Irish Red Ale
Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company

Found at the Marriott Sable Oaks in South Portland, Maine this red ale has a nice reddish copper tone, clear and dark with a substantial off-white head and lots of lace hanging on to the glass. The aroma brings a tart malt vinegar, cinnamon cider idea. Very decent. The taste offers a thin malt maple idea with a little less of the cider theme. The real dominant impression is how weak and watery this tastes and feels. I find this to generally be a common malady with Gritty’s brews, often seeming to me to be decent homebrews rather than good commercial beer. It’s plenty drinkable but strikes me as Bud Light with a little tartness and maybe a hint of a citrus hop bite. But it’s bothersomely wishy washy. The aroma and appearance were encouraging but it’s all about the flavor and feel. It has pleasant carbonation, light but adequate, but this stuff just rolls over your tongue and disappears with very little footprint. Not impressed, but passable as a refreshment with a little tartness.

Reviewed from my notes. I listed this as on-tap, but it was hand-drawn (i.e. no CO2 used); I'm not quite sure how that is classified given the choices we have. The IRA has a thin tan head and a pretty red color. There is no visible carbonation within. It has a caramel malt aroma that smells a little dry. The caramel aspects also present themselves in the flavor. It is a big malt presence. The finish is a tad watery and has a kiss of hops. It's a pretty drinkable red, but the differences to the standard nitro-tap version presented by the hand-pump don't improve the beer. If I were to order another, I would opt for nitro.

One of Gritty's seasonals that usually shows up around St. Patty's time. This year you can get it at the Portland and Auburn location, not the Freeport one though.

I was surprised to see this on nitro-tap, it seems like an odd style to have on nitro, but surprisingly it works well, although not quite the norm.

Pours with a creamy looking head, a dark red color, almost brownish in the lighting, much dark than most, the head hardly fades at all and leaves good lacing all the way down.

Smell is rather muted, pretty much all malt.

Taste is rich and creamy, malty all the way with only a hint of hops, the nitro really makes the mouthfeel creamy and smooth through the entire pint and a bit too easy to drink.

I'd have to say, if this was year round, I might make my way to Gritty's more often. Between this and their Strong Oatmeal Stout, spring is a good time to be around a Gritty's.