Red
La Conner Brewing Company

Appearance – This ale poured a nice, thick but not murky brown in color with absolutely nada for a head. Laconner is known for carbonation problems, so I guess you almost kind of have to expect it these days from these "one-off" batches.

Smell – This is a heavy, tart aroma that doesn’t go overboard on the sweets. Even the fruits that I can smell are dark; Bing cherries out of season and ripe plums come to mind along with mashed dates and raisins. The malts are light and toasty.

Taste – The fruits from the nose are here at the taste but in very measured form. The malts really sour up and define this flavor profile. It’s not overly sour like some examples of the style but it certainly does have this characteristic in spades.

Mouthfeel – As previously stated, this bottle suffered from poor carbonation (or is that “pour carbonation”) but otherwise felt nice in between the cheeks. It is mouth-puckering tart with a nice, sweet finish.

Drinkability – This went down well enough even though the bottle was flat.

Comments – Thanks to skyhand for saving one of these rare Laconner “one-offs” for me.

Update – I originally reviewed this with a 2005 vintage and was afforded another taste by skyhand in 2006.

The carbonation came over much better with this sample and it had some huge alcohol and woody notes. This is a big, sweet and sour Red that reeked of cedar and booze. I am raising the score substantially from last year and giving this a strong recommendation to anyone who can get their hands on one.