Imperial Red
Strike Brewing Co.

 

 

Look: 4.75 Looks authentic to the style. Dark amber, dense, but clearly filtered.

Smell: 3.75 It may be the distractions of the bar, but it seems light on the nose. That said, what is there is heavy on the roasted malts. A slight hoppiness tries to show through, but it's a little peculiar.

Taste: A red right up front, but a real adventure from there. Something of a bite, a spice perhaps, that gives way to a dry, light hoppy groove.

Mouth feel: This is the strongest point. The layers male an otherwise thin beer feel very full on the palate. The treat on this beer is in the mouth feel.

Overall: Totally unexpected from the style, but daring. Kudos on standing out from the crowd, but to what expense. An enjoyable brew, but not exactly one I'll be seeking out. However, compared to the choices on the bar, head and shoulders above the rest.

 

 

 

 

Pours an almost opaque super dark crimson-brown with a foamy khaki head that fades to nothing. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, biscuit, caramel, and nut aromas. Taste is much the same with slightly tart malt, caramel, and fruit flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of earth bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an average beer with decent aromas, but the slight tartness I am getting in the taste is a bit odd.

Serving type: bottle.

 

 

 

odd on a few counts this one. real dark in color, a little heavy on the roasted barley i think, its barley even red when held to intense light, looks more like a brown ale or even an english porter than a red. secondly, imperial at 6.5% abv? i dont know about that. those quirks aside, my first beer from strike is a good one, thanks to drlovemd87 for sharing this bomber with me. good head on the real dark brew, barley glowing amber. it smells rich and earthy with very little sweetness, a desirable trait for me in red beers. not real hoppy either, seems to be a well balanced malt forward beer, true to the style i anticipated. a little simple in flavor, basic bittering hops round out a darker grain bill for a red. i get some bitterness from darker barley, as well as the special malt and caramel sweetness up front. rather impressively dry though, and with all this carbonation, the feel is awesome, very drinkable. i appreciate the slightly different take on a style that usually bores me, good enough to inspire me to try more beers from these guys, this is tasty brew, probably better suited to fall weather though.

 

 

 

Served from 22oz bottle into pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a very dark brownish/red. 1/2" head, decent, but little, lacing.

Smell: Sweet smell of the malts, but quite boring to be honest.

Taste: Not too bitter, but definitely not sweet, very earthy, with a nice, smooth finish.

Mouthfeel: Very carbonated, but it feels exactly how I imagine it should.

Overall: A decent beer for the price ($3.49 on sale at BevMo), it's the type of beer that makes me want to try others from this particular brewery. Not one of the best beers I've ever had, but I would drink it again.