Hale's Ale's "Red Menace" Amber Ale

4 out of 5 Hops






Another Seattle staple brewery, Hale's Ale's, and their delicious hoppy amber, Red Menace. I love the name and bottle label for this beer. The bust of Lenin in the picture is of an actual statue located in Fremont, just north of Seattle, where the brewery is located.Here is the story of the statue. I have to love this beer, if just for the label. Truth is though, it tastes good too. Style could be compared to an American Pale Ale, but with more toasted malt flavor and color. Hoppier than its UK cousin but not infringing on the IPA category. This fine brew is deep red color, almost brown until held to the light. The aroma is toasty, malty, and a touch of piney hops. The taste is initially a mild sweetness, then quickly balanced by moderate hop; about 37 IBU. The Centennial hop only is used exclusively for this beer. Bonus points for Single hop beer! The hop oils cling to your mouth for a while afterwards...in a good way though. The flavor has a slight black tea flavor left behind. Not sure my feelings on that. Mouthfeel is full bodied, but not to the point of being thick and creamy. I could not find the ABV for this beer, but given the original gravity of 1.056 I would calculate it is around 6% or just under. There is a bit of yeast sediment in the bottle, which makes me assume this has been bottled conditioned for carbonation. Bonus points for bottle conditioning! Hale's has been around since 1983 and still going strong. Try the Red, and if you like it, Join the Party!

Full Sail LTD Lager Recipe No 04

4 out of 5 Hops



Full Sail is one of those amazing Oregon Brewers that most of my casual drinking friends are not familiar with. Admittedly I was not familiar with them until 2007 when I brewed my first beer; a Full Sail Amber clone. Located on the Hood River, brewing commenced in 1987 and no sign of slowing down now. There are currently 3 LTD Lagers released at different times of the year; 02-March to June, 03-June to September, and 04-December to March. The 04 is a single malt, single hop lager masterpiece. Most beers consist of a blend of malted barley grains for color, flavor, and a base malt for alcohol. Additionally, beers commonly have 2 or more hops for bittering, flavor, and aroma. The LTD 04 allows the drinker to single out the malt and hop flavor independently which is unusual in commercial beer. This lager has a light floral and honey aroma courtesy of Willamette hops and Pale malt barley. Pale malt and lager yeast give this beer a crisp, clean, flavor that makes it suitable for any occasion. I grew up as most of us in the US on watery, tasteless light lagers. It is time for the delicious full body lagers to take a stand change my old expectations of that "lager flavor". Full Sail is amazing. Try the Amber, Pale, Wassail, and the original Session lagers in the shorty bottles. "Stoked to Brew, Brewed to stoke"