Mountain Traffic
Crux Fermentation Project

This beer pours an amber orange/red with a large head that goes away rather quickly. Its aroma is biscuity malt and sweet. The hops are mild with a slight bite at the finish, considering the 60 IBUs its quite mild. Decent Amber/Red Ale. Rated 10-30-2022

When you're in Bend, Or on new year's eve.

16 oz can from Boise Co-op. Dark, clear amber with small, tight head. Malty aroma, caramel, hops. Lightly sweet flavors at first, until the hops grab hold of your tongue. Sharp bitter bite on top of some toffee notes.

Look: Opaque amber-red in the glass and on the pour with a frothy off-white head that eventually settles to a lid, leaving good lacing behind
Aroma: Freshly baked bread, limes, orange pith, light toffee, earthy undertones, a little caramel, and apple skins
Taste: Starts out with a lime and orange-led citrus hit that is quickly followed by some apple skins and toffee that trickle in to join. As it warms, caramel and earthiness gain momentum and closes with another citrus punch
Mouthfeel: Full, medium-high carbonation, and a very faint dry note on the finish
Overall: This is tasty stuff. I’m glad these folks put this in sixers as I had it last year and it was good, plus I’m a sucker got hoppy reds. A well-made blend of dark malt flavors and citrus and earthy-led hops hits the spot this time of year. Recommended

12 oz can from Roth's West Salem Market. In West Salem OR.
$12.99 a sixer.
Note: The beer is now 6% alc. volume.
As expected, it pours a deep red /amber colour. Crystal clear. Nice thick/creamy off-white head. Good looking beer.
Aroma is weird, its creamy caramel and what seems like lactose in the background. Some floral hops in the end. Strange but still pleasant.
Taste is similar to the aroma. Caramel, malts, lactose. Kind of fizzy. Feels old but its only about a month old.
Mouth feel is average..highly carbonated but still sticky in the end.
Not liking this at all. The beer smells and tastes very old but it is not.

Hazy brown-orange body, even head. Smell is sweet and a bit tropical; stone fruit, mango, camomile, and bread. Taste follows the nose. Slightly bitter upfront, then sweetening with tropical hop flavors and a bit of caramel, then apple, strawberry, and camomile. Medium bodied, quite refreshing. It’s a pretty good beer, but definitely leans toward ipa (though advertised accurately).

 

 

 

16oz can

Pours a two inch, just off white head into my Perfect Pint glass. A little pillowy. Body is a deep red. Head retention is above average. Initial lacing looks great. So far this looks really nice.

Nose is a little hoppy, mostly pine. Strong notes of stone fruit, fig, strawberry come to mind. Some sweet malts. Smells very nice.

Incredibly refreshing, fills up the palate. Hops are somewhat muted, as is the fruit. Malts are moderate throughout, has a little toffee action towards the end. It's really clean and refreshing, but I want more flavor. I expect more to come through as it warms. I will revisit.

Mouthfeel is very inviting. I'm not sure if it's just the right time for a beer, but this hits my mouth like ice cream, it's just so slick and refreshing. Carbonation is about medium, body as well. Bitterness is slightly lower than expected, about medium-low. Very well balanced with sugars, there is certainly a little malty sweetness, but it is kept very much in check.

Drinkability is through the roof. Tasty and balanced. Nuff said.

Appearance turned out wonderful. Thick sheets of lacing and a well retentioned head.

Jammy stone fruit starts to come through a little bit more as the beer warms. All in all the beer gets a richer flavor. Overall this is wonderful. Balanced, and enough flavors to put it past your average red.

A really smooth 7.8. The softer characteristics play nice with the bitterness. Perfect for a winter trip to Mount Hood.

Handsome clear red amber brew with plenty of white foam in the Maredsous goblet. A malty taste with plenty of sweetness greets you with the first mouthful. Substantial malty body with a lively carbonation. Sudsy, sweet, and caramel flavored but tangy with citrus.

Tastes of honey and some orange and pine. A little too easy to drink, but that's a style you look for once in a while and this one does the job. Interesting brew with a high octane that doesn't interfere with the enjoyment.

This is certainly one of the best Red Ales I can remember tasting. What is it, oak and vanilla someow? Just nicely bitter. From the 16 oz can purchased at Elizabeth Station in Bellingham, which generally has a good assortment of Crux brews.

16oz can poured into 14oz teku. Poured an attractive dark red color with 3/4 inch light tan head that had good retention and light lacing.

The aroma had a base of sweet malts, topped with floral and piney hops.

Very similar on the tongue, with the hops showing through more, and the sweetness not as strong.

The body was medium, perhaps a touch lighter, smooth, and had a semi-sweet finish.

Drinkability was good, I could easily knock back a couple during a session.

Overall, another solidly enjoyable brew from Crux. Worthy of your time.

this is the first red ale to excite me in some time, double mountains wet hop red was the last one. its a style i rarely get stoked on, but i love all the crux beer so had to try this one and am so glad i did! its a wonderful beer, complex and hoppy, not quite a red ipa, as the bitterness here is only moderate, but it has a ton of flavor depth both on the malt side and from the hops, and its a little stronger than is common for the style, which is nice this time of year as the temperatures drop and a little warming up from a beer is welcome. this has nice clarity, a deep mahogany hue, and an inch of khaki fizz on top. it smells piney and rich without being sweet, a little concentrated and long cooked, baked and sturdy, with an obvious freshness. the grain is fuller bodied, with hints of toasted almonds and toffee, but its fermented near dry, its earthy and had a faint hint of dried fruit to it, really almost festive with the piney hops. a little bitter orange and some spruce too, very wintery to me, and with just a ton more going on than normally happens in red ale. i like that this isnt just hopped to oblivion, it seems calculated and thoughtfully done, and the hops are perfect with this grain profile. overall exceptional beer in a style that i generally avoid, wonderful work by crux on this one, and a highlight of a solid session last night for me. ill be buying more of this for sure, a perfect cold weather seasonal!

Thin and boozy, average at best. Wish I'd only bought one can, will be gifting my 2nd. Deschutes Cinder Cone is far superior to this "Hoppy Red Ale"

Dark amber, light crimson color, great clarity, capped by a khaki foam with good retention and nice rings if spotty lacing.

Pretty simple aromas to point out. Toasted bread, heavy on the caramel, even heavier on a raw and dirty, herbal/spicy/grassy hoppiness.

Ditto on the flavor. Extra toasty, extra dirty.

Medium feel and carbonation, sweet start, dirty bitter finish. Damn it's dirty.

Decent beer overall, but really not my jam. Cheers.