StrangeOwl
Tired Hands Brewing Company

 

 

 

Served in a tasting glass. Unfortunately, this one smells better than it tastes. The nose is full of citrus and pine hops along with a rye like spice note. The taste does have a hoppy component, but there is a sweet malt note that is a bit distracting. The finish is really bitter. I'm getting citrus peel and rye in the flavor as well. The carbonation is fluffy with a dry finish.

Pours a dark amber color, moderate cap of bone white head, good lacing. Scent brings firm notes of citrus and pine, backed with a spicy rye and crusty dark bread component, decent caramely malts provide a nice backbone. Taste mirrors scent, hops firm but not overly bitter or flavorful, same goes for the malt base... for the ABVs the taste could be amped up a bit. Medium bodied, dry finish. Solid amber ale.

 

 

on tap at the brewpub

Hazy ruby red pour with a thick beige head resting on top. Foamy retention, webbed lacing littered around the glass while sipping.

Nice smack of pine hop bitterness in the nose with some bread crust and caramel sweetness. Faint warmth licks the senses.

Bitter and juicy up front with a sticky pine hop resin. Bready malt backbone with caramel sweetness, followed by continuing hop presence. Slight warmth in the finish with lingering bitterness.

Medium body, well carbonated, chewy and sticky on the tongue. I'm a sucker for hoppy, malty red ales and this one hit the spot, even in the height of Nugget Nectar season.

 

1-liter growler into a matching Tired Hands oversized wine glass. The brew appears brown to ruby in color with an off-white cap that fades quick with a few big bubbles remaining atop. Some spotty to web-like lace sticks to the glass.

This has a pretty rich, dank aroma somewhat catty with herbs that are almost minty. What a pleasant and unqiue hop profile. It has a slight caramel to toffee sweetness across the nose which does an interesting job contrasting the hops.

The taste is catty with herbs and almost a minty appeal from the hops. Some pine and caramel to toffee grain rests as the base for the hops to play off. Some mild bread to toasty character intermingles with some fruity hops into the aftertaste.

This is a medium bodied brew with a light level of carbonation. This has a really pleasant simcoe flavor and aroma profile without getting unbalanced and bitter. This was a surprisingly good offering. On this occasion, of the 4 growlers I got this was the most memorable and pleasant.

 

 

Pours hazy amber with a creamy off white head with good lacing and retention.

Citrus/grapefruit pith aroma with some very strong pine notes and some rye.

Similar tastes. Typical grapefruit flavors I associate with Amarillo and a good pine presence. Some bready malt makes an appearance, but the balance leans more toward hop than malt. Finishes with a little rye kick which I normally enjoy, but for some reason seemed to clash with the hop profile a bit.

Medium bodied with low carbonation.

Not a bad effort, but for how much esteem I hold the Simcoe/Amarillo combo, I was expecting more. A little more carbonation I feel would have brought this together better and the rye was a bit overpowering at times.

 

 

 

 

Served on-tap at the brewpub. Reviewed from notes.

A - Pours a nice red color with a one finger tall white head leaving spotty trails of lacing down parts of the glass.

S - Smells of juicy citric fruit, pine resin, dash of spice from the rye, caramel and some fresh baked bread.

T - Starts off with some fresh citric fruit and piney hops slowly giving way to some spicy rye, caramel sweetness and some very light must? Finish is pretty hoppy with a bit of breadiness, lingering on the palate long after the finish.

M - Medium body with moderate carbonation. Smooth, hoppy feel throughout makes it very easy to consume.

O - Not usually my style but this works well. It has lots of hops but still retains some of the rye beer core. Very nicely done.

Growler served in a Tired Hands glass. Thanks Paul. Beer is dark red, heavy, lowly carbonated, but this is likely due to their collective refusal to competently fill a growler...a bunch of geniuses at this place really.

Aroma is hoppy with a nice appley sense of malt.

Beer is medium in body, mildly bitter, oxidized, flat, moderately bitter in the back. Not a repeat unless I can have it on draft.

On a side note, I think that ANY GROWLER from this bar will be a "pass" for me from now on. I'm sick of a two day old completely flat growler from these clowns. Fill from the bottom up in a purged growler or don't bother. Get a CLUE. You aren't doing yourself any favors.