Firestorm Red
Three Creeks Brewing Co.

*Note: This is for the 2020 release and is now listed as 6.5% ABV

Look: Rich dark ruby red and nearly clear with a frothy and thick head that pillows up nicely, slowly receding, leaving great lacing behind
Aroma: Freshly baked bread, earthiness, spicy hop notes, toffee, and subtle citrus notes
Taste: Huge bready malt punch – warm bread and raw dough – along with earthy hop notes up front and soon met with toffee, some fruity esters, and light citrus. Malt comes back into the spotlight before some spicy hop notes and more breadiness close it out
Mouthfeel: Very full bodied, soft and velvety throughout, medium-high carbonation, and a soft finish with mild dryness
Overall: This is a delicious red ale. I love this severely underrepresented style so when I saw this one at my local store, had to get it. I remember having this years ago and so it was cool to see it brought back into the fold. A perfect balance of rich, bready malt and old-school earthy, lightly citrus, and spicy hops that together, create a winner. I will be buying more and definitely recommended

Palatable

 

 

Served on tap into a shaker glass.

A- Poured a very dark color, it actually looked brown rather than red. There was a small off-white head that left minimal lace.

S- Some juicy red ale malt, red apple, and light toffee notes.

T- Some light juicy fruity notes, red apple, toffee, seltzer water, and moderate bitterness.

M- Medium to fuller bodied, low carbonation, and kind of watery finish.

O- A pretty average red ale that was drinkable.

 

on tap at the brewery

Red ale with brilliant clarity and a scattered etch atop leaving some cobweb lace. Nose is straight bland with just a bit of crystal malts coming thru. Taste is bitter with some chewy malts (reminds me of what carapils brings in with Special B), then a heft of bitterness and some grapefruit in the middle. Medium on full bodied with moderate carb and a somewhat cloying finish. Not special for this style, a bit one dimensional with the bitterness seeming to dominate.

Clear dark copper colour with a creamy light tan head. Poor head retention.

Mild nutty malt aroma. Nothing special.

Smooth caramel malts with a toasty, nutty finish. A slightly hoppy finish adds crispness. Good.

Medium body with moderate carbonation. Fine.

A decent red ale. There's nothing amazing going on here but it does the job.

On-Tap @ Bailey's Taproom poured into Shaker glass.

Pours a murky deep copper color with bright edging and a good sized creamy tan colored head that remains the entire time you drink it. The nose has toasted malts, toffee and some piney hops buried in there somewhere. The flavor has some nice sweet malts, a little nuttiness and ends with a nice bouquet of hop bitterness. Its a medium bodied beer that has a good amount of bitterness and ends up a little dry on the finish. I thought this was a very good beer, highly drinkable and well rounded but a little watery in the middle.

The menu states that Firestorm Red is "blended with seven malts and four hops to create an aromatic red beer in honor of our Soot-Blackened Heroes." Those would be the wildland firefighters whose annual migration does much to save forests, protect property, and stimulate the economies of small towns throughout the west. The typical wildland firefighter just happens to be of a man in his late twenties who is likely to drink craft beer in his off hours, so beers such as Firestorm are all-the-more appropriate.

What took me by surprise with this crimson ale was its nearly rauch-like smokiness. Smoked malts are not used in the recipe. But the strong bittering in combination with the diverse grain bill achieves a gruff roasted graininess expressive of an implied smokiness. The more typical red ale profile of a fruitbowl ale or "an amber with lipstick" doesn't emerge here. But red ale styles vary widely and Firestorm's has an agreeable edginess that firefighters and others will likely appreciate. 65 IBU.