Killer Red
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom

The beer has the red beer taste with cedar and pine the most forward tastes. There is a nice blend of citrus rind added to the mix. It’s good.

2025-09-24
500ml bottle served in a nonic pint. Don't see a date on it.

Pours dark amber, biggish dense creamy head. Lots of active carbonation, though it's fairly sedate. Smell is caramel, toffee, grapefruit rind, fresh hop resin. Nuts, something slightly in the grape direction.

Taste is similar, heavy on the green resin bitter side of things. Earthy, not quite barky bitterness. Sweetness comes across with a little nuts and toffee, grapefruit rind is definitely detectable.

Mouthfeel is medium to light, maybe a bit of a watery texture. Overall, very nice, very tasty. Not a perfect fresh hop, not a perfect IRA, but a very nice combination.

Rated 1/17/2020. This is the 2023 edition that I just had at the Overlook brewpub. Pours a little on the lighter side for a red ale. The aroma is decent, with a nice malt body and a good fresh hop taste, not too bitter. 88 IBUs

Look: Opaque/cloudy amber red and the thistle glass helps a nice-looking head form and hold as a pillow, slowly settling and leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Pine needles, rose, floral notes, fresh cut grass, lemon-lime, warm brown bread, and apple skins
Taste: Cut grass, conifers, and pithy lemon-lime all hit hard out of the gate as rose petals, honeysuckle, and apple skins bleed into the mix. The middle brings nice bready malt in but is constantly kept at bay with huge wet-hop notes – like chewing on a fresh hop cone, and that hop bomb carries things to a close along with a nice, big hop bite
Mouthfeel: Full, medium-high carb, and mildly dry on the finish
Overall: Whelp, it’s delicious as usual. This is and will always be one of my favorite fresh hop offerings each year as it breaks the pale/IPA fresh hop mold while still utilizing a style that is known for being hop-forward and the base IRA/hoppy red style is also a huge favorite of mine. Lots of grassy, citrusy, and piney fresh hop flavor and aroma throughout. A classic and still a winner. Highly recommended

 

I have this beer every year, how have I not reviewed it before? 2020 version. 16oz bottle (dated 9/15/20) poured into 14oz teku. Poured a clean, clear reddish-amber color with well over an inch of slightly off-white head that had very good retention and lacing.

Earthy malt at the front of the nose gives way to bright hops. Mostly pine, but some grassy and citrus notes as well.

Fairly similar on the tongue; a basic "beery-ness" with bright hops on top. A slight bitter bite on the back adds some nice contrast.

The body was on the full side of medium, smooth, and had medium finish that leaned a bit towards dry.

Drinkability was very good, as I have found it to be over the years.

Overall, another visit from from an old friend that you only see once a year. Try it if you see it.

 

draught (fresh hop)
Amber with a lot of golden overtones to the color. Slight caramel aroma. Good amber ale characteristics in the taste, i.e. some more malt than the average IPA. Long hoppy finish but not bitter.

a very autumnal wet hop beer, not only embracing the season of the hops that all of these beers do, but also embracing a more seasonal malt complexion, which is the point of difference here. although i have not seen a lot of beer made with wet perle hops, im not sure they make this real unique. i definitely get a leafy greenness to them, a candied orange slice, some juniper, but its not specific to a particular strain, at least to my palate, and its the combination of these hops with these kilned type malts that makes this beer magic. its toasted and warming, sweet enough to pick up and carry the sticky wet hops along with it, hints of honey, baked bread, and hearty mixed nuts. its still dank and weedy on the hop side, but this grain is awesome for the fall, and the combination is great. i think i liked the killer green a little more in terms of hop complexion, but i think this is a really uniquely balanced beer, a cool take on a wet hop style that i dont think we see enough of, and it ends up enhancing, not taking away from the wet hop complexion here. really well done, great recipe! fun to drink this right next to the killer green at the brewery too!

 

 

Clear reddish orange-amber with three-plus fingers of rocky tan-tinted head. Solid lacing.

Lighter than expected aroma of caramel malts, light toast, light orange, light skunk, and forest floor detritus and soil.

Similar light, earthy flavors: almost-burnt caramel malt, English Breakfast tea, wet forest. A hint of red delicious apple lingers in the aftertaste.

Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

One of my favorite styles from back in the day, this one does not quite live up. It’s not all that bitter, but not particularly sweet either. The best thing I can say about it is that it’s well balanced. Honestly, I find it pretty dull. 9/11/18 bottling date.

 

 

This one pours a clear light red color, with a small foamy head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like freshly baked brown bread, some light caramel, apple, dank hops, pine, orange, and grassiness.

That earthy and dank fresh hop flavor goes really well with the red ale base here. There's a nice breadiness and very light bittersweet caramel thing, along with fruity and mostly dank earthy hop character. It's really well balanced.

This is medium bodied, a bit creamy, with a great level of drinkability.

This is a fun beer. I love the time of year where I can drink all these great fresh hop beers.

A fresh-hop red ale is a rarity, almost every fresh hop ale around here is either a Pale Ale or IPA. A refreshing change Dark amber and slightly hazy pour, thick-ish head with good retention. The nose is more malt than hops. Taste is a touch sweet and clearly hoppy but far from tongue-blasting bitterness. Clean aftertaste. Nice carbonation. This is winner and well worh seeking out.

 

 

Killer Red is killer beautiful, and a welcomed beverage every year. The auburn color with light orange and red highlights seem to also welcome the fall equinox in perfect fashion. Bright and clean. The cream colored foam is sturdy and stubborn, and makes sure it's fading presence won't be forgotten with ring after ring of lace.

Even the scent, though uncommon for most fresh hop ales, rings of autumn. Caramel, nutmeg, peppercorns. Spiced apples even come to mind, with a classic wet pine backdrop.

The flavor is more of a blend of all the above, but much less dinstinguishable. A spice rack with ripe orchard fruits, with notes of bread, caramel, and of course much more pine.

Like the changing winds themselves, this has a cool crispness about it. It's a bit dry, and well carbonated. A good initial balance is quickly overtaken by a sharp bitter finish.

As mentioned earlier, this is a welcomed annual beer. I enjoy it every year and you should too. I'm just sorry it took me this long to review. This might be as close as it gets to a "perfect" Red. Cheers.

From BeerAdvocate magazine #130 (November 2017):

Amber with a creamy head and lace, Killer Red brings apple aromas in the nose, with a bready and malty profile. Hopped entirely with Perle, this 78 IBU beer is sweet with suggestions of tropical fruits, pine, browned red delicious apples, and a slight dankness beneath it all. A spicy finish and earthy afternotes linger on the palate while tasty apple-y notes dominate and reign from beginning to end.