Phoenix Red
Etna Brewery

Poured from a 12 ounce bottle purchased at the North Coast Co-op in Eureka, CA. Body is amber-edged mahogany. The head is short lived -- barely half an inch -- off-white, no lacing. The smell is heavy: musty, sweet melons, brown sugar, vegetable bitterness (cooked asparagus). Taste: opens earthy sweet (cooked corn on the cob, buttered) followed by a long-lasting bitter note that tingles the edges of my palate. Mouthfeel: creamy, doesn't stick; plenty carbonated.

 

 

Pours a nice amber color with a decent creamy-ish head.

Smell has a nice malty presence with the addition of some spiciness and a little floral aroma.

Taste is rather malty but what catches me off-guard is the hoppy bitterness of this red ale which is rather earthy, decent creaminess as well and easily drinkable for the style.

Pours a dark amber color, with a decent white head.

Aromas are nice. Very malty with notes of cereal grains and earthy pine like hops.

Flavor is crisp, clean, spicy, and a bit tea like. Finish has a little bit of bitterness to it, mostly pine like hop flavors. This is a lighter take on the American Amber. It's still got lots of flavors, but they don't hit you over the head like some other beers do. Reminds me a lot of Alaskan Amber. That's a good thing.

Mouthfeel is clean and smooth.

Drinkability is good. This beer isn't going to wow you, but it is tasty, and an easy drinking amber ale.

The beer pours a nice amber color with a thick frothy white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a good malty scent and a slight citrous hop aroma. It has a grainy scent as well. The taste is good. It has a light, yet malty core with a smooth hop finish. It goes down easy with good mouthfeel. It is a low/medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a fine red/amber ale. It has good malt character and hop qualities; a good drinker.

I’ve given this beer a nickname. I call it Polite Cousin in that it appears to be a distant and tamer relative of Arrogant Bastard. The enormous and profoundly malty aroma delivered by Phoenix Red is exceptional. Few beers can boast a fragrance this distinguished and robust. The smell is positively symphonic in its complexity and grace – a standout feature to be certain.

The taste doesn’t fully carry the aroma as emphatically as one might hope. However, the malt profile is succulent and profound with the raw sweetness of unfermented wort. Scale the bitterness downwards a notch or two and tilt this beer unabashedly towards the malt and I think Phoenix Red would give its arrogant southern cousin a good run for the money.

Meanwhile, this is an elegant representation of an amber ale. It pours a tall head with modest retention and decent lace. The brew is clear, garnet colored, and has a figgy and dark fruit taste tempered with a compressive bitterness. Again, I would suggest providing less bitterness to enhance the malt’s true nectar. But even so, this Northern California amber is a clear winner for overall drinkability and style.