Traditional Irish Red
Brock Street Brewing Company

473 mL can from the LCBO; no canning date and served barely chilled. I've had this at least two or three times previously within the past year.

Pours copper-brown, taking on more of a brilliant orange-red hue when held to a bright light. It's capped with an inch of smooth, light beige-coloured head that melts away within a couple of minutes; its remnants include a thin, frothy cap and a few patches of film, along with the occasional swath of lace. The aroma is very meek but otherwise fine - toasted grains, caramel, maybe a touch of nuttiness.

It tastes fine. Malt forward as expected, including caramelized sugars, toasted grains, dark fruit and brown sugar. That sounds sweet, but overall it's actually well balanced for the style, with the help of some tea-leafy hop bitterness and treacle on the back end. Moderately malty, slightly nutty finish with a bittersweet aftertaste that lingers for a second or two. Medium-light in body, with low carbonation and a smooth, satisfying mouthfeel that suits the style well. Very quaffable; I'd tolerate a second glass.

Final Grade: 3.67, a B grade. As usual, I'll mention that Irish reds are not really my thing: I rarely revisit them, and there are few that I hold in high regard. Brock Street's Traditional Irish Red is at least better than average, but it doesn't move the needle much, or at least, it didn't for me. If you enjoy mellow, malty ales and aren't too picky in general, this deserves a fair shake - I am critical of some Brock Street products, but their malt-forward brews tend to be alright, and this one is no exception.

Dec 11 2024

 

 

 

the only beer i had from these guys while in canada this week, its very sweet, hard to drink even a whole pint of for me, but it does have some appeal even with that said. its really dark for the style, a deep brick red shade, and more rich in body than a lot of these too. i like all the malt substance and flavor here, it seems to bring a lot more character than i am used to in the style, which i generally shy away from because the beers tend to be boring in this regard, so nicely done there. the issue for me is all the residual sugar, i get caramelized grain, sweet cherry and raisin, and brown sugar, all piling up to be quite intense. i generally think of the irish red as being on the drier side, but that just isnt the case here, and with the bigger body, this one really lingers long. a good toasted nuttiness and a long boiled concentration of flavors, characteristic yeast for the style too, but this is a style of beer i want to be able to session on, and this example of it is quite the opposite. nice contrast to a lighter lunch, but they could dial this one back just a bit and improve it radically i reckon...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchased at the brewery around the $3.00 mark for a 473ml can. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass.

A- Opens well and pours a 1/2" off white head that films out within a couple of minutes. Very dark brown/red colour. Super dark but it is filtered clear.

S- Oodles of malt and caramel

T- Roasted good. Super malty base. Just well blended. Nice caramel over tones. Touch bitter at the end but that is expected from this amount of roasted malt.

M- Dry.

O- Nice blend. Balanced well so that the roasted malt does not stick out at you. Will buy on sight when I see it

Food Pairing

This wonderful little brew went well with....... Lamb lollipops with a chocolate sauce. A touch of couscous on the side with dates and cinnamon or if you want change the dates in for raisins. Some veggie stock (or chicken) and a dollop of olive oil. Add the couscous slowly boiling liquid and simmer- 5mins

Enjoy

 

Package: 650 ml bottle.

Appearance - Red amber. Small head.

Smell - Floral, malt, grainy, caramel.

Taste - Malty, grainy, crisp, dry.

Mouthfeel - Light, refreshing, easy on the palate, still decent flavour.

Overall - A decent Irish Red. Nothing wrong with there offerings, I just haven't had my socks knocked off yet. I will continue trying there brews.