Block House Imperial Red Ale
Pittsburgh Brewing Company

I am actually beginning to embrace the winnowing down of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody! Not only am I rediscovering semi-forgotten beers, but I have a growing collection of bottle caps for a local Countian who uses them in her art. I am also gifting duplicates, pairing like styles or breweries & generally doing what I should have been doing in the first place.

I really dig the crossed keys of the label, since they look like my U.S. Navy rating of Storekeeper (SK), which was repair parts supply, as opposed to retail sales, during my abbreviated career from 1983 to 1998. I took early retirement as my now-late Pops had been diagnosed with a terminal illness & I wanted to come home. Home is Lancaster, PA, about 300 miles east of Pixburgh, but I have been a Pixburgh sports fan since the tender age of 9 y/o. I got accepted into Pitt during Pops' lifetime, but he passed between my Junior & Senior year. No matter. I made it & I love the homage to the now-defunct brewery that used to operate in Lawrenceville. I knew it when it was "Lawless-ville" where it is now the next up-and-coming gentrified area & I am okay with it. I was a teaching intern at Arsenal Middle School & now, Arsenal Cider House is just up the hill from the school. Prosit!

I put the key in the keyhole (the cap has a keyhole as a part of the design) & Pop!ped the cap. I was gentle on the pour as this one was creeping up in age & no sense rousing any potential lees. An in-glass swirl raised a finger of foamy, fizzy, light-tan head that quickly settled back to wisps. Color was a gorgeous Copper-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with NE-quality clarity. One of my exes, Linda Lou, had coarse hair of this shade & it was like running my fingers through rusted wire, hence her moniker, Rusty. She was a looker, that one! And when she wore green, it was like she was illuminated. Oh, my. Nose on the beer was malty sweet, kind of a caramelized sugar smell that put me in mind of Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coke. Yeah, I definitely want to mention Maraschino Cherry as a part of the nose. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, big for the style. The taste was sweet, all right, achieving an interesting amalgam of Dr. Pepper, Cherry Coke, Maraschino Cherries & cherry cough syrup (the old, rockin' stuff that was both quaffable & abuse-able due to its pleasant taste). Man, this was like Cherries Jubilee City, baby! I gotta admit, it was making me nervous about adult-onset diabetes, but this was a rockin' beer. It was definitely of sweet cherries, where I prefer Michigan's tart/sour cherries from their west coast, but I can still appreciate the flavor. Now, I got Joan Jett, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford & the Runaways doing "Cherry Bomb" as my soundtack! Finish was super sweet, loaded with cherry favor, but it's making me itch for a really bitter AIPA. YMMV.

 

 

Pours a light amber brown with a soapy head, ok retention, not much lace. Aroma is sweet and malty. Flavor is malty sweet and nutty finishing with a bit of mineral and chemical taste. It tastes like a german style lager in ale form. Medium slick body, low carbonation. Its drinkable but not recommended for serious beer drinkers.

Very disappointed. Should have know, found it on clearance. The 6.2% alcohol is overpowering, tastes as if rubbing alcohol was added. Mouthfeel was smooth, but ruined by the syrupy malt and ridiculous alcohol flavor. Was very similar in flavor to Robitussin.

 

 

 

 

 

A very solid imperial amber. Not on the level of Nugget Nectar, but nothing is. Very nice aroma that is equal parts malt and hops, the taste follows suit. medium body. I would definitely order another if I saw it on tap.