance with the style.

Serving type: growler

12-01-2007 16:19:09 | More by cichief

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

A- It was a beautiful clear red color. Thin white head that disappeared quickly.

S-hard to detect with everything going on around but a hint of hops and malt.

T- The tase was rich, bready and smooth with a subtle hint of hop bitterness and a dry finish.

M-medium weight body and very little carbonation. One of the smoothest beers I have ever had.

D-This was delicious and I could have drank it all night.

Serving type: cask

04-20-2007 23:51:33 | More by PittBeerGirl

Rudgers73

New York

3.05/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured fresh from the growler.

A- Incredibly clear for a craft beer. Rich, copper-red color. Really nice to look at. Small thin head that turns into nothing.

S- Hoppy and smooth. Very natural and earthy smelling.

T- Slightly bitter to begin but it soon turns in to a medium bodied solid beer. Leaves you thirsty for more.

M- Light and crisp. Just a little bit dry, not enough to really say so.

D- My friend loves this beer. I'm not too keen on irish reds, but this is well made. Much better than killian's IMO.

Serving type: growler

09-25-2006 13:39:18 | More by Rudgers73

BuckSpin

Maine

3.83/5  rDev +13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Part of a 5oz sampler.

One of my favorite macros is Killian's, so I was looking forward to trying a craft version. Of course it has a warm reddish hue with a nice head of white lace that clung nicely. Nose was light, spicy, fragrant without revealing anything. Nice very mild pepper & hops on the tongue that balanced well with the malts, then gives way to a smooth finishing. Very drinkable, but yet a safe & for the most part predictable brew.

Item of note - NCB donates a small percentage of all sales of this item to the aforementioned Station 33 Firehouse in Slippery Rock, so try a glass, enjoy a good Irish Ale and help out our heroes all at the same time.

Serving type: on-tap

04-09-2005 12:30:58 | More by BuckSpin