Father Imperial Red Ale
Village Brewery

 

 

1L, weirdly sexy black shampoo-bottle shaped vessel, procured in Cowtown on the way back from the first Alberta Small Brewers Association AGM and BBQ this past weekend in Canmore. Called Dad - check. My little guy down for the night - check. My wife's OK - check. Is it still Father's Day? Yup, for another hour or so, having just matched the date specified on the bottle to my own idea of what day and time it actually is.

This beer pours a clear, dark ruddy brick amber hue, with a teeming tower of puffy, bubbly, and loosely foamy beige head, which leaves some nice crooked webbed lace around the glass as it quickly sinks away.

It smells of peppy biscuity, doughy, and pastry-like caramel malt, some further middling toffee square sweetness, gritty bar top nuts, mixed red fruit - blackberries, strawberry syrup, maybe a wee bit of wine-aspirant plums - that do indeed seem to be hop-borne, and an additional musty, leafy minor display of the same. The taste is gritty crackery and biscuity caramel malt, bready toffee, a much more boozy red fruitiness - definitely plum wine now, strawberry liqueur - a sort of yuk-a-flux kind of deal, really, some hollow fleshy nuttiness, and more weak leafy, earthy hop bitterness.

The carbonation is quite light and fluffy-like, as if dear ol' Dad was just a big teddy bear, the body a stodgy medium weight, and mostly smooth, at least until that astringent back hand of alcohol comes into the picture. It finishes well off-dry, the caramel and nutty characters taking the party out back, not to put it out of its misery, but to carry on without bothering the rest of us too, too much.

My second go-around with the Belma hop varietal, after Mikkeller's single-hop experiment last year, where the same essences arose - nicely complex red fruit esters - yup, strawberry and plum, indeed - but this is an Irish Red Ale, so what of the malt? No worries there, as the headiness of caramel, toffee, and nuts keeps that particular side of the palate well-engaged. I can't help but make various comparisons to one of my teething beers - McNally's Extra - there seems to be a certain inspiration embiggening this later day incarnation. At any rate, here's to you all, Dads.

 

 

A: Mahogany, good clarity, medium body, off-white long lasting head. Tasty looking beer.

S: Toasty bread crust, red fruity-hops, roasty notes underneath. Pretty restrained but a nice aroma.

T: Bready, mild and balanced towards nutty malt. Slightly amplified Irish red flavors, pretty tasty.

M: Mid to full bodied, the head sticks around.

A good beer from Village, nothing 'Imperial' about it but they aren't exactly known as brewing pedants. Dad will like it.

Appearance - Pours a deep rusty red with a finger width of bubbly white head.

Smell - Fruity hops, caramel malt, plum, strawberry, hints of nuts.

Taste - Welcomed with sweetness of caramel malts, followed by flavour of nuts and light bitterness of fruity hops. Hints of plum and strawberry accent the overall taste.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes with a crisp light bitterness.

Overall - My first experience with Belma hops has proven to be a positive one. They certainly add unique flavours to this imperial red by Village, particularly with the notes of strawberry and plum. A nice tribute to all the fathers this coming Father's Day.