Redneck Riviera Red | Voodoo Brewery

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

4.25/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

On tap at Voodoo Brewery in Meadville, PA.

This one pours a mostly clear golden red color, with a small white head, and lots of sticky lacing.

This smells like the sort of herbal and bitter hops that go so well in a recipe for a hoppy red. It's juicy, but not overly so- seems to rely on bitter rind flavors to go with the dark baked bread, chocolate, and toffee from the red ale.

This tastes pretty great. Hoppy red ales are underrated, and this strikes a nice balance between the malty goodness of the base beer, and the nice hop job up front. The hops are bitter, earthy, piney and tasty, with a hint of grapefruit and other citrus. There's a nice bready and toasty malt backbone here. This is definitely up there with the best hoppy reds.

This is light bodied, but still full enough to not be thin, with a good level of carbonation.

This was highly enjoyable.

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3.75/5  rDev +3.9%

3.25/5  rDev -10%

3.39/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Served on firkin in a pint glass

Appearance – The beer is served a copper color with a bit of haze and a tiny head of cream color. The head fades super-fast leaving a lighter level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is biggest of a roasted malt smell mixed with a moderately strong caramel and toffee aroma. Along with these smells are lighter fruit aromas with a decent showing of some herbal, citrus, and lighter hints of a more floral hop nature.

Taste – The taste begins with a lightly toasted malt flavor mixed with a decent amount of a caramel sweetness. At the front there is a moderately strong citrus grapefruit hop flavor that grows slightly more intense as the flavor advances. Along with the citrus hop, some other herbal and earthy hop flavors come to the tongue as well, giving it a slightly more bitter flavor overall. While the hop brings a bitterness, there is always the sweet and malt to balance it out. While it starts out predominantly with a caramel sweetness other sweet flavors of lighter fruit nature of apple and a bit of plum comes to the tongue. With an oncoming of more earthy hops right at the end of the taste, one is left with a moderately hopped somewhat biting amber ale taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer was on the averages side in terms of thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that was rather low (as may be expected for a firkin). The lower carbonation was nice for the malty and moderately hopped flavors of the brew, while a slightly thicker body would have likely been a bit more accentuating of these flavors. Overall the feel was just OK.

Overall – A decent Imperial red, but nothing out of this world. Well worth trying if you get a chance but not something to go out of your way for.

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3.5/5  rDev -3%

3.55/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Review from notes. Consumed on “Barrel Release Day” March 23, 2013. I waited in line for hours for the privilege to purchase one of the first cases of the bottle release. Before being called up to purchase my case I enjoyed several of these beers on tap. I took specific notes for each of them and I will finally upload their reviews here on my beeradvocate account. Poured into a clean, clear glass pint.

A Medium brown head over an amber body. 3.5

S Distant Simcoe Hops, mild to moderate barley malt. Solid amber smell. 3.5

T Surprised to notice the alcohol in this one. That typical “amber” barley taste and mild to moderate hops presence. This is a solid amber. 3.5

M Moderate mouthfeel, typical of the style really. 3.0

D/O Drinkability is high, Overall this is a good beer. 4.0

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3.5/5  rDev -3%

3.5/5  rDev -3%

3/5  rDev -16.9%

3.5/5  rDev -3%

2/5  rDev -44.6%

4/5  rDev +10.8%

4/5  rDev +10.8%

3/5  rDev -16.9%

4.5/5  rDev +24.7%

4.03/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Draft offering at Voodoo served in a shaped pint glass on the evening before the barrel room collection release. The brew appears a hop hazed color of burnt copper. A yellowish stained khaki head holds with a finger strength and displays solid retaining powers. Frothy patches of lace stick to the glass.

The aromatics are all about the hops. Herbal to rindy with an earthen dank and even a fruity appeal. The simcoe is felt with its dank to nearly catty quality before blending back into a fruity rind character that seems to come from a combination of both hops and slight alcohol feel.

The flavor is also focused pretty much exclusively on the hops. A bitterness hits the palate with rindy fruit flavors like orange peel/grapefruit pithy and pulpy bitterness. A strong flavor of simcoe is caught between dank and slightly pissy like cat box. The aftertaste includes the first indication of malt with a toffee sweetness that blends into a sort of neutral grain quality.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. The alcohol is well integrated in this. Fans of simcoe hops will want to seek this out. I am not the biggest dan of simcoe but I finished my glass with no issue and considered having another. I would drink this again.

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4/5  rDev +10.8%

4/5  rDev +10.8%

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

First had: on tap at Voodoo

A tasty imperial red; do love Simcoe. Deep reddish-amber pour with a thick cap of off-white head. Aroma of caramel malts and toasted grains, nice citrusy and earthy hops. More of the same in the taste, toasted malts, grains, ample citrus and earthy hops, with a crisp apple skin finish. Medium body, and quite drinkable for the style.

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