Imperial Red Ale
Pryes Brewing Company

 

a mellow beer on all counts for the style. not too dark red on the grain side, not too sweet, not overly hoppy, and really pretty reasonable on the alcohol for something dubbed imperial. i though this was a nice wintery sipper, but not as intense as a barleywine or anything, very balanced, copper colored, and with a lightness that is unexpected in the style. almond and caramel notes to the nose and taste from the grain, a light gingerbread character that makes it seem sort of festive, and an orange and pine complexion to the hops that arent super prominent, but serve as a nice accent to the baked and nutty grain in here. the yeast is sort of flavorless to me at first, but when the beer warms up it has a breadiness of its own that works really well in here. not quite english but really completing and rounding out the beer. a touch of maple to finish. i was glad we went to pryes, i have been drinking the ipa for years now, and it was nice to try some of their other flavors as well as relax in their awesome new taproom. this was a tasty beer for the season!