20 Days Of Beer Week
Wander Brewing

Poured from 16oz tall can into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: deep, dark amber hue with lots of murk and a thick head of frothy, pillowy light-tan foam. It's actually pretty darn attractive.

Smell: very malty with plenty of notes of toast, a little biscuit and a little spicy character that reminds me a lot of a rye beer. Hops are citrusy in character but are mostly drowned out by the malt element. Not bad for a red ale, I guess.

Taste: malty and sweet with some caramel character, plenty of breadiness and a little bit of that spicy rye from the aroma. I don't know if this guy is made with rye, but it sure tastes like it. Hops are minimal in character, although there is a decent balancing bitterness.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: for an amber, even an imperial amber, this is a relatively decent beer. It's not as hoppy as I would have guessed, but it is not bad for the style.

This is supposed to be brewed with Vic Secret and Galaxy hops plus Citra powder. It's certainly hopped to the max. Handsome russet red color with a cap of whipped cream foam.

Toasty malt, then a taste of root beer or sarsaparilla. Gummy and itchy taste in the back of the throat. Resiny. Bitterness takes over every mouthful, than mellows out, tempting or maybe daring you to take another. This is one to sip slowly. On tap at Melvin Brewing in Bellingham.

 

A Wander/Melvin collab that's an imperial red ale? Sign me up! Pours a dark copper color, a little hazy, tan head. Aromas are piney hops and caramalt, though a bit light.

The taste is NOT light - huuuuuge piney hop flavors, balanced perfectly by the caramalt. The alcohol is not present at all, which is impressive given the 8.4% ABV punch this carries. I wish I had more of this.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass (don't have a BBW one...). Pours a lightly hazy reddish orange with a half finger off-white head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with light biscuit, berries, apple, grassy hops. Flavor is mixed caramel and biscuit malt, red berries, light tropical fruit, graperfruit rind. Finishes with resinous citrus and fruit infused hops. Medium bodied with good carbonation and light creaminess. A really nice red ale body that has been hopped up quite a bit. The hops are interesting and herbal with lots of interesting hop fruit notes. The malt, although clearly a red ale profile has almost an complete balance between biscuit and caramel, which really support the fruit flavors well. A quite nice and flavorful hoppy red ale. Lots of good ales have come out of BBW over the years and this is one of them.