Red Right 88
Great Lakes Brewing Co.

 

 

On tap at Great Lakes Brewing in Cleveland, OH.

This one pours a fairly dark golden amber color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like caramel, toasty bread, rye, orange zest, lemony hops, and pine.

This is solid, and doesn't completely fit into the IPA or the malty red ale camp - it's a nice go between the two styles. There's a solid hop character - citrusy, spicy, grassy, etc, with a sweet, bready, and biscuity malt backbone.

This is a pretty strong beer but doesn't appear as such on the palate, with a nice creaminess and drinkability.

Great Lakes is a legacy Midwest brewery, and it's easy to forget their brewing talent.

 

Nitro'd

 

 

Yet another on-tap only "pub exclusive" I am drinking at the GLBC, this beer draws a clear, very dark red/amber color with a bit of a brown hue. Has a slightly tan head that's about an inch thick with big air bubbles when first served to me that settles to a medium sized ring lining the inside of the glass and some pretty decent lacing. Aromas of lightly toasted caramel malt sweetness dominate along with a moderate hop presence. The taste is pretty much the same, with toasted caramel malt sweetness and a mild hop bitterness in the back end. The citrusness of the hops really comes out more after the beer warms up a bit and really compliments the sweetness nicely. A pretty simple and straight to the point flavor profile here, and that's just fine indeed! Has a slightly crisp, mostly smooth and also slightly frothy, medium bodied mouthfeel with mild carbonation. Very drinkable for an 8.8% ABV beer. Another good beer here from Great Lakes.

Eric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap at the Great Lakes Brewpub

Red Right 88 is a pub exclusive released beer. It is listed as an Imperial Red Ale (not a category on BA). Considering its high ABV, I believe it should be categorized as an American Strong Ale instead of an American Amber/ Red Ale on BeerAdvocate.

A - Pours a dark ruby color

S - Toasty, sweet malts dominate the aroma. Very reminiscant of their seasonal Conway's Irish Ale.

T - Smell translates to the taste. Nice bittering hops also present. Listed at 88 IBU's, not sure if that is accurate, or just a play on the name. I would not have guessed the IBU's were that high.

M - Nice, dry mouthfeel. Very crisp and clean.

O - This is the amped up version of Conway's. Highly recommended for those who are fans of the Irish Ale style.