Brewer's Blood Imperial Amber Ale
Matt Brewing Company / Saranac Brewery

 

Poured into a standard pint glass: color is amber, a little opaque with decent head thats about 1/2 inch thick with fine bubbles and good lacing.

Smell is heavy caramel and resiny hops, a bit sweet and strong bitterness, might be a touch aged.

Taste is better, smoother, softer with lighter caramel but still prominent, hops are piney, earthy, resinous.

Mouthfeel is very good for the strength, style and leading caramel sweetness - you might think this brew would be cloying and harshly bitter but there is a softening component to the mouthfeel that works very well to complement the hops and malt.

Overall a good beer, a softer amber/imperial ipa but still dominant caramel notes. I've had many Saranac brews and this is slight deviation to form as the keep variety but stick to traditional more subtle/traditional styles - but anyway a well executed strong ale from them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Been a while since I've picked up anything by Saranac, though I recall being fond of some of their variety packs a few years ago due to the attractive pricing and decent variety (they were each, as far as I can recall, six styles of beer in a 12 pack format, which I prefer over 4 or 3 styles in the same size pack by far). Figure it's time I revisit them with what appears to be a decently well-rated hoppy double red ale. Seems that this was brewed by Saranac at Harpoon's Windsor, VT production brewery according to the collar label.

Pours an attractive deep amber with a small but retentive head of hazy khaki-colored foam. Caps off the body decently well and laces in small, semi-sticky rings as it fades slowly. Very nice color and overall good looking.

Nose is heavy on the caramel malt and pine resin, though there's some orange peel, ginger, grapefruit pith and coconut/vanilla with some light spicy notes and a bit of an herbal aspect as well. Smells better than expected. Surprisingly well-rounded and complex with a somewhat apparent ethanol note as well... this one holds back very little!

On the tongue, I get some rye-like spiciness along with caramel and toffee, coconut and ethanol as well as piney and herbal hops... this is leafy and green despite its apparent coloration. With the big, bold malty center, it's reminding me a bit of Green Flash's Hop Head Red from what I recall of it. Slick, oily, hoppy and chewy but not quite balanced; definitely a hop-leaning brew here despite the inimitable sticky caramel malt backbone.

Feel is a bit on the heavier side of medium with a viscous palate from the huge, semi-sweet maltiness. Carbonation is about average; adequate but not overbearing at all. Finish is, as mentioned above, oily and semi-slick with a hefty dryness and some perfumey alcohol notes. Would definitely buy again; this was surprisingly high-quality.

 

 

 

 

The beer pours a nice white creamy head that dissipates fairly quickly but leaves a nice ring around the inside of the glass. The beer itself is a very nice clear ruby color that looks very nice. In fact, this is one of the better looking imperial red ales out there.

The smell is good. It has a very nice sweet caramel smell that mixes well with the pine hop note. The hop note is bitter but isn't overwhelming. Rather, it's a nicely balanced pine resin note that mixes well with the sweet malt notes.

The taste is surprisingly different than the smell. The taste is closer to a nice pine note but warms up to a resin one. The malt caramel note is still sweet and there; balancing the hop notes and mixing with at the same time with a nice seamless transition.

The feel is still medium bodied but on the heavier side. It has a bit of stickiness to it that keeps it from being smooth but the carbonation gives it a nice texture.

Overall, a pretty good beer and definitely worth the price paid. I really enjoyed this beer and highly recommend it.

 

 

I like this beer. good job saranac. Actually I love this beer

Exceptional hoppiness!!