Jolly Rodger 2010 Imperial Red Ale
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A - Pours a hazy amber-red color with a finger of frothy off-white head. The head fades down fairly slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix sweet toasted caramel malts with some pine, grapefruit, and citrus hops, with a bit of bread and a touch of booze.

T - Starts off with a mix of sweet toasted caramel and a bit of breadiness with some grapefruit and orange hops and some bitterness. Through the middle, some pine and floral hosp come through with some more bitterness and some more sweet bready malts. The finish is a mix of sweet bready malts with some grapefruit and resiny pine hop and bitterness, with a touch of booze.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with sweet, dry, bitter, and lightly warming finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice hoppy Imperial Red Ale with a good hop profile and a nice hop and malt balance.

 

 

Another Beer Week experimental pick. This was the ’10 vintage of the Jolly Roger, aged in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels.

Pours a ruddy brown in color with thin lacing. Some sour hints on the aroma. Tart flavor reminiscent of bitters and orange peel, and a dry finish. For being barrel-aged I don’t pick up any booziness or oaky finish. (And unlike the 09 no coconut bourbon sweetness either.)

 

 

 

Thanks to beerisheaven for this bonus baby, which arrived in a box surrounded by 11 good friends from all around the country. The 'heaven man is legendary in this house! Busted up & poured into two of our stylin' Dogfish Head glasses.

Lovely clear, filtered red with no sediment or haze whatsoever. Look in the dictionary next to "American Amber: Smell" & you'll likely find a scratch 'n' sniff that closely resembles this brew. Bready malts, muted citrus hops, bits of caramel & toast.

What the hell? Jolly Rodger don't taste like no standard red. Tastes very weird, or maybe it's just the extreme silkiness that seems out of place. Ah, that's it. Oxidation? Yup. Distorts & subsumes other things running across the palate: the caramel, very grassy hops, earthy accents that almost stray into dankness, big boom of sweetness for the finale. Except that the oxidation lingers even further.

Man, I was excited when I stuck my nose into this one, but the off-flavor really limited the upside on this one. I'll sip it while I play some Xbox for the next bit, but already looking forward to a different beer.

Thank you Beerdy!!!

A- Poured a rich mahogany red with a two finger creamy white head. Leaves a nice sticky lacing.

S- Even though this is a 2010... it still has a ton of grapefruit/citrus hop bite. A touch of bready sweetness and pine linger.

T- I really wish I could have tried this fresh! Reminds me a bit of Nugget Nectar... but not fresh like I've had the Nectar. Still has a great citrus bite, but a nice caramel malt flavor finish before the citrus and pine circle the wagons. Really Nice!

M- Really wraps around the tongue... still a great bitter citrus flavor! Who says you have to drink a hoppy beer the day it comes out! LOL!!! This is fantastic! Thank goodness it's a bomber!

O- This is a fantastic Imperial Red! Right up there with N.N. Damn I wish I could get some more of this!

A: The beer pours amber in color with a finger or so of khaki colored head.

S: Sweet citrus and fruity hops, maybe some pineapple. Brown sugar and toffee are prominent players and there's a definite breadiness of it.

T: Fairly hoppy on the palate as well. Slightly bitter, but a nice orange peel and grapefruit hop flavor as well as some other sweet fruit notes. A sweet malt profile consisting primarily of toffee with a little bit of brown sugar and caramel.

M: Medium in body with a moderate carbonation, fairly lively.

O: Although this won't blow you away, it's a solid, beefed up amber/red ale. Good flavors and easy to drink.

Consumed March 12th, 2011 at 50 degrees F in a standard pint glass.

Beer pours a clear, burnt umber hue. A fine off-white head less than a finger thick appears and stick around for a surprisingly long time. Sticky sheeting on the glass sides. Carbonation bubbles rise modestly but continuously through consumption.

Aromatic beer: I could smell it two feet away! Sweet caramel with resiny hop overtones. Has a character that reminds me of snickerdoodle cookies.

Bold flavors: this is a very sweet beer with a strong, bitter grapefruit and piney finish. Alcohol, both as heat and flavor, is a component as well. Same bready/cookie character and some toffee to the midtaste as in the nose. Dangerously close to a barleywine flavor profile.

Mouthfeel is slightly dry but otherwise unremarkable.

The pronounced alcohol content and overwhelming sweetness make this a challenge to drink. I wish I had let this sit in my "aging fridge" for a year or so.

this is a nice big Red from drakes. i think i prefer this to the Denogginizer (dipa) which is awesome but almost too much.

pours a rich yummy red and foams up a little. it dissipates quickly but drinks with a nice fizz and buzz on the tongue. the aroma is outstanding, very rich, hoppy and full of toasty-roasty goodness. again, the taste is really rich and satisfying, deep and almost oakey, the beer coats the tongue and goes down with a pleasant burn. THE HOPS bring it all together, with a perfect 68 ibus balancing against the imperial malt base. is there rye in this ale?

with the denogginizer and this jolly roger brew, drakes has come up with two aggressive, in-your-face intense beers in the last year. i would say they have thrown the gauntlet down for NorCal breweries -- they are pumping out lots of quality IPA in San Diego, but Drake's is offering up another take with these specialty ales, dark and rich with tons of personality and attitude. well done!

A clear dark copper color with a solid off-white head and lots of lace. The nose detects a pleasant pine hop with sweet fruit nougat malt. Very tasty and promising! The first mouthful discovers more pine hop with a bit of a citrus bite and more of the fruit nougat sweetness. Very bready and easy drinking for the style. Grainy with a very silky feel and delicate carbonation in a solidly medium body brew. Very nice stuff that I can easily recommend.

Aromas are fairly muted but still decent amount of citrus, grapefruit and pine. A substantial but mellowed toffee and burnt sugar.
The taste is initially caramel sweet maltiness but immediately shifts to the traditional Pacific Coast hop bitterness. Pine/grapefruit/citrus; the usual suspects. Hop flavors ans bitterness win the eventual battle for control of your palate. Smooth, yet creamy. Great carbonation with a slick/sweet balanced mouthfeel. Overall this is the best example of a West Cost Red/Amber ale I have had to date. Great maltiness to counteract the abrasive big 3C hops, which I usually despise because of their overuse/abuse. Mildly dark malt additions really help to balance this out, yum, wish I had more.