Redhook No Equal Amber Lager

Rant time. Firstly, Redhook has tried very hard to re-market itself, which I think is great. They put out this “Blueline” Series for reserve beers, but have completely failed to update their website since the ESB came out. If you are going to spend all that money on new packing and a new website, you could at least update it. Secondly, I abhor soccer. An hour and a half long game that ends in 0-0 ties? And the so-called “hooligans” that sing songs and start fights? I guess you have to do something while watching 22 people run around kicking a ball. Then I just read that the Sounders bought the hosting rights so they didn’t have to travel to Atlanta for a game. What kind of league is this? Anyways, this has caramel malts and Noble hops or something.

Stats:
Amber Lager. 5.2% ABV. Washington. Limited Release.

Dark amber to caramel in color with an okay head.

Just a little bit of caramel on the nose with just a hint of noble hops.

Mouthfeel is okay. Light to medium body with high carbonation.

Just a hint of caramel and vanilla up front which transitions to a slight hop flavor and then ends on this wonderful, amazing grainy finish.

This beer is completely lackluster until the finish. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really make it worth a buy. I’m sure some yuppie hooligans with green colored mohawks will be upset at me. Shucks. 82 points.

Redhook Extra Special Birthday

To celebrate their 30th birthday, Redhook is bringing back the banana beer. The version of their ESB in the early 80′s was brewed with a Belgian yeast that gave it a considerable banana flavor. I’m pretty excited to try this one, and I hope it’ll be better than the first in the Blueline Series.

Stats:
Extra Special Bitter. 6.5% ABV. 65 IBUs. Washington. Limited Release.

Very dark orange color. The pour leaves a bit of head and some lacing.

Candy bananas, dark malts, chocolate, cherries, and yeast on the nose.

Mouthfeel is pretty good. Medium body with medium-high carbonation.

Bananas, cloves, chocolate, cherries, rum on the palate. Hint of alcohol and it’s oddly bitter.

This is a strange beer. It certainly has that banana flavor. Actually it has quite a bit of flavor, but it’s astringent and off-balanced. 84 points.

Redhook ESB

This is a classic Washington beer. I’ve had it many times before, and you can find it just about anywhere. For whatever reason, Redhook calls it an ESB, but refers to it as an amber. This beer features Pale, Caramel, and Carapils malts with Alchemy, Willamette, Centennial, and Crystal hops.

Stats:
Extra Special Bitter. 5.8% ABV. 28 IBUs. Washington.

It’s a light orange color. Not all that much head.

The nose is mostly malty with some lighter fruits and a caramel and brown sugar thing. Not a bad nose at all.

Mouthfeel is actually very nice. It’s a good medium body with a little chewy-ness.

Brown sugar and malty-ness mixed in with some orange, apple, and apricot. Actually a bit of hop bitterness on the finish that tends to balance it out with a nice hint of floral notes.

Not too much to say about this one. It’s pretty straight forward and certainly worth a purchase. The flavors aren’t anything special, but it at least brings some, so I can’t complain too much. I’m not getting any diacetyl like you’d often expect for the style. 86 points.

Redhook Long Hammer IPA

I’m sure many of you out there have had this beer. I think Redhook is a gateway beer for a lot of people, at least around here. It’s everywhere and it’s fairly cheap. This was probably my first IPA. I have actually reviewed this one before in a head-to-head blind tasting, and my score was actually only one off of this one review. This IPA is brewed with Pale, Caramel, and Munich malts with Alchemy, Cascade, and Willamette hops.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 6.5% ABV. 44 IBUs. Washington.

Bright orange/yellow color. Head doesn’t last too long but does leave some sticky lacing. It’s fairly clear but has suspended sediment.

The nose is mainly piney hops, a splash of orange, and you do get a little bit of grain. Very straight-forward, nothing special here.

Mouthfeel is light to medium, high drinkability.

Pine and orange citrus, and a little hint of grain. That flavor profile pretty much extends throughout. The finish has quite a bit of hop bitterness with a nail polish remover and a slight veggie flavor.

This is very light, and a little bit off-balanced. Frankly, it’s just a boring and simple IPA. It screams “run of the mill.” 82 points.

Redhook Pilsner

Continuing with the Redhook lineup, we have a Czech style pils. Again, website is still not updated. I love me a good pils in the Summer, and I hope this is one I can recommend.

Stats:
Czech Pilsner. 5.3% ABV. Washington.

Nice golden color. Very clear with a lot of carbonation streams. Head doesn’t last.

Nice grainy nose. Not a whole lot of hops on here, but there is a bit of a hop spice and citrus coming through.

Light to medium body with a nice carbonation crispness.

Lots of grainyness with a little bit of hops to balance, but definitely more on the malt side on this Pils. It’s a fairly typical pils flavor profile, but it’s incredibly crisp and clean.

I’m really enjoying this one. I love just how crisp and easy drinking this is. It also pairs well with food and is going to be a great Summer beer. Give this one a go. 86 points.

Redhook Wit

This is a new seasonal witbier from Redhook. They are still working on their new website, so there is no information about this beer yet, but I know they do add ginger into this beer.

Stats:
Witbier. 5.3% ABV. Washington.

Yellow pale color and hazy. No head.

Nose isn’t bad, it’s mainly a ginger and citrus play. A lot of fresh citrus with some spices and ginger and a hair of yeast.

Mouthfeel is light, and fairly watery.

Well the nose is better than the palate. This is pretty watered down and light. You do get that ginger and citrus but it’s just too light. Not much else to say here.

This beer isn’t great, but if you are looking for a Blue Moon alternative and are just branching out into beer, give it a shot. But do NOT drink this beer with food, otherwise it’ll just taste like water. 78 points.

Redhook Blueline Series Dunkelweizen

So Redhook is completely rebranding their products. They’ve changed the bottles and the labels, and I’m liking both. Now, keep in mind this is the second time they’ve tried rebranding. But they just had their big announcement to get some traction on their side and get people, especially the craft people, to take another look at their product. It looks like they have also started a new “Blueline Series” and this seems to be the first of the series. Their website has yet to be updated with their new marketing and doesn’t list this beer yet. I will say that it’s a dunkelweizen, which excited me because it’s one of my favorite styles. Let’s see how Redhook is doing.

Stats:
Dunkelweizen. 6.0% ABV. Washington.

Dirty and hazy looking. Brown/yellowish.

Lotta esters coming through here. I’m getting some wheat and yeast mixed in with a ton of banana and clove. Brown sugar and honey also make an appearance. Good start.

Mouthfeel isn’t bad. Maybe a little bit too light, but a decent medium bodied feel.

Huge esters on the initial with a ton of candy banana flavor with some clove. The flavor just dies after that into a nothingness. Seriously, the flavor just dies and turns into a honey water flavor with a little bit of wheat.

This is just disjointed and losses all the flavor on the finish, while the initial palate has a ton of flavor, it’s almost over-the-top with the esters. This is a rough start, but you will be seeing me review their whole lineup coming soon. 81 points.

Redhook Eisbock 28

My roommate was kind enough to let me have half a bottle of this….because he hated it. I’m a little hesitant with these beers due to the high price, so I never got myself to buy one before. Redhook actually refers to this as an iced winter warmer, which isn’t exactly an eisbock, and I’m curious how different their base recipe is from the Winterhook. This beer features 2-Row Pale, Caramel, Vienna, and Munich malts with Alchemy and Sterling hops.

Stats:
Eisbock. 11.0% ABV. 30 IBUs. Washington. Fall/Winter 2010 Release.

Caramel/reddish color with a white head.

The nose is a bit closed with caramel, a hint of olive oil, and alcohol coming through. There is a little vanilla, that I like, but it has this medicinal quality that I do not like.

Mouthfeel isn’t bad, though a tad light.

Similar to the nose. It has some decent brown sugar, vanilla, and otherwise similar winter warmer palate, but the alcohol and sweetness are out of control. The alcohol wasn’t bad when it was cold, but as it warms, it comes out quite a bit. The sweetness is overbearing for my palate.

Not a great beer, and not for my palate. 81 points.

Redhook Winterhook ’10

This is Redhook’s winter beer, Winterhook. This beer has been around in one form or another since 1985! This beer features Caramel, Pils, Chocolate, Vienna and NW 2-Row malts with Cascade, Willamette, Northern Brewer, and Centennial hops. Let’s see if this can compete with all the other great winter warmers.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 5.9% ABV. Washington. 42 IBUs. Available October-December.

A lighter colored winter warmer but actually keeps a pretty nice head.

The nose is definitely malt forward, but it does have some hops coming through. It’s slightly sweet, with lots of caramel, spice, vanilla, grapes, and blueberries.

Mouthfeel is a little light, but the carbonation and light mouthfeel give it a pleasant drinkability.

Same as the nose, lots of malts with all that caramel, spice, and fruit coming through. It’s actually balanced pretty well with the hops. The only problem here is that the flavor is pretty light, especially when it’s cold.

This isn’t terrible, and is one of the more drinkable and sessionable winter beers that I’ve had. Unfortunately, Redhook didn’t put enough flavor in here for me to go out of my way for it. 84 points.

Redhook Big Ballard

This is Redhooks new imperial IPA. This beer features all Munich malts with Alchemy, Willamette, Sterling, Northern Brewer, and Cascade hops.

Stats:
Imperial India Pale Ale. 8.6% ABV. 73 IBUs. Washington.

Dark amber in color, leaves some great lacing.

Very hoppy nose with lots of citrus on this one. Lots of orange and apricots coming through here, but has some nice earthy, pine undertones.

Good medium bodied mouthfeel.

Very, very hoppy palate. They aren’t joking around about the hops. Very citrus forward, but has a bit of pine and earth. Considerable bitterness on the back end.

Well this beer is not going to be fore a lot of people. Severely bitter and a bit off-balanced, but probably a better example of an imperial from Washington. Decent price tag, so check it out if you want some hops. 86 points.