Axe Head Red
Bend Brewing Company

 

Tried this Red Ale at a 'Meet the Brewer' night last week at Green Dragon - brewer Tonya Cornett was in attendence. Tonight's (imperial) pint was served at Bailey's Taproom.

A: First glance is a murky (rather gross-looking) chestnut brown, topped with a thin ivory head. Good lace , sticking in wide bands.

S: Wow, huge hop aroma amidst a light sweet malty grain. Hops are an unadulterated pine and juicy orange/citrus. Aroma stays strong and really showcases the hops remarkably well.

T: Fairly heavy in the hop department, but still plenty of toasty malt. A tart/sour jolt upfront (lemon, grapefruit). Enough caramel malts, lending a chewy/bready quality.

M: Biting citrus, juicy and saliva-inducing. Medium mouthfeel with a fine carbonation. Puckering hoppiness with a lip-smacking malt profile.

D: Not quite my style, a hop/malt balance that leans toward hops. I appreciate the big flavor in this red ale and recommend it, especially for the hopheads out there.

Arguably an RIPA, red ipa. Color is an orange/brick brown color with decent head, 1 fingers worth.

Herbal hops, very citrusy and bright aroma. The malt is hidden.

Taste is again, bright herbal hops. Some citrus twangs, but mostly herbal piney flavors. Great mouthfeel, nice medium body. Not at all watery/aqueous, which some BBC brews have fallen prey to.

Definitly a really good Red/IPA. I would be happy if they added this to their normal selections.

Red ales can be almost anything. Their only essential criterion is color. The taste of Axe Head Red most closely resembles a brown ale though the body is shadowed scarlet. The flavor is nutty and creamy with notes of vanilla and roasted malts. The aroma also drifts towards vanilla. The nitro body enhances the creaminess and delivers full lace, while the bittering integrates well into the roasted elements.

BBC brews this beer as a fall seasonal in honor of their local fire department. A portion of the proceeds are presently being donated to help build a fire station in Bend’s sister city in Nicaragua. I’ll drink to that.

Every time I go to Kelly's Olympian they seem to have a new beer. I speculate that they got some barrels of this on the cheap since it has appeared in the last week, but is already out of Bend Brewing's seasonal rotation (it was on tap at their place in February, but isn't now, so I don't have the abv figure). Regardless it doesn't taste stale or skunky in any way.

This is rather light in colour for a red (it looks like an amber), with a generous head which leaves reasonable lacing.

The hoppy nose is its high point. Plenty of citrus and pine coming through here. Smells like it could be a typical Northwestern IPA in fact.

Has a very herbal hoppy flavour with the hops dominating the malt to an unusual extent for a red, but as the beer warms I notice increasingly a biscuity, granola like malt begin to assert itself. It needs more of this malt to compete with the upper echelon of reds.

The feel is not unpleasant, but rather dry which renders this beer inappropriate for a session. It's worth trying, but nothing special.