Paula & Andy's Victory Red
Devils Backbone Brewing Company

Paula & #1's Andy's Victory Red, on tap at the brewery on 08/08/09. Served in a distended pint glass. I have to come up with another name for that sort of glass.

Appearance: Arrives an orange (weird) hued beer, capped by a one-plus finger eggshell head of admirable retention - it arrived fully intact, and didn't fade for quite some time. The carbonation is sparse but fine and relatively slow, and the lacing - though initially sheet-like in the soft, gentle wake of the receding head - manages to cling pretty stick-ily, spotty, glittery, and spongy.

Aroma: Faint, grainy caramel, candied oranges, lighter lemons, and a few other stray malt notes make up the bulk of this one.

Taste: A shallow citrusy hop profile, moderate bitterness, and toffee-toned malt foundation characterize this one. The foundation is pleasant enough - sweet, caramelly, with roasted dough notes and a few buttery toffee overtones - though perhaps a little shallow on the whole. The same can be said for the hop presence, which contributes a mild to moderate amount of bitterness, a fainy leafy though more vegetal note, and some heavier but muted and "buried" citrus notes, sort of like they've "faded." Odd, considering this beer is (certainly, surely, hopefully!) fresh.

Mouthfeel: A moderately thick body - about what you'd expect with a highly caramelized backbone - with a moderate amount of carbonation, making for a slightly crisp, very even ... we'll call it "well done."

Drinkability: An interesting if somewhat shallow red ale. The hop content is decidedly east coast, vegetal, leafy, earthy, herbal, with only faint citrus notes. I'd like a little more out of my ambers. That said, this is a good stab at an east coast amber, and at 5.3% abv, it's nothing to be too scared of.