I have a friend who thinks Mich Ultra is an exceptional beer. I nearly get sick from even thinking about drinking it. So you can imagine how I took his recommendation to try Sam Adams Irish Red. I didn’t even know they MADE an Irish Red, so I decided to give it a try. My friend thinks it was his recommendation, so he’s proud of himself!! Beer Advocate gives it a B+. I’m giving it an A. Totally in agreement with the commenter:
Poured this beer into a beerclean glass and marveled at the appearance. Great translucent amber red with copious head and brussels lacing.
The aroma is one of maltiness. Toasty maults of toffee and caramel are the strongest. A tinge of hops hit late.
The same toffee and sweet caramel malts come through moderately in the taste. The mouthfeel is only a surprisingly moderate to thin. The beer does not have strong flavors but is quite flavorful, smooth and creamy.
I can honestly say that, other than Rickards Red (a Canadian brew that inexplicably gets a C+ from Beer Advocate) I haven’t tasted a better Irish Red. I drink it out of a flute glass, which enhances the flavor, in my opinion. I have a set of Samuel Adams glasses, but they’re more for marketing than anything else.
A very nice flavor. Wet the glass before pouring though to release the bubbles and the flavor. In fact, do that with any beer you drink. I’m certainly no beer expert, but I know this does enhance the flavor.
Note: If you want your beer to taste better, invest in some quality glasses. Most of you probably know this, but when good beers are brewed, chances are, the brewmaster will also develop a glass to go with it (that’s my experience with Belgian Ales, anyway.) They’re usually around $2.99 apiece at your better beer retailers. I have 16 beer glasses, all different, and all geared toward different styles of beer. But if you don’t have the budget to buy ’em, you can’t go wrong by using a champagne flute. Those suckers can almost make Budweiser palatable!
Grand Moff Texan
I fucking hate reds. Bland. Feh!
Redheaded women, on the other hand …
.
Michael D.
Bland? Reds are anything but bland. Of course, you have to have a taste for them. I actually don’t prefer reds. I was just surprised at this one.
Punchy
I, too, had no idea they brewed a red. I will most certainly try one tonite on your recc. tanks, mike.
Grand Moff Texan
Well, you make this one sound good, MD, so I’ll have to give it a try.
.
Studly Pantload
Atchully, isn’t >Miller
rasscot
aren’t you the one with the drinking problem?
just askin’.
horatius
Budweiser?? You mean Cindy-juice?
Krista
What about redheaded women who drink red beer? :)
That Sam Adams looks quite lovely, though. And of course, we don’t have any Rickard’s Red in the house right now. And I’m too lazy to go to the liquor store. I guess I’ll have to make due with a Keith’s.
Huh. We only have two left. And BSG is on tonight. I guess I’m going to the liquor store after all.
Krista
“Make do”, not “make due” — I can’t believe I misspelled that.
/hangs head in shame, and then heads to liquor store.
Kevin
Smithwick’s is it for an Irish Red, and it’s Irish.
Michael D.
Krista: You’re gonna hate me, but I think Keith’s is swill!!
BarneyG2000
At the local store for the last month they have run a special of the Sam’s variety pack for $13. You get two of each; red, black larger, brown, pale ale, ale and honey porter.
Not bad. I like most the red and the black.
Michael D.
BarneyG2000: I agree with you. I am not a big fan of any beer with the word Honey in it. I wish I could find a 6 or 12 pack of Sam Adams Irish Red though!
Dennis - SGMM
You mean that some people actually pour the beer into something else before they drink it? Dayum!
Krista
Dude, let’s not forget that I live in a small fishing village. No stop lights. Four stop signs in the whole place. A convenience store/liquor store, the post office, a burger joint, and a Home Hardware. That’s it. So unless I feel like driving 20 minutes to the next town (which I don’t), it’s either Keith’s, Keith’s Light, Bud Light, Coors Light, Labatt’s, or Molson’s.
Keith’s is palatable. The others? Not so much.
DFD
Best of the Bottom- Miller High Life. Cheap and tastes great.
Dennis - SGMM
The best tasting beer is the one I pull out of the fridge after mowing the lawn on a hot day.
Jay B.
Did you see where there’s an acute hops shortage?
Jim Koch is actually selling some of his to smaller brewers. As an IPA man, this is a most disheartening development.
The Grand Panjandrum
Word. My favorite beer is the one that taste like another one.
Irish Red’s are OK but I only drink them when the other choice is Miller, Bud, Coors, etc.
Incertus
The hops shortage has been in the making for a few years now, which is a shame. When I worked at Anchor Brewing, I got to go on one of the last hop harvests in California–for our annual Christmas Ale. Awesome experience.
On the other hand, there’s this: Chelada, which may be the most abominable thing ever made.
w vincentz
If anyone likes Belgian style, Brewery Ommegang is the real deal. Also, near Cooperstown,in Milford, is the location of my favorite brewer, Cooperstown Brewing. Their “Old Slugger” is excellent, but since the topic is reds, “Pride of Milford” is on a planet of its own.
http://www.cooperstownbrewing.com/beer.htm
charles
Regarding the hops shortage, I’m hoping this leads some of our more hop-happy microbreweries to back off the hops a bit and explore the wonders of malt.
w vincentz
Here’s the link to Brewery Ommegang. They make the finest Belgian style ales. All are just super.
http://www.ommegang.com/index.php?mcat=1&scat=0
The Judge
Agreed – solid outing from Sam Adams. Cinder Cone Red from Deschutes should also be on your list of reds to try.
And let me also echo the comment on Ommegang. The Hennepin Farmhouse Saison alone is worth trampling small children and the elderly if they get between you and the chance to sample it.
redterror
I thought you were just supposed to chug the first two, and then it doesn’t matter what kind of beer it is. At least, that’s how I got through college at the premier party school in the SEC…
Gus
w vincetz, I agree with you about Ommegang, not so much about Cooperstown Brewing. I’m not an Irish red guy. Too much malt, not enough hop.
Dennis - SGMM
I did some Googling and found that the hops shortage, along with the fact that farmers are changing some of the crops they’re planting will lead to a 10% increase in the price of beer. Curse them, curse them all!
Innocent Bystander
If you’re ever passing through Canaan, Maine let me suggest a stop into Oak Pond Brewery. It’s not fancy, but they brew a mighty fine Nut Brown Ale. I try to make it a point to make my pilgrimage over there once a week. Don re-fills my 2 growlers (32 oz. bottles) and it costs me a ten spot. Plus I get to have a taste of his other fine brews, on tap for tasting only. We may not have much going for us up here in Central Maine, but, thankfully, a great micro-brewery is not one of our problems.
BTW, hops have over doubled in the past few months…expect your beer budget to get busted soon.
Liberal Masochist
Funny beer T-shirt I saw once:
It had the Sam Adams picture/logo on the front and the text below it said. “I’m a revolting beer drinker.”
Liberal Masochist
Down here in Texas, there is a microbrewery called Real Ale Brewing that does some mighty fine work. Outside of Austin.
http://www.realalebrewing.com/
w vincentz
Judge and Gus,
Ommegang is by far the best but Cooperstown brew’s are quite nice. If you plan a trip to the “leather stocking” area of NY, you have plenty of good things to do besides all the fine beer. There’s the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Soccer Hall (Oneonta), and great outdoor activities. The fishing is exceptional. Don’t forget a visit to Brook’s b-b-q. Best chicken ever!
Jay B.
Don’t like most malt-y beer. Too sweet for me. I like hops in my beer — balance is fine too. Or, for a change of pace, a lambic here or there. Guinness is great, but not for a summer day. I wasn’t aware that California no longer even has hops. Sheet.
And Incertus, that Clamato thing is easily the most disgusting thing anyone could ever bring to market. My lord.
Dennis - SGMM
The stuff, known as Budweiser Chelada, appeared at the request of absolutely no one on the shelf at my local LQ. It just sits there looking lonely, I’ve never seen anyone buy a can of the stuff. Somehow, combining the viscosity of Clamato Juice with the sweetness of Budweiser just seems wrong.
stickler
Good that people are aware of the problem, at least:
And good for Jim Koch. However, speaking as a beer aficianado and homebrewer in Portland, Oregon, I will say this about the hops crisis: it will shake out the great brewers from the merely good ones.
We have gone stark-raving-hops mad in this part of the world, and this will be the year that separates the men from the boys, brewing-wise. Either small brewers will figure out how to do great beers with fewer hops, or from sub-optimal varieties, or from substituting something else. There are just too many 100-IBU ales out there where the brewer decided to prove his manhood by cramming the kettle full of hops and adding wort as an afterthought. Those days, for now, are over — and maybe it’s a good thing. For a while, at least.
Laurelwood did a wonderful Scottish ale with heather last year (no hops — just heather blossoms!); other brewers are experimenting with things like medieval gruit (mixes of herbs). Think of it as the beer equivalent of a wet cold summer in Burgundy — we’ll find out who really knows their craft and is up to the challenge.
That said, there are a lot of microbreweries experimenting with red ales right now, and if you hop it just right and use some interesting grains, you can brew up a dandy red ale; often a great session beer with nice refreshing character.
Prost!
The Disgruntled Chemist
Incertus, I do a beer blogging series on my blog, and I bought a Chelada when I saw one in my local supermarket. The post is here. I bought the one with Bud, but I can’t imagine Bud Light improves it any.
Chelada got the first ever zero rating in my beer blogging series (some 80 beers, including some fairly nasty ones). It’s truly a terrible concoction.
Paddiepoidograstafox
Beer…I’m interested…as long as the Bush-Cheney-McCain team shrugs, chuckles and scares, then does a goofy penguin dance, and later shucks and jives, and then dances and mimes again, about what really counts.
I’m interested, as long as the economy sinks like lacey foam on a pint jar, and another war plays out as a patriotic support our troops, just snag another i-tune. And I’m interested as long as we all circle in on our Democratic candidates, ready to chew up the other, on a sweet fifty fifty ball. It sounds like a peaceful pause indeed. I love informed recomendations. Let’s give it a go, “Always look on the bright side of life,” what else is a good beer for?
A beer or two may have been involved in this response…Sam Adams Irish Red is next on tap…thanks and ” Slainte o’ Dhia duit!
MonkeyBoy
I’ve really noticed the difference between drinking from a bottle vs a glass for Bass Ale. In a glass the nose really opens up.
My current favorite glass – the 26oz jar that Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter comes in. Pour in 12oz of beer and there is an extra 14oz of head room that will retain all the CO2 in the beer and aroma. (CO2 is heavier than air).
jack fate
Sam Adams? Really? Seriously?
bryanD
ATTN: BarneyG2000: http://www.007surfing.com/
They miss you…*over there*!
OnTopic: Beer? Ganter and San Miguel.
Taste buds uber beer blogs!
Keith
I broke down and bought a can once (damn things have to come in 24 oz instead of 12) because I wanted to approximate “Cocktail” Redeye easily once. It’s not horrible but best drunk in large gulps to avoid savoring the clam flavor (an actual Redeye – beer, tomato juice, raw egg – is better as it lacks clam and has stronger tomato).
FWIW, Sam Adams is my favorite overall brewery. I’ve had all of their beers except for Utopias, Millenium, Cherry, and now this Irish Red that I’m going to look for tomorrow. Everything I’ve had from them is top-notch and excellent in its own way, with my favorite being the Boston Ale. There are other beers out there that are better (Bass, Guinness, Belhaven, Chimay, and some of Dogfish) but no others combine the variety with the consistent quality across the line (even the Triple Bock is addictive)
b. hussein canuckistani
Krista- you shouldn’t blog sober.
Keith’s is the best of the choices you have available. I like it in the summer when it’s too hot for Guinness. Never really cared for Rickard’s Red, though. Maybe I’m pre-prejudiced against it because of its pedigree, or maybe it just isn’t as tasty as the dark ales and stouts I prefer.
Billy K
Jesus Christ. I got about 1/3 of the way through this here thread, and the ignorance is already too much to bear.
beersnob
Drinking beer out of a champagne flute is not a good idea. Use a pint glass or similar reasonably wide-mouthed glass, or, if it’s a more complex Belgian-style, a wider-mouthed goblet-type glass. (The dedicated Trappist glasses are perfect for those beers, for example,) And the typical weissbier glass is the right one for that style.
Champagne flute, no. Unless you are drinking something so crappy that it doesn’t matter anyway. Which you have every right to do, of course.
Kynn
Yeah, he is. He’s also “quit drinking” several times, both before and after his DUI arrest.
Evilbeard
Have any of you ever had that lovely German beverage where they mix beer and cola? Chelada (which I tried for the first time today) tastes like a poor man’s bloody mary but Blackie (that was the brand name) almost had me spitting up on angry german youth at a punk show so it definitely gets a ZERO rating.
Justin
This is ridiculous – so they operate a successful business? If their business was not doing so well people would say that it’s a demonstration that Clinton is incompetent and has no business sense. After months of not recognizing it, I can see that a great many of you are victims of CDS.