Irish Red
Blue Lab Brewing Company

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From:
Blue Lab Brewing Company
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
Irish Red Ale
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.25 | pDev: 20.31%
Reviews:
3
Ratings:
10
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 05, 2016
Added:
Jul 10, 2013
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Photo of Pantalones
Reviewed by Pantalones from Virginia

3.61/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Just got a growler filled earlier today when stopping in with family -- it was really close to closing time by the time we dropped in so there wasn't time to sit and have a beer, so we each got a growler to take home instead. Now I'm having my first glass.

Surprisingly dark, red-brown in color. Not a lot of foam on top; a little layer formed at first, with lots of big bubbles popping up on one corner of the glass, but now there's just the ring around the inside of the glass and a few stray patches here and there. Light tan/off-white colored bubbles. Shining a light through, I see that it's pretty hazy and I don't see many bubbles rising. Kinda murky-looking, actually...

Smell is definitely malty. A bit of caramel-like sweetness, a bit of toastiness bordering on roastiness. That almost roasty thing was stronger when I first poured it, but has mellowed out after a couple minutes of sitting in the glass. The smell as a whole is pretty mild, especially after the foam on top fades away, but there's nothing that stands out as bad about it.

Taste is similar to the smell, lots of toasty malt going on. A bit of a fruity thing in the background too (yeast-based?), but the malt is definitely more noticeable. Bit of that caramely sweetness in there too, hiding even further in the background. Not really picking up on the darker roastiness that I got a bit of in the smell. Pretty dry on the end despite the maltier/slightly-sweet flavors. Just a bit of an odd flavor in there that I can't quite pinpoint... maybe slightly buttery? It works fairly well with the other flavors of the beer but still stands out as a little odd. Not noticing that as much after the halfway point of the glass, though -- the caramely flavor is coming out more now, instead. Maybe a very slight bit of leafy bitterness hiding in there too, as I'm noticing toward the end of the glass.

Very smooth and drinkable. Carbonation doesn't feel as present as most beers I've had out of a bottle, but I suspect that's probably pretty standard for a growler fill considering how the filling process goes -- I've never had a growler before, though, so I'm not 100% sure. Despite the lack of carbonation, it doesn't go quite so far as feeling watery -- there's definitely some substance to it -- which is definitely a good thing.

Overall, this is a pretty tasty little beer. Not quite as good as the 7%-or-so Strong Irish Red they had on tap back in the spring, but it's still nice for those times when you just want to have a simple but tasty beer (and there's actually a bit more to it flavor-wise than I'd previously thought; before taking the time to sit down and review I'd never noticed that slight leafy hop bitterness that pops in toward the end of the glass), and it seems like Irish Red Ales are a little hard to come by around here -- in stores, I've only ever seen Kilian's which is actually a lager rather than an ale, and occasionally Devil's Backbone releases one in cans though I never seem to stumble across them before they're all gone, so it seems like this is really the only consistently available one in town.

I suspect I would've rated mouthfeel and possibly appearance a bit higher had I reviewed a pint at the brewery rather than from the growler (seems like the carbonation suffered a bit from the whole "keg-to-growler-to-fridge-to-glass" process.)
Sep 05, 2016
 
Rated: 3.42 by Boone757 from Virginia

Jul 29, 2016
 
Rated: 3.68 by hopley from Massachusetts

May 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by redfox405 from Virginia

Nov 22, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by John_Beeryman from Virginia

Aug 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by smithj4 from New York

Jul 20, 2014
Photo of hstlrussell
Reviewed by hstlrussell from Virginia

2.76/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 2.75
First glass poured from the keg at a restaurant local to the brewery. Murky color, though not in the good, thick, sumptuous way. Wasn't poured all that well, had less than a half-finger of head.
Decent mouthfeel, though almost flat, but plain on the nose. Plainly, it smelled like beer.
There was not much going on on the tongue. Finished dry, but not very flavorfully.
Had some richer notes, almost nutty, but not so pungent.
Overall, not one I would pay for ever again. However, if someone handed me one, I would drink it.
Sep 20, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by ygtbsm94 from Utah

Aug 12, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by ali1987 from Florida

Jul 10, 2013
Photo of kylehay2004
Reviewed by kylehay2004 from Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Single finger head with excellent lacing on a deep amber body. Aroma is clean but not much there with caramel malts, molasses and toasted breads. Flavor is also a bit mild, even for the style, with toasted caramel malts, nuts, and dark breads finishing with a mild earthy hop presence. Aftertaste has a residual sweet maltiness. Smooth medium body and light carbonation.
Jul 10, 2013
Irish Red from Blue Lab Brewing Company
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 10 ratings