Blood Junkie
Three Weavers Brewing Company

 

It poured a very dark and deep red, closer to a dark maroon, bordering on brown ale territory. The head was a nice inch and a half of decently dense foam with the slightest red tint. The smell was a balance of sweet malt and piney hops. There were more hops on the nose than I had expected. The taste followed the nose. The malt led the way while the hops were all over the finish. They were piney and citrusy and bright. With a medium body, a dry finish helped to keep me wanting more. Only towards the end did I notice the sweetness from the malt sticking to my palate. Very nicely done imperial red brought a balanced drinking experience.

 

Appearance - Pours dark copper in color, with a light reddish tinge when held to light. Sandstone colored, two-finger width head that displays good retention before dying down to a thin, consistent layer of suds across the surface. Chunky lacing,

Smell - Citrus hoppiness with a hint of floral character and a fair caramel sweetness. Faint chocolate aroma.

Taste - Follows the nose. Candied citrus and a bit of grapefruit hops, playing off a caramel base that hits primarily on caramel, but adds touches of chocolate and roasted malt to round out said base.

Mouthfeel - On the fuller side of medium-bodied with fair carbonation. Slick, slightly creamy mouthfeel makes this an easy drinker, even at a boastful 8.7%.

Overall - Really nice Imperial Red, and quite reminiscent of Arrogant Bastard, if I had to compare. I'd love to do a side-by-side one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Red and ugly like the label. One finger beige head.

Smell awesome of fresh hops.

Taste pretty good with a bit of cheezyness like a kid wearing dad’s sneakers.

Feels like the taste.

Got in San Francisco and drinking in Vacaville, Nov 25, 2019.

 

L: a murky red-brown mahogany. Thick off white soapy head which dissipates quicker than expected leaving a thin foam residue and patchy lacing.

S: Sweet amber malts and alcohol esters. Floral hop aromas with dark honey

T: Sweet dark honey, charcoal, wood. Dissipates. To bready malts as the hop profile comes through to break up the sweetness. Nice grassy finish.

F: Tight, fine carbonation smooth on the palate with sticky sweetness on the lips.

O: A very nice well rounded beer. Not much you can complain about

lovely amber-brown body with a 1/4 inch of tight light beige head with decent retention; a little bit of pinyness with some burn toffee, alcohol, and malt syrupy sweetness; pretty smooth with a malt forward beginning followed by burnt toffee and ending on a mix of burnt toffee and hop biterness; a lot of burnt toffee in the finish; viscous medium body with a tiny bit of to-be-expected cloy and tight carbonation; overall a pretty decent imperial red that leans into a bit more of a burnt/bitter take with good results

can with 10/22/18 "born" date

 

This is easily the smoothest IRA I've had to date. I found it reminiscent of Lagunitas' WTF Brown ale, but more hoppy and a touch lighter in body.

L: Badass can art. A little demonic in theme, may offend the religious... But I'm sure they'll forgive the brewers after they see that pour. Gorgeous transparent dark amber body, the color of black tea. Head is khaki and incredibly persistent, leaving bands of lacing half a centimeter thick stuck to the glass.

S: A sour prune aroma hits the nose first, followed by dark chocolate, softened with sweet buttery toffee, candied orange, almond and tobacco. A faint aroma of sage pervades through the middle and finish—the only hoppy note I smell besides the citrus.

T: A big, dark* chocolate bar in an orange suit shoves a wad of sage in your mouth and waterboards you with prune juice. You bite his hand off and escape, but the taste of sage lingers... as well as some unexpected orange rind...

F: Sticky and chewy, but tart and dry enough not to be syrupy. I'd call it medium-full body. Tiny bit clingy.

O: Great beer. This is close to the end of its freshness date, and the hops are getting oxidized, but it's still quite drinkable. I bet this would be fantastic when super fresh.

*(85% cacao)

 

 

 

 

My first from Three Weavers, so I jumped on their website and see that the brewmaster, founder and 9of the 25 employees are women... all in what assumed to be mostly a man's world. (Another coincidental sign-of-the-times, these proportions do not differ too much from the new Congress. So, maybe this is the new formula for dealing with this Trumped-up world.) That aside, the 3 Weavers talk about community is, of course, healthy; but I'm glad they actually back it up with collaborations. For all this and lots more I'm sure they do, I give them a great big Overall hug.

As for my rating... I'm a known card-carrying member of Malt-heads United Will Never Be Defeated. Not an ideologue, I can give Blood Junkie points for its foam and, then, its lace and, even, for its Smells of mostly malt and even more hops. This sets up a contest in which the malts gets blown out by the hops which, unfortunately for me, is typical of the style. While this situation makes my buds crazy and difficult for me to distinguish between a good beer and one not so good, I won't fight progress and, instead, give 3 Weavers a verbal pass for others to enjoy.

I find this beer to be spot on like the one on the bud light dog. Eazy breezy smooth caramel malts like Raul during last call, then with a light bouquet of floral hops like the one your girl dropped at the toss of her best friend’s wedding.

Overall, winner winner vegan chicken dinner.

 

 

Canned 10/15

Pours brownish from the can, but does have a bright red color in natural light. Finger and a half of off-white head fades slowly and leaves thick bands of lace on the drink down.

Smells of sweet malt and herbal, piney hops.

Tastes of clean, sweet malt. Hops are piney and prominent. Quite bitter, and that bitterness lingers long. Alcohol is detectable in the flavor and adds to the sweetness. Mouthfeel is thick, creamy and sticky.

Overall, this reminds me of an amped-up Celebration.