IPA
Red Collar Brewing Co.

A bit between an IPA and a Lager.

 

Red Collar Brewing 'IPA' @ 6.25% , served from a 650 ml bottle purchased for $6.50
A-pour is gold from the bottle to a dark amber in the glass with a small off-white head leaving a streaky lace along the pint
S-caramel malt's
T-malty
MF-ok carbonation , medium body
Ov-just an ok beer
prost LampertLand

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found a bottle of this during my latest journey to Calgary. I had never heard of Red Collar, but I really liked this beer. I found it to be nicely balanced - plenty of crackery malt, balanced with grapefruit and pine. The malt/hop balance was spot on for my preferences. I will definitely be seeking out more beer from this Kamloops brewer.

650ml bottle, the tide of new BC craft brewers breaching the Continental Divide continues unabated!

This beer pours a mostly clear, bright medium copper amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and certainly bubbly ecru head, which leaves a decent array of tiered cloudy lace around the glass as it gently sinks out of sight.

It smells of semi-sweet, grainy caramel malt, a touch of biscuity toffee, thin brown sugar syrup, a mixed tropical and domestic fruitiness, and plain leafy, herbal, and wet grassy hop bitters. The taste is bready, slightly doughy, and somewhat pastry-friendly caramel malt, overripe red apple flesh, muddled orange and something more exotic in the citrus realm, I suppose, a twinge of buttery popcorn, and more earthy, leafy, and faintly grassy hoppiness.

The carbonation is quite low and unobtrusive in its hard to get a handle on frothiness, the body a sturdy middleweight, and generally smooth, with a wee airy creaminess arising as things warm up. It finishes still trending sweet, that crackery caramel not really seeming likely to pack 'er in, just yet.

Overall, this is a fairly unbalanced affair, especially for the English version of the style. If I wasn't notified going in, I would have thought this an under-hopped ESB, and not a particularly bad one, at that. In the end, this is just too sweet, and sort of hard to get into, I'm afraid.

Harsh review of this one. Unacceptable offering from a BC brewery.

A- Appearance is fine, colour does show that malt should be a serious character in this IPA

S - There is no date on this product, but I purchased it off the "new product" shelf. If this product is fresh there is seemingly no dry hopping. Otherwise, old product on new shelf.

T- Hops barely come through, especially for a west coast brewery making an IPA. Diacetyl is present unfortunately. Buttery mixes with malt and hops are barely there. Disappointing.

F- overcarb.

Overall, I'm surprised to see others putting up high ratings on this beer. Perhaps this batch didn't get a long enough D rest, perhaps the bottling system leaves too much DO. I don't know, but this beer was barely drinkable. As it warms the off flavour becomes more present unfortunately.

 

Appearance - Pours a light copper with three fingers of tan head.

Smell - citrus and earthy hops, bready caramalts, fruity aromas, and grapefruit rind.

Taste - citrus and earthy hops hit the palate right away. The bready caramalts, fruity aromas, and grapefruit rind help to round out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Finishes with a pleasant lingering bitterness.

Overall - An IPA that displays characteristics of an American IPA and English IPA. This is by far one of the best English IPAs that I have sampled recently. It borders on the cusp of an American IPA due to the bitterness. A brew that should be seeked by those hop lovers out there.

 

I've had most BC IPAs over the past decade, with Driftwood's Sartori Harvest IPA being my all time favorite followed by Four Wind's Phaedra Belgian Rye IPA and Juxtapose Brett IPA, which are amazing beers as well. Red Collar's IPA is unfiltered goodness in a glass and a slower drink that keeps you wanting for more. It is probably the most rounded, balanced and delicious IPA in BC - including its solid alcohol percentage.
Bottled: excellent IPA
On tap: each batch has slight adaptations in hop, usually for the better. Always a great mouthfeel and simply one of the finest IPAs around.

Not a bad IPA defiantly a British style i feel. Easy drinking though i like the combo of
Galaxy and Ella hops they use.

 

 

Doesn't seem like 78 IBU and the yeast is more prominent than the hops... Very British.