St. Brendan's Irish Red Ale
Marin Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

quick review....
nice head, nice color.
malty aroma, malty taste. surprisingly sweet, I thought. easy to drink and seems to go well with a warm day.
thin lacing down the sides, decent abv. I would buy this again. I was expecting more hop bitterness but it has little of that. kind of bready. nothing spectacular, but a decent, well put-together brew...

 

On tap at City Tavern in Culver City, CA.

Pours a hazy dark orange with a foamy tan head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, caramel, and some slight perfume-like aromas. Taste is much the same with a malty flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of citrus zest bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is drinkable but the perfume-like aromas and a bit weird.

 

A --- light straw color not very deep.

S --- not much of anything, Just some malt

T --- sweet, but not much of anything (malt or hop)

M --- smooth, very lightly carbinated

O --- Not very good. It lacks any distictive character. Very watery. I was expecting a whole lot more.

From a 22oz bottle. A clear burnt amber color with a small beige head. An earthy hop aroma with a touch of yeast esters, and a slight bit of caramely oxidation. Flavor is evenly balanced between the malt and hops with a touch of roast character in there. Not much crystal character in the beginning. A touch of burnt caramel comes through in the finish. Very clean malt profile and easy drinking. A slight bit of oxidation in the flavor, but I would blame the handling more than the brewer. Even though the place I bought it had it in the fridge, who knows how long it had been in the back? Overall, a nice beer that is true to style and is easy drinking.

Bomber poured into a pint glass. Pours orangish brown with a thick, creamy, lacy tan head. Aroma is grainy and sweet with a coppery metallic note. Flavor is better with a big toasty caramel note along with toffee and slight orange. Vague mineral finish. Pretty full flavored and tasty. Chewy mouthfeel, good drinkability.

Personally, I don't like the beer too much. As my palate isn't the best in the world, the other reviews can attest to my evaluation. I thought that it smelled a bit yeasty, caramel, malty, and well, almost like a lambic (sourish). There was a decent lace, off-white head.

The taste was kind of bleh. Like the previous reviewers, wasn't well balanced. After the airporter this was a bit of a let down. although I will say it was an appreciated attempt at a good red, it left my stomach/taste buds wanting more.

Bottle from Beverages 4 Less. Pours cloudy copper with a huge, rocky, long-lasting off-white head. Apples, malt, hay, sugar, metal, and bread in the nose. Taste was pleasant, but lacking. Brown sugar, malt, grain, cereal, honey, and noble hops, but unbalanced.

A: Pours a hazy brownish amber with a big fluffy white head that lingers for a while leaving some pretty good lacing.

S: Smell is light, sweet malts...almost like amped up apple juice. There was some caramel sweetness and maybe a hint of hops, but not much.

T: Caramel malts hit up front in the taste with a little bit of pine hop bitterness in the background. There is also a grainy medicinal quality about the taste that doesn't quite sit right for me.

M: Mouthfeel is medium bodied and fairly creamy.

D: This is a decent enough beer, but I wouldn't go out of my way to try it again.

Here's the second beer of the Second Unorganized Invitational: St. Brendan's Irish Red. It appears to be named after brewer Brendan Moylan, who I though only worked one brewery. He works two? I'll find out for sure later, but right now, let's move on to the beer:

Pours a semi-murky orangish brown, and in the glass it's a chill hazed darker orange. The head shows some sticky action and retains well on top. Aroma is malty and sweet. There's some caramel, dark bread, and faint astringent malt. The taste is a bit one-dimensional, lots of bready flavor here. There's a splash of hops which create a snap of fruitiness, but that's the most complex this beer gets. It's mostly monoflavored, and that paired with it's 6% ABV holds down the overall enjoyement. One bomber is more than enough here.

Two beers down with four to go here in the Second Unorganized Invitational. Stay tuned for tomorrow.

A - Reddish-orange clear brew with a decent-sized, short-lived, cream-colored head. Some narrow delicate lacing.

S - A malty smelling brew with some slightly peppery and mossy aroma.

T - A malty amber malt. Sounds redundant, but it is very malty. There is a hint of sourness that is not terribly pleasant. The aftertaste is a slightly bland bitter malt flavor.

M - Smooth, thick, very refreshing.

D - Alright. It is an okay brew, but it is nothing worth seeking out. It is a mediocre Irish Red. I won't have again. Moylan's Danny's Red is a better beer.

22 ounce bottle from Hi Time Wine Cellar, February 2008, tasted in March of the same year. Price not recorded.

Pours an amber-orange-red with a decent head at first. Even with nice carbonation of tiny bubbles, the beer is only able to keep a thin cover over the beer after about 3 minutes.

Aroma is malty, slightly medicinal, lemony. Flavor is a lightly caramelized toffee and a moderate piney hop finish. Moderate mouthfeel really doesn't have much to describe it. It's not bad, just there.

A decent beer for someone who isn't really a lover of the red ale style, not bad, it's fine, easy to drink. Decent middle of the road beer.

22 oz. glass bottle- color of deep honey , with a thick white colored head - nose of honey dew melon, hops, and slight chocolaty malt – taste of malty, citrus (orange), and crisp - body is medium, and with fairly high carbonation – aftertaste of orange, slight malt, slight hops, and medium lasting

I found this beer subtle and interesting.
Pours a nice red amber with a small head that leaves a slightly sticky lacing in it's wake.

Aroma is subdued amber malt with a bit of toastiness to it...some bread, and very little hops.

Taste is definitely a bready sweet amber malt with very little hops presence at the end.

A very subdued Irish red I found very pleasant none the less. A clean mouthfeel follows everything and you definitely feel like you've had an honest Irish red when you've finished it.