Red Branch Irish Ale
Crannóg Ales

 

 

 

 

 

 

pint from a keg at my Wedding 8/18/12

A has a nice ruby glow too it with lots of tiny bubbles feeding a light brown two finger head that hangs around for a while slowly falling too a thin film leaving lots of random lace

S fruity at first followed by some nutty toffee and herbal hops

T mimics the smell quite well really just with more caramel then the nose

M medium bodied and quite creamy from the carbonation, nutty toffee lingers for a while faintly

O pretty solid Red Ale if you ask me, this one went down pretty fast

I'm pretty happy I had this one at my Wedding as it was the favorite of the masses. The more I try from these guys the more I like them

 

On-tap at The Morrissey Pub, on to the beer:

That frothy head on top sure looks good. It also leaves good lacing above this amber colored beer. It smells....not too much to smell at first. A lower intensity of toasted malts and a slight grainy sweetness. This improves a little as time allows more nuances to crawl out.

The first tasting notes I get are pine needles. A little bitter; that makes me pucker a little. There are toffee crisp flavors and faint tropical notes in this red ale. As the beer warms, it gets fruitier tasting and less toasted. On the dry side with an appropraite feel to style.

Pleasant. Red Branch won't make you go crazy, but would be a good choice for a pint while chatting.

Had on tap at the Morrisey on Granville. Not all that impressive to look at with almost no head but a decent glowing red amber colour that was quite nice.

Aromatics of somewhat subdued citrus/spice hops and more burnt caramel than anything else.

Better on the palate with a fairly full body with just the right amount of carbonation. Flavour profile echoes that of the aromatics with a nice dry finish.

Very easy to drink and perfect for the pub setting.

Another good beer from Crannog, but perhaps my least favourite. Beautiful copper colour but almost no head. Earthy, pungent sour smell. Rich malt complexity and hop bitterness. Rich taste, but a tad too sour and bitter for me. Tastes almost like a sour ale, or an old ale...lacks the caramel/toffee profile I've found in other Irish red ales.

Good mouthfeel; it would make a great session ale, but I find the sour character a little too distracting.

Had this one at the Raven in North Van and found this to be the session beer from Crannog. The reddish dark gold colour and the maltish nose set the stage for a easy drinking beer with solid malty midbody and a dryish finish. Well made and well balanced this beer would be a perfect beer to order by the pitcher on a cold wet Deep Cove night.