Station 33 Firehouse Red
North Country Brewing

Station 33 Firehouse RedStation 33 Firehouse Red
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
North Country Brewing
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Irish Red Ale
Ranked #101
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
79
Ranked #26,560
Avg:
3.45 | pDev: 13.91%
Reviews:
43
Ratings:
152
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 19, 2023
Added:
Apr 09, 2005
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  39
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of rclangk
Rated by rclangk from West Virginia

3.62/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
9/2023 Cappelli’s, Washington PA
Oct 19, 2023
Photo of jadpsu
Reviewed by jadpsu from Georgia

3.45/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Purchased at Wegman's
LOOK: Pours a ruby red with a cream colored head of very good retention along with significant side glass lace and showing high level of carbonation. This is a good-looking beer.
AROMA: Some bread malts, cream coffee and some roasty caramel malts, as well as cold steel.
TASTE: Goes from a good-looking beer to a beer with little flavor. The caramel and coffee is there in the taste but not in a pleasant way. Sweet and dry.
Disappointing.
Aug 22, 2023
Photo of burnstar
Reviewed by burnstar from Pennsylvania

3.61/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Pours a pretty dark red with a medium head and some lacing on the surface. Smell is really unique- really strong butterscotch and toffee. It's good but it's also assertive and distinct enough that it seems a little off. There's the same flavor through the beer but it's not as distinct as in the smell. Caramel, but it's also got that butterscotch thing in the finish and the overwhelming nose upfront. It's balanced with some hops. Medium bodied. Drinkable. I like it but it's also a little odd.
Apr 02, 2022
 
Rated: 3.25 by SouthCrescent from Pennsylvania

Jan 16, 2022
Photo of DrBeergood
Reviewed by DrBeergood from Ohio

4/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L: Looks red, brighter than Smithwicks. Decent amount of fine carbonation quickly receding into a ring of lacing with a glossy surface.

S: Mellow hops over bright exuberant malts.

T: After an IPA this is practically sweet. It's bready like Shiner Bock with the addition of roasty toasty caramelized grains. The flavor is quite nice. I like it more than traditional Irish reds and I think it will beat Conways this year.

F: Lively mouthfeel and savory on the finish.

O: I can see why this is the flagship. It's balanced and approachable. The price point is good. You could say that you want it to be /more/, well here's some news for you, flagships are moderate on purpose to get you asking just that. Try their Series beers next.
Jan 16, 2022
Photo of mvanaskie13
Reviewed by mvanaskie13 from Pennsylvania

3.55/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a narrow pint glass: color is amber, opaque but not quite hazy, head is light tan/light amber, head presents 2+ fingers thick with frothy top that lingers quite long.

Smell is strong maltiness - odd mix of toffee and caramel, heavy/strong notes of both with some grassy, earthy hops in the background.

Taste is similarly strongly malt forward/heavy - toffee and caramel, grassy and earthy hops, light spiciness and a rough grainy flavor.

Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness, lingering sweet/bitter feel.

Overall a big caramel/toffee malty ale thats come through with an odd flavor that I can't describe well other than thinking its the combined malt flavors coming through.
Nov 23, 2021
 
Rated: 3.49 by Budlum from Maryland

Jun 25, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

Jun 16, 2020
 
Rated: 3.5 by rickklein9 from Pennsylvania

Apr 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3.55 by Blogjackets from Ohio

Mar 18, 2020
 
Rated: 4.05 by brutalist from Pennsylvania

Sep 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.51 by ProNR from Florida

Aug 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4.68 by mbbiggins from Pennsylvania

Oct 03, 2018
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz can into a pint glass, gift from Grisha, thanks comrade!

clear ruby red body, small cream colored head tinged with pink. decent carbonation, but not much lacing.

Strong malty aroma.

Well, the aroma doesn't lie, it's a malty drink. not much else going for it. fairly smooth and a little sweet. Drink seems a bit "light".

mouth between medium and full. there is an odd burn in the back of the mouth. abv is only 5.5, so i'm not sure where the burn comes from.

overall, i'm okay with a malty brew, ESB's, English style ales, etc. this one seems just a bit off, especially in the finish. could be an age issue I guess.
Jul 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3 by npdevil27 from Massachusetts

Jun 06, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by Catena724 from Pennsylvania

Feb 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.93 by MKrauss from Pennsylvania

Jan 26, 2018
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.74/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
North Country Brewing "Station 33 Firehouse Red"
12 fl. oz. can, "CANNED 05/24/17" and sampled 08/17/17
$2 @ Wegmans, State College, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: Nice can. Great design with good colors, it really stands out on the shelf. Very deep reddish-mahogany body beneath a finger-thick head of creamy khaki colored foam. Surprisingly dark. It doesn't look like the head will last long but we'll see. The aroma is malty with that Irish red ale mix of caramel with a touch of roasted malt. It's toasty and grainy and sweetish with an edge of roastiness that can sometimes seem like bittersweet chocolate. Let's see if the taste is the same, oh wait, the head has already dropped to just a very thin surface covering. OK, it's definitely got that roasted edge working, and there seems to be some chocolate malt in there as well. The richer graininess that I found in the aroma isn't really there though, but more underneath. It's a hint fruity, mainly apple, and there are some spicy and grassy hops in play. Somewhat nutty as well. Hmmm, I feel like the aroma was better than the flavor. Still, it's pretty full flavored, it's just not as balanced as I'd have hoped. There seems to be a touch of acidity to it that kind of deflates the malt. On the other hand, it's a little sticky in the finish, with sweet malt lingering so I'm not sure if that wouldn't be even worse without the acidity. I'm still getting grassiness in the finish, and there's also a kind of raspy edge of something going on, I initially thought it was roastiness but I'm not finding that now. Lots of apple as it warms though. Meh, it's OK but I wouldn't buy it again. Just a basic red ale. Medium bodied with a dextrinous side. Median carbonation.
Aug 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by Yancey82 from Pennsylvania

Jul 20, 2017
Photo of EMV
Reviewed by EMV from Pennsylvania

3.42/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 oz can into a tulip

L: Semi-opaque copper brown pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head. Falls fast... spotty lacing.

S: Malts and caramel. Toffee... and bread.

T/F: Fairly straightforward caramel malt flavor. Rich and bready... semi-sweet with hop bittering at the finish (not a lot of hop character.. just bitterness to round it out). Earthy... a little nutty. Medium in body... well carbonated. Finish is malty.

O: A fairly average red ale. Drinkable... kind of forgettable, but if you like the style it's certainly not a bad beer. Just not one I'd reach for.
Jun 03, 2017
Station 33 Firehouse Red from North Country Brewing
Beer rating: 79 out of 100 with 152 ratings