Rooibos Red Ale With Vanilla
Dangerous Man Brewing

 

A surprisingly tasty beer. The dominant smell and flavor is vanilla but I think it works because the beer is not overly sweet overall. Some nice chai-like spices are in the background.

 

 

 

L: Pours brilliant red tinted amber with a 2” white foam collar that slowly recedes.

S: Has moderate a floral vanilla smell with traces of hibiscus. Malt aromas are medium low.

T: More malt on the palate than on the nose but it is still generously seasoned with hibiscus and the vanilla really stands out. The malt flavors are medium, spicy floral character is medium high and medium low hop bitterness.

F: Medium to medium low body, medium low carbonation.

O: A flavorful beer with an interesting mix of vanilla, light malt caramel, hibiscus and medium low hop bitterness.

this is such a tasty beer. not normally a big fan of tea in beer, but rooibos is such an interesting flavor, and in this red beer, i think it works expertly. i also think its nice in concert with the vanilla, which is subtle here, but is also a flavor i often taste in rooibos tea itself. the base beer isnt all that complex, pretty straight forward in its grain bill, with a little caramel sweetness in the middle, but nothing crazy. the simplistic nature of it allows these extra ingredients to be dosed in pretty lightly but still impact the beer quite a bit. thats a characteristic i see less and less of, but am growing to appreciate more and more. rooibos is earthy and sweet, dried herbs, bee pollen, and even dried fruits like in a granola. the vanilla marries in well, but its real subtle. i would put this up there with the best tea beers i have had, and it was probably my second favorite beer at dangerous man behind the cask caraway porter, which was liquid rye bread and absolute genius. this shows similar skill and innovation, which is why i like these guys so much.