4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20 TheBeerLover (1026) - DC Metro Area, USA - JAN 27, 2006
This beer is a classic American amber/red ale that is big on hop aromas, flavors, and bitterness, but also has enough malt sweetness to balance that assault of hops. It is brewed with Centennial, Chinook, and Cascade hops, and then dry hopped with another huge dose of Centennials. These locally grown hop varieties make American IPAs or pale ales, what they are, but with a red ale, lots of malt is key flavor component to the style. Trailhead Red is brewed with 5 malts including pale, ESB, wheat, crystal, and Munich malts, giving the beer the malt backbone it needs to stand up to all those hops.
Trailhead Red pours to a beautiful, deep amber to ruby red color with a thick and creamy light tan head, and a moderate amount of carbonation. The nose on this beer is so fresh and aromatic with big citrus aromas of grapefruit and lemon rind, with hints of ripe fruit and sweet malt. The palate is firm on the tongue with lots of big pale and sweet malt flavors paired with some plumy estery fruit flavors, and a nice back drop of candied grapefruit hop flavor. Trailhead Red finishes with more sweet malty, and candied fruit flavors up front, then ends with a zesty burst of grapefruit/lemon hop bitterness that cuts the edge of the sweet maltiness and lingers with bitterness.
Trailhead Red is a fantastic example of American Red Ale, and is well worth taking the trek out to Pacific Crest to try fresh on draught. The Hole in the Wall Barbecue brings the experience to a higher level, and for me makes it a trip any beer lover visiting the PNW must make.
2.4 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 1/5 OVERALL 10/20 Crit (3606) - Surrey, British Columbia, CANADA - JAN 11, 2003
Reddish amber with short beige head. aroma is light malt. Flavor is also light malt with very weak hop end.
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