Stone Pataskala Red X IPA

The Stats
Style: American Amber, Red Ale
ABV: 7.3%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.12/5
- RateBeer: 3.83/5 (mean)

"Pat-ASK-ala? Pata-SKALA? Pa-TASK-a-la? While those in the know favor the third pronunciation, no matter how you say it, this is a unique red IPA. The beer was first brewed in September 2015 to support music and arts education programs in Pataskala, Ohio, where Stone co-founder Greg Koch grew up. People there loved it, so we added the beer to our seasonal lineup. The deep crimson hue is courtesy of a fairly new special German malt variety by BESTMALZ called Red X. Dry-hopped with Mosaic, Cascade and Amarillo hops, this beer is incredibly citrus-forward, rounded out with biscuit and toffee notes. We think you’ll find this red IPA to be quite deliciously satisfying, no matter how you choose to pronounce it."

Pours a clear, gorgeous, dark ruby red with three fingers of a fluffy, eggshell, almost yellowish head.

The aroma has an interesting mix of grassy hops and toast or even Cheerios.

West Coast garlic and onion hops hit you up front first followed by a sweet caramel and toffee combination which levels out the hop intensity. As it heads towards the back, the malts come forward with almost a multi-grain bread or burnt toast flavor. It's almost like the aforementioned Cheerios taste, but it's soggy cereal: still good, but wet and grainy. As it warms a nice kick of pine and spruce add complexity. The aftertaste has no unpleasant lingering flavors, but it might be a tad too clean.

Mouthfeel is medium with less carbonation than I expected, but not flat. It's dry on the finish, but not a dessert in your mouth and has no alcohol presence.

The Red Ale isn't know for many (if any) examples that are considered world class load blowers, and Pataskala is no exception. That's not a knock against Stone, it's a criticism of the style itself. Still, this does have a bit more complexity than other examples as the hops weren't drowned out by the malts and the burnt toast added some light roast to a sweet caramel tone. At the end of the day, it's a slightly better Red Ale than most.

Rating
7.7/10

Revolution Brewing Red Skull

The Stats
Style: American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 8.3%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.06/5
- RateBeer: 3.63/5

As I said in my prior review of Mosaic-Hero IPA, Revolution Brewing out of Chicago is here in Massachusetts in full force. I spotted today's beer at only one store, so I had to snatch it up. It's an Imperial Red Ale brewed with Cascade hops and then dry-hopped with Citra.

A beautiful dark, ruby red on the pour that was mostly transparent except for some chill haze. I got about a finger of eggshell/yellowish head.

Sweet malts and subtle citrus on the aroma with just a tinge of pine.

Some nice dank hop bitterness greets me first which is nice since it was absent from the aroma. The malt presence is big and bold, but it doesn't distract from the fresh hop taste. In fact, the malts lend an underlying caramel flavor that makes this sweet until the pine and spruce show up. It sounds crazy, but the pine with the fresh hop taste kind of makes me think of walking through a row of wet Christmas trees. That combined with the sweet, sugary flavors gives off just the faintest bit of maple syrup. The finish comes back to some resinous pine sap and a tiny bit of juicy hops.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied with good carbonation. No alcohol taste or warming at all. It finish a little dry, but overall smooth.

Red Skull is a great example of the Red Ale. While a bigger hop juice presence would have been welcome, this still has a full flavor palette chock-full of enough pine, citrus, and sweet malts to satisfy any lover of the style.

Rating
8.5/10

Finch's Beer Co Fascist Pig

The Stats
Style: American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 8.00%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.66/5
- RateBeer: 3.34/5

All Red Ales seem to be the same. Ideally you want big hops and caramel malts, but most of the time breweries settle for a by-the-book recipe which leaves the consumer with a bland, uneventful beer. I will be diving into my first Finch's beer with their own Red Ale and hopefully they can bring a change of pace to the style.

Pours a transparent dark orange/dark amber with a finger of yellowish head.

The aroma is dry, caramel malts with some hop juice, resin and hints of pine.

While I didn't pick up any fruity hops on the nose, the first sip in yields some fresh pineapple. After that the presence of sticky resin and bitter pine work your tastebuds over. The back end has a significant amount of rye and malts. Actually, the sheer amount of malt taste would lead you to believe this is a Black IPA.

The malts and rye really linger on the tongue after the finish. Speaking of the finish, this is noticeably dry, almost desert-like. I will say I was surprised to see that this was 8.00% as it drinks much smoother and lighter than its abv would suggest.

At the end of the day, Fascist Pig is your typical, everyday Red Ale. Admittedly this example of the style does let the caramel malts shine through better than most, and the addition of the pineapple on the taste was as welcome as it was unexpected. Hops are present, but I was hoping for a more hoppy offering instead of the abundance of malt and rye. Still, I'd have no reluctance in picking up a 4-pack to enjoy.

Rating
7.9/10

Trillium Deciduous

The Stats
Style: Imperial IPA/American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 8.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.96/5
- RateBeer: 3.73/5

Described as a "Red IPA", Deciduous appears to be a combination of IPA and Red Ale. Usually trying to combine two styles into a new breed of IPA doesn't yield mind-blowing results, but if Trillium is doing it, then we have hope.

Pours a murky, red/brownish/burgundy with two fingers of white head.

A lot of malt on the nose. Very nice bitter hop presence with maybe a faint resin and a tiny bit of of a raisin or dark cherry.

The taste is pretty much small amounts of resin with some pine. Hops are hidden far in the distance. It has a touch of a honey sweetness, but not sugary or overpowering. The malts are more prominent than the hops, but that's not to say this a malt bomb. No one taste really stands out and it can be pretty bland.

While the flavors don't wow you on the taste, the beer itself isn't watered down. It has a medium feel with ok carbonation.

As I said before, these hybrid styles can be disappointing and Trillium Deciduous is no exception. It's not a bad beer or hard to drink by any means, but the flavors don't pop on the nose or palate. Given the two styles they were trying to incorporate, I wish there was more of a hop presence with some stronger pine and caramel.

Rating
7.3/10