Blueline Series: Red Hook / Hilliard's Joint Effort
Redhook Brewlab

 

Pours quite a lovely rich amber color with an enthusiastic head in the tall Unibroue Blanche glass. Everything about the foam is nice-- the way it clings to the glass and froths up discretely with every slurp.

Clean and slightly lemony with a robust hoppy tang. Bitterness is moderate but it goes well with the malt flavors.

I don't know how they make a decent beer with hemp, but this is it. No other hemp-flavored beer I've tried has been even mediocre. This is sudsy and crisp with a great hop edge. Totally refreshing and I would put this on the short list for a good thirst quencher.

A "joint effort" with Hilliard's Beer. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at The Market in Anacortes, Washington.

An ale brewed with hemp seeds to celebrate the legalization of marijuana in Washington state. Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a half finger white head that dissipates slowly, leaving light lacing. Aroma of grassy (no pun intended) and citrus hops, light sweet malt, slightly herbal (meant that one). Flavor is light biscuit malt, grassy and citrus hops with a faint earthy herbal element from the hemp seeds. Light to medium bodied. A somewhat pedestrian IPA with a light touch of the hemp seeds. The herbal aroma of hemp and hops are sometimes somewhat similar (especially the danker hops varieties), and this could pass as a dank IPA. I'm looking forward to an earthier, bong water attempt at this style. The time has come to join these botanical relatives into an amazing ale.