First of all, I know it’s not the first day of spring. But it seemed like a good spring time brew to go with an Easter weekend. That religious holiday with chocolate eggs and an imaginary rabbit delivering them. Not sure what symbolism is going on here, but when it comes to eggs as symbols, who better than our egg head editor to unravel the mystery.* I will deal with the mystery of this Red IPA.
Just like it’s not the first day of spring, this isn’t my first Red IPA. I must admit, the genre confounds me. This one from Forked River unfolded like a classic 3 act play.**
Act 1 is a fulsome frothy float of a head above the red, and well red it is. It is a pretty pint, picture perfect. But the aroma! A nutty hoppy aroma, not an endearing combination. What the hell is that all about? How can something so pretty smell like sweet potatoes! Time to pinch my nose and take a quaff. The taste is some roast malt with hops combine for a nutty buddy. Rough and reddy. The hops and malt in a battle royal for global dominance of my pint. Why can’t we all just get along? So the first act is all over the place.
However, and there is a however. I have decided this is a dark pale ale, the definitive beer tasting oxymoron. The second act is a Tree Topper style hoppy red, the poor man’s amber, a full flavour brew with mild bitters on the finish. A nice comeback from a potential poor pour.
Act 3 finishes with a return to the malt hop stand-off, hops starting to stand out a bit as it warms, but things seem to be balancing rather than battling, and this tasting finishes off with a hoppy red full flavoured brew.
It’s not the first day of spring, but it’s the first day of something, I just can’t recall what that something is.***
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