Red Velvet Ale
Boise Brewing

i like my cream ale to be dry and crisp, and while i get that this is something entirely different, a desserty take on the style, im really not into how sweet it is overall. that said, i definitely like a paler beer with chocolate in it, not just wrapped up and obscured by dark malts, but actually presenting itself as chocolate independent of the grain, and this does a nice job with that, although i think its a little overdosed. the lactose is entirely unnecessary, at least for me, and i would like this better without it i think, its sugary all the way through, sticks to the teeth, and doesnt really resolve itself, whatever it contributes to the texture, its not worth how sweet it makes this on the whole. when i stop being critical and just drink it, i like it more, but its still a small amount thing, a whole glass is a lot, and its all even more diabetic when it comes up to temperature. so much potential here, but it doesnt quite work out, if they made it drier with the cocoa it would be awesome, but as it stands, its kind of a novelty thing. i have liked the other unique and experimental beers from boise brewing so far, but this one was a miss for me.

edit: this was better for me the second time around, less sugary perhaps, a natural vanilla note unifying things, and some nice grain flavor apparent, not just the added ingredients, neat beer, definitely hits on some red velvet cake notes in a rather authentic way, have to raise a few scores, i think i was too harsh the first time, or else they have let this dry out some in more recent batches. either way, its unique and fun.

 

Brown, amber? Very sweet, and smooth, an homage to the Red Velvet cake no doubt. Sweetness rules the day, vanilla mostly. Creamy body, almost cream sodaish throughout. Interesting, but may be too sweet to have more than one.

$5 for a cheater pint at the brewery seems pretty expensive for what this is. Pours a standard light khaki head atop a clear-ish deep amber... Nose shows vanilla mainly with lesser cocoa... Enough maltiness to add to and blend the sweetness, but the vanilla flavor lingers and seems very artificial... Weird and lingering, almost a chemical note. The sweetness tricks the palate into thinking it is thicker than it is. The brewers likely succeeded in what they were going after, but to me it tastes like a spoonful of shelf-stable cake frosting. Not good at all.

3.75/3/2.5/2.75/2.5