Radio Towers Red Ale
Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery

 

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a moderate amber color with an off white head. The nose brings some earthy hops and light bready notes. The taste is mostly some light bready malt and a bit of caramel flavor. Some slight earthy and floral hop bitterness. Light to medium body with good carbonation. Drinks quite well and actually has a decent amount of flavor, unlike many amber ales.

Served on Cask and tapped on 10/11/07.

Appearance: Served in an Imperial print glass, Radio Tower Red arrived dark amber to ruby in color and crystal clear with a big foamy 2 finger white head that fades slowly.

Smell: For a dy hopped beer, it was a little disappointing in the aroma department. Plenty of malty sweetness is nose with light brown sugar and amber fruit. English hops made and earthy appearance but not in the way I was expecting.

Taste: Starts with a nice malt backbone that is mildly sweet with more of the light brown sugar/caramel malts along with and underlying fruitiness. Hops make way with an earthy, herbal like bitterness. Alcohol is not an issue with it being about 5.2% abv.

Mouthfeel: Medium but very smooth and creamy in the mouth with decent carbonation.

Drinkability: Radio Tower Red is very drinkable. A session beer for sure. Plenty of caramel malt that adds a nice malty sweetness that is balanced out by a nice english hop bitterness that is more earthy than your standard Big C hops associated with the style. Overall, a good beer. Nothing outstanding but a solid Red for sure. Worth A Try.

One of the two beers served on cask last night. Tapping date was two days previous. Billed as an American "red ale," whatever that is.

A - dark amber and, yes, reddish brown. Perfectly clear, deep amber. Very nice, thick, pillowy white to off-white head. Stays around the whole way, turning rocky and leaving thick lacing.

S - light hop aroma of earth, flowers. Seems like English hops, not sure what kind. Toasty, caramelly malt in the background. Very light aroma.

T - toast, caramel, biscuit. A little tangy. Malt is up front here, balanced out pretty well by some earthy English hops. Some hop flavor but not a ton. Basically a lightly hopped English style special bitter or pale ale in my book.

M - very, very smooth and velvety. Low carbonation, temperature is perfect and cool to the touch. Light medium bodied.

D - very drinkable brew, an English style draft pale ale despite the fact it is an American amber. Cask version much more quaffable than the too cold draft version.

a very nice red amber, with lattice lacing coming from a quickly-waning, but never-dying head. nice malt sweetness on the nose: i think some of it was munich

i'm pretty sure i taste munich malts. slight "tang" of hops as the menu advertises—enough to balance, but not enough to hide the sweet maltiness. this beer actually tasted red...

Just had this beer the other night, it was great. It was a dark amber color, much darker then Killians. Definitely had a much stronger taste then most amber colored beers do. It was served in a pint glass, definitely one of the better beers I've had on tap in quite a while.

Served on tap at the Ballston Mall location (Arlington VA) in a pint glass.

Appearance: Clear dark amber color with a small frothy offwhite head that rather quickly shrinks to a film. Leaves wee splotches of lacing on the glass.

Smell: Light caramel scent with a grassy hop presence.

Taste: Caramel and toffee malt with a light grassy hop finish.

Mouthfeel: An overweight light bodied beer. Very crisp and refreshing. Great for cleansing the palate.

Drinkability: A nice inoffensive beer, but that's kinda how this style is to me. Not worth traveling to far to get, but not worth scorn either. Paired rather well with the food I had (a jambalaya with rice cooked in this beer)