Imperial Red Ale
Red Rock Brewing Company

 

500 ml bottle fridge cold. A true red ale., brings a foam that recedes to the edge of the glass and leaves good lace.
Very vague smell. Medium roast malt is all there is.
Taste brings a mellow caramel malt balanced by a good hop note.
Medium body, easy drinking, medium to high carbonation.
Overall, I dunno if this beer is 9 years old, being a 20th Anniversary Special Release, or if Red Rock is doing it one more time. I like it. It’s good ale.

Off the bat, pretty hoppy. Almost would consider this a Red IPA rather than an Imperial Red. Looks deep brown / deep amber in natural light. Great off-white head. Smells hoppy. Tastes slightly bitter. This beer is very hoppy with a dry / bitter caramel aftertaste. Slight malty flavors, but very subtle. Overall, pretty good but a little more hoppy than I was hoping for.

The color is a deep red/amber, with minimal head and some haziness. In classic amber ale style, it has very caramel-y, rich malts, but this is very extensively hopped. The pine notes hit almost immediately and dominate in the middle, leading to a crisp and dry, somewhat bitter back-end, with just a tiny bit of booziness noticeable, though the alcohol is quite well-hidden for being 9.5%. This is a very full-bodied, rich, hoppy imperial red ale, coming across as essentially a Red IPA to me.

This is NOT retired - it seems to have been re-released, as I found this at the Utah State Liquor Store with a bottling date of 2/1/18. It still has a big number 20, with the words "anniversary commemorative series", so it's safe to assume that this is the same beer.

 

 

Color: burnt orange in color with a nice creamy white head that dissipated slowly to a film of foam.
Smell: tons of hops - its medicinal with some piney and fruity notes.
Taste: it starts both bitter and sweet. The malt base presents a bready taste with notes of caramel. Superbly sweet, almost like some sugar was added to the malt base. The hops are intermingled though out, contributing a medicinal cherry taste.
Mouthfeel: medium bodied and very syrupy.
Overall: I give credit to the brewery making a hoppy red ale that still contributes its malty presence. Good beer!

 

 

Very nice cloudy and hazy red pour with a finger of tan head; a nice creamy surface never dissipates on the surface...mmmmmm good! Some yeast and sediment floating around. Smells like straight hops and earth, maybe some funk from the yeast. I love the taste: begins with a rounded caramel malt, toasted brown bread, yeasty funk, and dates. The aftertaste is bitter, slightly dry, and black peppery! A bit boozy in the front and backend of this bad boy. The black pepper and funky hops become much more complex as this brew warms to 55 degrees. Full-bodied and great to sip on a cold evening in the winter. The alcohol really warms my belly. Nice beer here, sad it's only released once. Cheers to Red Rock!