Double Conundrum
Aspen Brewing Co.

 

Poured from a bomber into a goblet

L: Cloudy copper red pour. Two fingers of off-white head. Sticky lacing.

S: Rich and bready. Herbal hops and pine.

T/F: Caramel malts and fresh grains. Semi-sweet but with decent bittering from the hops. Good pine presence... light citrus. Medium to heavy in body. Slightly warming. Good carbonation.

O: A solid Imperial Red... hits the style nicely and great mix of malts and hops.

 

 

22 oz. Bomber

Pours a very nice cloudy brownish/reddish color, very nice carbonation, with a pretty nice small creamy off-white head, which leaves some sticky lacing behind. The nose is hoppy, slightly malty, with some nice citrus/pine notes. The taste is hoppy, malty, sweet, with some pretty tasty citrus/pine notes. Medium body. Overall, this is a pretty tasty brew.

 

 

 

 

 

I could really not disagree more with the other reviewer, I quite enjoyed this one. billed as a fresh hop imperial red, it has a lovely hazy brick red color with lasting off white lace head. rings as it drinks, deep and pretty. the nose is a little bitter, but mostly I smell the fruity side of the hops, oily and dank, in the west coast tradition. tons of sweetness and body from the grain, maybe even a tad overdone, blocking some of the hop intensity, but a well put together set of aromas. flavors too, really solid. grain meets hops right in the middle, and despite a toffee sweetness as she drinks, there is a tart and fresh cut grapefruit hop character in the finish of this beer that makes it memorable. I didn't love the robustness of the alcohol, and it has an awful lot of body for the style, even in the winter context of its release, but I enjoyed the hop profile of this beer, and respect it for being all Colorado grown. not the best thing ive had from aspen, still really like their blond, but this is a pretty hearty winter type red ale with a lively hop focus. probably not quite worth 8 bucks, but a worthy investment for lovers of beers like green flash hop head red.

22oz bottle $7.99. I am a sucker for hoppy reds so I bought this despite knowing nothing about Aspen Brewing Co. Big mistake. Hazy red color, lots of lace, small head. Aroma of earth and plastic, dirty bad aroma. Heavy plastic on the flavor, just really bad. Awful beer and I can't believe brewers have the nerve to sell these shitty beers. I suspect this was infected but I really would like my $8 back, total drainpour.