Roselle Park Centennial Ale
Climax Brewing Company

 

Extra Special cause this beer is brewed in my hometown. A refreshing ale with just enough flavor and a clean finish. A redish color with a medium aroma. Can only be purchase this ale in a Gallon jug. Availabilty of this ale is probably limited due to the size of the Climax Brewing company.

The beer pours an orangey amber, topped with a thick, rocky vanilla head. The head settles into a tight misty film, leaving loads of cobwebby lace. Decent clarity.
The aroma is fairly mild, with a light toasty maltiness and some floral esters. Tangy grassy/herbal hoppiness, maybe some goldings in there. It smells much more like an english ordinary bitter than a pale or red ale. A bit one dimensional.
The flavor starts with a mild pale maltiness. Just a bit of crystal malt biscuit and toasty flavor, moving quickly into light floral esters. The malt fades into a prominent grassy hopping. A bit of an herbal/floral flavor, mostly consuming any malt flavor. Very light body, almost watery feeling. Moderate carbonation. Fairly easy going mouthfeel, a bit crisp and dry in the finish.
A mostly unimpressive beer. It feels much more like an ordinary bitter to me, with the super light body and weakish malt. I was hoping for a red ale, and wasn't really prepared for this. Probably a solid thirst quencher in the summer heat, but nothing I'm craving in the early winter.

From a half-gallon, brewery sealed, growler.

Crystal clear amber body, topped by a fluffly white head, which leaves behind some nifty lacing. The aroma is not strong, but carrys some fresh floral hops. Taste starts off with a quick malt burst, but is quickly covered by a growing hop tingle, which finishes with a somewhat cleansing flourish of floral hops, and ends with a slight hop tickle down the tongue and into the throat.

Not my favorite from Climax, but a fine, easy drinking jug of fun.

A nice amber pour with a decent white foamy head that will die down before too long. A very nice hop aroma blended with fruits and a bit of graininess.

A very smooth beer with a medium body and a good deal of flavor. The hops are very nicely blended in with a light maltiness and a subtle fruit presence. It is a pretty unique beer and very enjoyable.

Although the label on the growler indicates that this is an "American Red Ale" I feel it's actually an English-style Pale Ale and I wonder if the style has changed with different incarnations. It's clear amber body is topped by a short and foamy off-white head that drops to a thin and creamy collar but also leaves some interesting lace. The nose expresses a soft fruitiness, a mildly caramel and earthy maltiness, and a limited floral hoppiness. There's not alot going on in the aroma but what's there is very clean. The body is light/medium with a very fine and moderate carbonation from bottle conditioning that leaves it silky smooth across the palate. The flavor is of a subtly sweet and earthy malt that's accentuated by a mild fruitiness (apricot, apple) and some floral hops. It's balanced by a solid bitterness and finishes dry and earthy with some mild lingering hop flavor. It's a very accessible beer that's gentle enough for the uninitiated, but also offers enough character for the connoseur. Very well done with a high level of drinkability.