Brewery Backyard Series: Saturnaleia Double Red Ale
Redhook Brewlab

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Redhook Brewlab
 
Washington, United States
Style:
American Strong Ale
ABV:
8.2%
Score:
90
Avg:
4.12 | pDev: 8.01%
Reviews:
10
Ratings:
21
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 23, 2014
Added:
Jan 10, 2009
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.08 by Genuine from Connecticut

Nov 23, 2014
Photo of Boto
Reviewed by Boto from Connecticut

4.12/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Draught @ Redhook in Portsmouth: This one pours a fairly opaque, ruby tinged dark amber color. There was a small off-white head that left some lacing. Nice nose to this one. Lots of hops on top. Mainly pine, some grapefruit and then a few other hops. A nice balance of what they added in. The taste is very good. A good hop flavor, but not overly bitter Some pine and grapefruit. Lots of malts in the background, but no real sweetness to it. Some caramel and fruit notes peeking through. Nice!
May 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by rhinis23 from Massachusetts

Dec 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by metapod from New Hampshire

Dec 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by mattparsons from New Hampshire

Aug 05, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by ChrisL24481 from New Hampshire

Jul 16, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Ivanhoes_Backpack from Canada (NB)

Jul 03, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by GrindFatherBob from New York

Jun 06, 2012
 
 
Rated: 4.5 by cestlavie from New York

Mar 04, 2012
Photo of GarthDanielson
Reviewed by GarthDanielson from Virginia

3.9/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Poured as part of a barrel tasting, this is 2010 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer is a bright, orange-copper coloring that is vibrant and crystal clear. Filmy, sparse white head covering inconsistently. The nose is more like an IPA, with a floral and citrus hop blend that smells delicious. Flavors are light and robust, with a floral and grapefruit blast along the tongue, with a spicy endnote on the palate. A light, sweet caramel backbone allows the fruit and flower character to burst on the tastebuds. The aftertaste is rich and hoppy, with a tart citrus character that is like sucking on a grapefruit wedge. Bitter, slightly drying finish. Good beer, but strikes me more like an IPA than anything.
Feb 26, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Wetpaperbag from Washington

Feb 08, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Stoffel from Texas

Jan 06, 2012
Photo of deltatauhobbit
Reviewed by deltatauhobbit from Maine

4.49/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Another beer I wanted to try during KtG day, I missed my chance to try it the first time they made it so I'm glad they held onto some. Aged 2 years, listed as an American Strong Ale but has much in common with an Imperial Red.

Pours a deep amber color with a thin light tan head, fades at a good rate and leaves a bit of lacing along the glass.

Smell is amazing, it still has this intense hop and citrus aroma that is quite surprising considering it's been two years since it was made, I can only imagine how hoppy it was fresh.

Taste is similar to the aroma in that the hop presence really shines through and leaves a good bitter piney aftertaste with hints of citrus, the caramel malt backing makes a bigger showing though and does help to smooth things over, can still tell this is a big beer and I don't think I could handle more than a pint of it though.

Very glad I got to try this amazing beer, wish Redhook would bottle more of these experiments, even if it was released only at the brewery I would make the trip there (plus, the food is great).
Mar 10, 2010
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

3.23/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
On tap at the brewpub in Portsmouth. After reading about it, I really wanted to like it, but...

The beer pours a reddish amber color with good head retention. On the nose this beer is very sweet and malty, and the high alcohol is noticeable. If anything, the beer was even sweeter and maltier then I was excpecting from the nose, and there is considerable alcoholic bite in the finish. Coupled with the sweet malty flavor, the alcohol flavor is extremely pervasive and unpleasant. There is a slight roastiness as well, but it's barely detectable with the amount of malty sweetness I get in this beer. This beer was very boozy and sweet on the finish, and I was every so happy that I only ordered a sample size glass (which I couldn't finish).

Not very impresssed...
Mar 01, 2010
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
On nitro-tap at the Cataqua Public House (Portsmouth, NH) on 2/20/09. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a crystal clear amber with a thin covering of foamy beige head. Retention is pretty good, flaring up nicely when swirled, leaving some pretty nice looking spotty lacing behind. The aroma is quite floral and spicy with some slight resinous notes as well, that are quickly followed by a deep tangy scent of citrus, bread, and caramel.

The taste is similar to the aroma but a bit less aggressive. Tingling, sticky, hop bitterness up front with that then flows into that same mix of tropical fruits and bready caramel sweetness. Unfortunatley, this backbone comes on a little too strong in the second half of the profile, putting the kibosh on some of the hop flavor but some bitterness does survive into the finish, leaving some slightly piney lingering bitterness behind. The mouthfeel is lighter-medium bodied with an extremely easy and creamy feel to it from the nitro that enabled this to just slide down the throat. Very nice!

This was pretty darn decent by Redhook standards and it's a shame that you can only get this on tap at the Portsmouth brewery. The only real aspect I found lacking was the taste (which came off just a tad too sweet) but this was still a tasty and very drinkable brew.
Feb 27, 2009
Photo of lordofthewiens
Reviewed by lordofthewiens from New Mexico

4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
This beer is called a Double Red Ale at Redhook, but the brewer said to categorize it as an American Strong Ale. I think it's a great effort. I had a small sampling at a beer dinner, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In the pub, the beer is served nitro-tap. It is a dark amber color with a thick, very sticky, tan head. Aroma is mostly fruit, citrus and cherry, with a nice malt presence. More noticeable malt taste with a great hops kick that really lingers.
I would be happy to drink this beer whenever I get to Redhook.

Went back recently and had the CO2 version of the Saturnalia. I thought it was a little crisper and sharper than the nitro version. Very nice.
Feb 25, 2009
Photo of Stockfan42
Reviewed by Stockfan42 from Massachusetts

5/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
The pour is great, dark red body with a golden pour and creamy head of foam. A overwhelming aroma of hops floods your nose forcing you into a 2 minute coma.

An extremly creamy body with nothing there to taste but hops, hops, and more hops. Not exactly a heavy beer but it wouldn't or shouldn't be classified as light either, but still goes down good and leaves an great taste of hops.

I've been up to the redhook brewery just recently to grab one of these bad lary's and it just wasn't the same as times before. It seemed a little darker, the gold pour wasnt there, maybe it was the end of the tap I do not know but it is my favorite hop option and recommend it to anyone who loves hops.
Feb 10, 2009
Photo of drocpsu
Reviewed by drocpsu from New Hampshire

4.15/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had thie beer on tap at the Redhook brewery (Cataqua House). Served on nitro tap into a standard pint glass. I'd heard good things about the beer, but didn't know what to expect.

Appearance:
The beer was a dark amber red color. Looked like a normal red ale except for the 3/4" creamy nitro head, which looked stayed with the beer for the entire glass. Left significant lacing on the glass.

Smell:
The beer had the strong aroma of piney hops (cascade hops, possibly?), which was surprising to me for such an amber looking ale.

Mouthfeel:
Beer had good body. Not too light, but not overly heavy either. Nice and creamy, thanks to the nitro tap.

Flavor:
Pretty hoppy for a red ale, but not overpowering. It was surprising to me. I'm not typically one for overly hoppy beers (I can't get into IPAs). This beer had a nice bite to it but wasn't overpowering.

Overall, I liked it and would definitely get it again. I hope Redhook continues to create interesting new beers like this, if only to serve on tap at the brew house. I just wish I got to try their maibock when it was on tap.
Feb 03, 2009
Photo of JJDynomite
Reviewed by JJDynomite from Virginia

3.83/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I'm quite suprised not to see more reviews of this fine, fine beer. It's too bad that it is only available at the Cataqua Public House. CBAI... pay attention! This is a good beer. You should have Redhook make more of it! I can say that now because they no longer pay my bills.
Appearance: Just a shade darker brown than red, but I guess redish would fit the bill. A nice long pour off of the nito tap raised an immaculate head. Nice lacing.
Smell: The smell is of sweet malt and slap the taste out yo' mouth Simcoe hops. Hot diggity... there's no hiding that Simcoe! Taste: Good and balanced mouthfeel leads to a strong malt backbone, but wait... what's that? Oh yes, <WHAP> there's that Simcoe hop flavor again to beat me up a bit more. My taste buds are reeling in a resiny hop choke hold. And then, the nitrogen comes in to smooth the whole thing out. Ahhh...
Mouthfeel: Smooth and and silky thanks to that nitrogen. In the bottle, the hop aromatics spring to life just a bit more because of the Co2. (I have a privlidged perspective. Just trust me on this one.)
Overall, this is quite a tasty offering from Redhook and one that I think could breathe some new life into the company. I hope that the higher ups read this little review and take note of a brewer's perspective of their product. Andy and Steve... you done good. Cheers, fellas. Come to Delaware soon!
Jan 19, 2009
Brewery Backyard Series: Saturnaleia Double Red Ale from Redhook Brewlab
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 21 ratings