Here we go. The last of the birthday beers. This one, like Wednesday's, DC Brau is another east coast brew. Fedricksburg, Virginia's Blue & Gray Brewing Company and their Fred Red Ale. Irish style red ales are not something I see a lot of. Let alone drink. Red ales, I imagine, are usually foregone in place of ambers. The styles are similar, but after drinking this beer, I'm not sure going with an amber instead of a red is such a good idea.
Fred Red ale pours a deep dark, you guessed it, red, that turns a brilliant ruby red when held to light. It's capped by a finger of dense off white head that dissipates fairly quickly and doesn't leave much in the way of lacing.
The aromas on this beer are very sweet. Syrupy, almost apple like notes are prevalent. Not much in the way of hop scent though.
The malt really leads the way on this beer. It's medium bodied and extremely smooth and creamy. Big sweet malt flavors of caramel and molasses backed by a slight fruity flavor as well. The carbonation seems to be a bit lacking but the flavor is enough to keep me coming back. To keep the malt from getting out of hand everything is balanced with a crisp hop bite.
I really enjoyed this beer. Partly because it's a nice change of pace from what I usually drink, partly because it was just darn tasty. A big malty beast of a beer balanced by just enough hops to keep it drinkable and interesting. Highly recommended.
HD
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