St James IRA
ColdFire Barrel House

 

16oz can

An aggressive pour gives only a finger of tan head into my tulip. I can hear it lightly fizzing. Body is a dark ruby red, not cloudy at all. Head retention was a little below average, has left some film though. Looks ok so far, we'll see.

Nose is quite nice. Nutty, semi sweet malts, with a solid presence of piney hops to back it up. Somewhat simple, but it's well balanced, and it smells yummy.

Flavor is a little nutty, perhaps a touch of caramel. Sweetness is there, but it takes a back seat to the assertive, piney hops. Again, pretty simple, but it's balanced and flavorful.

Mouthfeel is good. Body is about medium. Carbonation is medium, maybe just a tad below. Bitterness hits, but doesn't linger. Sweetness is there for a nano second, but honestly it is drier throughout the palate. Could try a slightly silkier mouthfeel for the style, but given the hop profile, this is appropriate.

Drinkability is very high, this is a tasty beer that doesn't hit too hard.

The appearance turned out ok. Lacing was spotty to say the least, head was eh. Clarity was impressive for the color, but I'm not a stickler for a lack of clear beers. Appearance could be improved upon.

Overall this is a good beer. Nothing too flashy, but it's well balanced and has a nice punch of flavor. Could benefit from one or two additions to the flavor profile, or just bringing out more of what they already have.

 

 

 

 

 

Pint poured from a growler from Capital Taproom in Salem OR $8 Pours a pretty clear dark amber/red with a good sized thick frothy head..light tan color. Spicy pine hops and deep toffee malt aromas Taste similar but with bitter dark coffee aspects..to add to the pine and orange pit hops. MOuth feel is medium body and medium carbonation..semi dry finish Nice amber

 

 

Have heard a number of positive comments about this beer, and now I can see why.

On tap at 16 tons.

The beer pours a reddish amber color with pretty good head retention and decent lacing. On the nose I get considerable sweet malt, but with some underlying burnt toast and light smoked meats. The flavor profile replicates the nose, but with decent bitterness in the finish. The bitterness really dries out the sweet malt, and I think enhances the beer's drinkability. That being said, damn if this isn't another cold fire beer with a noticeable alcoholic bite on the finish. It mars somewhat what is otherwise a very well crafted red ale. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with the beer showing considerable weight for a 6.1% abv.

Still a very nice beer, but despite the considerable bitterness in the finish, the alcoholic bite hurts the beer's drinkability a bit.