Colorado Red
Thornbridge Brewery

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Brownish red colour, large off-white head. Nice aroma of fruity and mildly spicy English hops, hints of resin, also malts and earthy notes. The medium sweet flavour is also fruity, but more in terms of dried or baked fruits and berries, again some earthy tones, well hopped with a firm malty backbone.

Bottle. Clear auburn with a thick dense and creamy head. Lacing clings.
An aroma of hops, grain and light toffee.
Earthy malt flavour along with a marmalade bitter sweet taste.
Medium body with a sprightly carbonation which zips away from the tongue quickly.
Similar to Fullers ESB. Nice.

Note - this is a red IPA (currently in the wrong category). Also, listed as retired, but as of April 2020 it is available direct from Thornbridge.

L4 Red with a good head. Red does not look as tasty as golden to me, but the head makes up for it - thick & creamy, retained well.
S4 strong nose but hard to pick out what exactly. Something slightly sour, but not sure. Appealing though.
T3.75 lots of bitterness, balanced with some sour notes. Struggling to pick out other flavours. Not bad.
F4.25 - plenty of carbonation and good balanced mouthfeel.
O4 Nae a bad beer. Not one I would go for again probably, but worth a go if you like strong beer and aren't as bothered about all the fruity hops (I am)

 

Clear. Dark reddish brown. One finger of dense, tan head that has good retention. Plenty of lacing. A few stray bubbles.

Sweet malt nose. Toffee. Quite prominent.

English hops are obvious. Caramel, earthy bitterness and malt sweetness in the finish. I don’t get the citrus mentioned on the label.

Medium body. Clean, smooth & refreshingly bitter. Some alcohol present.

A very well balanced ESB. Very nicely done with an excellent mouthfeel. Plenty of bitter hops. 2-3 pints on a Friday night in the local pub? Perfect.

I assume the collaboration with Odell Brewing Company has contributed the malts to produce the red colour and also a mouthfeel that is slightly richer than a typical English bitter. Otherwise, this is essentially a very good quality English strong bitter in the traditional style.

 

 

 

 

Dark orange/red colour, rich head, extremely good lacing.
Smell and taste: orange peel, marmelade, caramel, hazelnuts. Medium body, medium bitterness.
It would be shame if this will never going to be brewed again. It's certainly one of the best ESB-s I've had. It reminded me of Young's London Special Ale: similar flavours, colour and lacing, but it has more of that hazelnuts aromas and flavours. Even close to Fuller's 1945.

Bottle. Copper/deep red with ligh brown, quite densed, medium head. Very good lacing. Good head retention. Aroma of malts - caramel, toffee along with resin, red fruits and some citrus. Sweet dusty flavour, earthy, definetely bready and some toffe flavours. Clean citrus hops taste, but not so intense.
Medium bodied, semi-dry, medium carbonation, smooth texture, bitter and malty finish. Good ESB, well balanced, highly drinkable.

 

A 500ml bottle with a BB of March 2015. Acquired a while back from Trembling Madness in York. The label states that this beer was first produced in collaboration with Odell brewing in Colorado; a red ale hopped with English varieties.

A: Poured into a tulip pint glass. A rich, hazy coppery-red hue with fine sediment and plentiful carbonation. Produces a huge head of creamy off-white foam with good retention; this slowly reduces to a thick surface layer. Nice lacing.

S: Aroma of caramel malt and fruity hops with hints of subtle grapefruit, citrus, white fruit, grass/hay, barley sugar and earthy yeast. Pleasant though a tad subdued.

T: Tastes of fruity aromatic hops and caramel malt with a dry, bitter finish. Notes of mild grapefruit, orange peel, citrus, subtle white fruit, grass/hay, grain, barley sugar, earthy yeast and faint stewed hops. Well-attenuated, followed by a restrained, leafy bitterness upon swallowing.

M: Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, with lively carbonation and good body. Perhaps a shade too thin for the strength. Slightly astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of bitter aromatic hops and caramel malt.

O: Tasty, if not as exuberant as I initially anticipated (I think I thought it was stuffed with US hops). Looks great, with a superb, lingering head that stays the course. The aroma and flavour are lovely, with grassy hops balanced by grainy caramel malt and an unobtrusive bitterness. Decent body. A solid red ale with a pleasant character - worth sampling if you come across it.