Mermaid's Red Ale | Coronado Brewing Company
Brewed by:
Coronado Brewing Company
California, United States
coronadobrewing.com
Style: American Amber / Red Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.70%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
Also known as Red Roost Al" at the Clam Catcher restaurant in La Jolla, CA.
Added by xlperro on 11-15-2003
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 555 | Reviews: 154
Reviews by BadgerBeer:
More User Reviews:
3.83/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into anonic a clear rich amber/bronze with a thinner but well retained soapy-like white head,aromas were bready in character along with some mild caramel sweetness,the cascades used are pretty subdued.Flavors reminded me more of some of the PA ESB's I used to drink when in living in Philly,what I mean is its bready with subdued caramel and fruity malt notes with a decent shot of piney/citric hop in the finish.A little prickly in the mouth and not like alot of American reds but its decent.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured into anonic a clear rich amber/bronze with a thinner but well retained soapy-like white head,aromas were bready in character along with some mild caramel sweetness,the cascades used are pretty subdued.Flavors reminded me more of some of the PA ESB's I used to drink when in living in Philly,what I mean is its bready with subdued caramel and fruity malt notes with a decent shot of piney/citric hop in the finish.A little prickly in the mouth and not like alot of American reds but its decent.
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3.6/5 rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On-tap at 5 Points
A: The pour is amber in color with a finger or so worth of off-white head.
S: Fairly malt forward, primarily caramel malts with a hint of toasted bread. The hops are there, but in the background and are floral with a hint of citrus.
T: Some caramel, toffee, and perhaps even a bit of chocolate to go along with the bread. The hop bitterness is somewhat minimal, and there is only a light citrus note to the beer.
M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation to it.
D: I prefer my ambers/reds to be a bit more hop forward, but this wasn't too bad. Easy enough to drink and nothing bad to say about it.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
On-tap at 5 Points
A: The pour is amber in color with a finger or so worth of off-white head.
S: Fairly malt forward, primarily caramel malts with a hint of toasted bread. The hops are there, but in the background and are floral with a hint of citrus.
T: Some caramel, toffee, and perhaps even a bit of chocolate to go along with the bread. The hop bitterness is somewhat minimal, and there is only a light citrus note to the beer.
M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation to it.
D: I prefer my ambers/reds to be a bit more hop forward, but this wasn't too bad. Easy enough to drink and nothing bad to say about it.
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3.15/5 rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Appearance This is a dark brownish-red in color with a moderate off-white head. Its thick and murky but the reddish highlights show daylight.
Smell Theres a mild but pleasant hop nose to this one. Its a strong citrus with maybe a hint of grain.
Taste The hops come over well at the taste and the grain isnt bad, but theres a strong Spree-like spanking of sugar that seems out of place . . . in any beer.
Mouthfeel This is a solid medium-bodied with some pretty-good carbonation and some residual bitterness from the hops.
Drinkability Some of the flavors like the hop and grain are OK but others like that rank sweetness is just awful.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Appearance This is a dark brownish-red in color with a moderate off-white head. Its thick and murky but the reddish highlights show daylight.
Smell Theres a mild but pleasant hop nose to this one. Its a strong citrus with maybe a hint of grain.
Taste The hops come over well at the taste and the grain isnt bad, but theres a strong Spree-like spanking of sugar that seems out of place . . . in any beer.
Mouthfeel This is a solid medium-bodied with some pretty-good carbonation and some residual bitterness from the hops.
Drinkability Some of the flavors like the hop and grain are OK but others like that rank sweetness is just awful.
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4.63/5 rDev +27.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Appearance: dark cloudy red, with a nice tan head. Nice lacing on the glass.
Smell: some malts, some hops, inviting.
Taste: somewhat hoppy for a red, but well balanced. Not your malty, caramely Irish-style red, but rather a bigger, hoppier west coast version of a red ale.
Mouthfeel: med-full bodied, very satisfying.
Drinkability: awesome stuff, I was most pleasantly surprised.
I like a nice Irish-red, and loved the heavier, hoppier, bigger west coast twist on it.
The heavier use of hops makes it go with more foods than your blander Irish red which goes better with blander foods, such as fish & chips.
This brew can hold its own against more of a variety of dishes. I loved everything about it. Excellent stuff!
Checked the ABV on the bottle,it is at 5.7%
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look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Appearance: dark cloudy red, with a nice tan head. Nice lacing on the glass.
Smell: some malts, some hops, inviting.
Taste: somewhat hoppy for a red, but well balanced. Not your malty, caramely Irish-style red, but rather a bigger, hoppier west coast version of a red ale.
Mouthfeel: med-full bodied, very satisfying.
Drinkability: awesome stuff, I was most pleasantly surprised.
I like a nice Irish-red, and loved the heavier, hoppier, bigger west coast twist on it.
The heavier use of hops makes it go with more foods than your blander Irish red which goes better with blander foods, such as fish & chips.
This brew can hold its own against more of a variety of dishes. I loved everything about it. Excellent stuff!
Checked the ABV on the bottle,it is at 5.7%
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3.74/5 rDev +3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75
3.16/5 rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Tap. Pours brownish-red with a short off-white head. Nutty and caramel aroma, strangely, without a lot of hops. More of the same in the taste with biscuits, metal and a bitter cascade finish. Lots of caramel. Kind of a malt-bomb for a red. Expected more resin/grapefruit for a SoCal red, but maybe that's just their style.
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look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Tap. Pours brownish-red with a short off-white head. Nutty and caramel aroma, strangely, without a lot of hops. More of the same in the taste with biscuits, metal and a bitter cascade finish. Lots of caramel. Kind of a malt-bomb for a red. Expected more resin/grapefruit for a SoCal red, but maybe that's just their style.
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3.73/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.63/5 rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Amber reddish hued with a slight bit of white foam covering most of the top of the beer. Good clarity. Good aroma of caramel and amber malt. The flavor is gently hopped with piney hops and then I get some rich caramel malt and some hop bitterness returns after the sweetness of the malt fades. The mouth is moderately carbonated.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Amber reddish hued with a slight bit of white foam covering most of the top of the beer. Good clarity. Good aroma of caramel and amber malt. The flavor is gently hopped with piney hops and then I get some rich caramel malt and some hop bitterness returns after the sweetness of the malt fades. The mouth is moderately carbonated.
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3.54/5 rDev -2.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.23/5 rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This was a good beer!
Pours a nice red amber color, closer to the red...
Fluffy tan head, with adequate lacing. The taste is smooth and well balanced, notes of subtle chocolate, caramel sweetness lingers in the finish. There is a malty feel to this brew, but not a grainy feel.
I will have this one again, and again. This is a good representation of a Red Ale.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
This was a good beer!
Pours a nice red amber color, closer to the red...
Fluffy tan head, with adequate lacing. The taste is smooth and well balanced, notes of subtle chocolate, caramel sweetness lingers in the finish. There is a malty feel to this brew, but not a grainy feel.
I will have this one again, and again. This is a good representation of a Red Ale.
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3.28/5 rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Ruby red pour, pretty sexy looking actually, fair head, or maybe its just the mermaid on the bottle. Aroma was muted, the toasted irish red malt thing going, more hop aroma than expected.
Taste doesn't bring anything beyond ordinary in the malt and hop interplay. Mild irish moss and cocao notes, mild bitterness and hopping. Typical non offensive red ale. A little better than average, but would like to see a heavier hopped red ale from a SD brewery.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Ruby red pour, pretty sexy looking actually, fair head, or maybe its just the mermaid on the bottle. Aroma was muted, the toasted irish red malt thing going, more hop aroma than expected.
Taste doesn't bring anything beyond ordinary in the malt and hop interplay. Mild irish moss and cocao notes, mild bitterness and hopping. Typical non offensive red ale. A little better than average, but would like to see a heavier hopped red ale from a SD brewery.
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4.13/5 rDev +13.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Deep red ale with a large khaki tan head forming four fingers worth of head with fine speckled lacing. Aroma has caramel notes with mild earthy hops going on, not bad. Flavor has some dark red malt action brings out a bit of clean caramel and strong hop earthiness actually a good mix that I'm sure is better the fresher the ale is. Drinkability overall is excellent light to medium bodied smooth carbonation I can't get away from these Coronado brews.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Deep red ale with a large khaki tan head forming four fingers worth of head with fine speckled lacing. Aroma has caramel notes with mild earthy hops going on, not bad. Flavor has some dark red malt action brings out a bit of clean caramel and strong hop earthiness actually a good mix that I'm sure is better the fresher the ale is. Drinkability overall is excellent light to medium bodied smooth carbonation I can't get away from these Coronado brews.
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3.58/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On-tap at the Yardhouse in downtown San Diego.
Pours a clear dark amber color with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving decent lacing.
Smells of grainy caramel malts with hints of toastiness. Also present are good amounts of citrus and floral hop aromas.
Tastes similar to how it smells. Caramel malt flavors with very light hints of toffee kick things off. Midway through the sip mild amounts of light citrus hop flavors enter into things along with an earthy bitterness that carries through to a crisp ending.
Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with moderate carbonation.
Drinkability is OK. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass however I'm not too sure about another.
Overall there was nothing that really stood out about this beer, good or bad. Not worth avoiding but not worth seeking out.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On-tap at the Yardhouse in downtown San Diego.
Pours a clear dark amber color with a one-finger tan head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving decent lacing.
Smells of grainy caramel malts with hints of toastiness. Also present are good amounts of citrus and floral hop aromas.
Tastes similar to how it smells. Caramel malt flavors with very light hints of toffee kick things off. Midway through the sip mild amounts of light citrus hop flavors enter into things along with an earthy bitterness that carries through to a crisp ending.
Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with moderate carbonation.
Drinkability is OK. I didn't have a problem finishing my glass however I'm not too sure about another.
Overall there was nothing that really stood out about this beer, good or bad. Not worth avoiding but not worth seeking out.
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3.58/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This was a pretty decent beer. The flavor was better when the beer was cold. Most beers, should be cool; but this one was better COLD. Not bad, I really don't have anything bad to say about it.
The red smells appetizing, and pours well. There was little head formed.
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look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This was a pretty decent beer. The flavor was better when the beer was cold. Most beers, should be cool; but this one was better COLD. Not bad, I really don't have anything bad to say about it.
The red smells appetizing, and pours well. There was little head formed.
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Mermaid's Red Ale from Coronado Brewing Company
3.63
out of 5
based on 555 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I thoroughly enjoyed this beer, especially considering I am not a big fan of red ales. This, Fixed Gear by Lakefront in Milwaukee, and Fat Tire are about the only reds I care for, but this one is the best out of the three in my opinion. If I saw this at a bar, I would definitely pick it up as a change of pace to my normal IPA, hefeweizen, and porter preference.
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