Melisandre
City Built Brewing Company

The beer was hazy when first brought to me but cleared up quite a bit as it warmed.

 

Excellent red IPA sampled on tap at City Built. Great looking amber-red color with some mild white head and lots of spotty lingering lacing that lasted forever. Smells of nice fruity and herbal hops, malt, vanilla creaminess and caramel. Tastes similarly - the hops taste mainly of grapefruit, tangerine, mango, papaya, lemon. Smooth, clean, mild, slightly sticky mouthfeel and good carbonation. Really a tasty beer and I will be looking for this one in cans.

Pours a very dark amber, almost red color with a huge, slightly beige head.

Smells of caramel glazed, limey hops, enriched by a huge amount of luscious oranges, or, influenced by it‘s color, blood oranges.

Has a smooth mouthfeel, with a medium body and great smoothness to it, which lasts till the end until, in which a bubbly spark comes up.

Tastes of mellow bread dough, a hint of bakers chocolate, sweeter toffee and bitter, lemon hops. Turns way dryer then, with a metallic hint from the uprising carbonation, maintaining the beer‘s smoothness. Finishes with caramel, prevailing lime and a bready malt, together with a scoop of rock sugar.

Tasty beer, with a great balance and mouthfeel to it, creating a fulfilling interplay between more pronounced malts and hops.

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 10/11/2018. Pours fairly hazy/cloudy deep orange/copper, light reddish color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and rocky light khaki head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, papaya, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, pine, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, light roast, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and dark/bready/light roasted malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, papaya, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, light peppercorn, pine, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, light roast, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Light-moderate pine, citrus peel/rind, herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon, peach, pear, pineapple, apricot, papaya, mango, melon, berries, citrus peel/rind, wood, peppercorn, pine, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread dough/crust, toasted biscuit, nuttiness, roast, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and dark/bready/light roasted malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from bitterness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy/sticky, and lightly resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.1%. Overall this is an excellent red IPA. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical/earthy hops and dark/bready/light roasted malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly bitter/resinous/drying finish, not overly aggressive. Great Mackinac hop showcase. Very juicy, dank, and earthy hop complexity; great balanced dark/bready malt backbone; minimal residual sweetness from lingering resin dryness. A very enjoyable offering, and impressive style example.