Dublin Me Luck
11 Below Brewing

Can from Total wine and more Houston Galleria Area.
Pours a dark gold/red color with a decent sized off white head that slowly recedes. Toasty bready with a hint of chocolate light earthy spicy hops to counter. Not bad.

12 oz. can poured into pilsner glass, $1.99 from Central Market-Houston
Look: Cloudy red-brown color, 2-finger head drops to 1 , excellent carbonation, nice lacing
Smell: Strong bread, a touch of fruitiness
Taste: Medium to heavy bitter, toasty, bitter increases in finish
Feel: Chewy mouthfeel plus carbonation
Overall: A good beer, not my first choice for a quick refreshment but if you want something more complex for sipping this should fit the bill.
Pair with heavy dish like Shepherds Pie, sloppy joes, roasted meats and cheddars

 

12 oz. can poured into tight nonic
(2/3/20 born-on date printed on bottom of can)

L: clear red-copper topped by 1-inch head of beige foam; light occasional lacing off a consistent collar of beige foam

S: medicinal metallic closed off cold, but as it warms the malt begins opening and becoming like cracker, toasted cracker, bread; the more it warms, the more it has a hint of peach/apricot kolache aroma

T: lightly malty sweet, grain, corn, toasted corn, slight earthy note that wants to build like an Oktoberfest but remains restrained; the flavors across the board are restrained with a hint of creamed corn

F: solid medium weight with a soft crispness after a hard pour; at times the carbonation is still strong enough to bite down late swallow

O: simple, arguably nothing special, but a decent malty brew that does hit the style's notes; a little more flavor for 5.7% ABV would be nice (or about 1.5% less ABV for the flavor present); still, I like it and am very happy I bought a six-pack; it will serve as a fantastic lead brew to a session; at 19 IBUs it's not bitter nor overly earthy, so almost anything would follow it nicely

Nice mostly clear reddish brown. Moderate carbonation with off white head. Smell is slightly toasted malt and a little citrus. Taste is malt forward with a light toasted flavor followed by clean bitterness and light citrus hops.
I tasted this with an imported Irish red ale and it’s very different. At least too me, this tastes more like a very good ESB. Nonetheless, it’s a very good ale and I’m glad I bought it despite it being way overpriced for a local brew.

 

 

Poured from a can into a tulip glass. Clear reddish brown color with good initial head, ok lacing. Toasted bread smell and taste. A bit of caramel. Earthy and a nice bitterness..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a dark reddish/brown color. A one finger light beige head forms and recedes with no lace left behind.
S: A neutral nose, with some bread and cereal grains. Not much more I can describe.
T: Like the nose, I find this very neutral. Nothing really jumps out except bread, cereal grains, and some sweetness. Which isn't bad, but for some reason doesn't hit that great malty sweet spot that I love.
M/O: A light to medium body. Moderate carbonation, just kind of there. Again, all this isn't bad, and enjoyable enough. I feel the malt character and body could just be more well defined.

Certainly a good easy drinker that is malt forward. I find other breweries around town have nailed that great malty vibe a bit better than this. Still something that is not bad to drink for the drinking holiday that always comes up this time of year.