I have received quite a few requests to review non-alcoholic beers. You may not be surprised to learn that all of them have come from the Department of Morality, that being my much better half. Happy spouse, happy house, is the way the politically correct saying goes. I figured if JT and Wes Anfo can do 0% brew reviews then I can certainly belly up to the booze free bar and do some sober sampling.
Which is a semi-smooth segue into our brew of the hour, Sober Carpenter out of Montreal and their Rouse Irlandaise sans Alcool. At the risk of provoking the ire of the COMDB translation department, not to mention a violation of their collective agreement, this is a non-alcoholic Irish Red. *
The name Sober Carpenter brought back memories of the old man, a cranky old carpenter himself. As a kid I was helping him build the cabin and I still remember this exchange:
Old Man: You hammer like lightning kid.
Me: (Beaming with pride) Thanks Dad.
Old Man: Yep, never strike the same place twice.
The missus can confirm that my carpentry skills have not improved to this day as is evident from the cockeyed cabinets, the unfinished finishings, and the dipsy doodle decks that have graced our humble abode over the years.
Time to take this Irish Red for a designated test drive and see if it can muster up something more than a zero. A very dark brown to black pour, with a nice white head that disappeared faster than Farmer Steve when it’s his round. A roasted/burnt malt aroma, atypical. A very light bodied mouthfeel, watery. The first taste is a very light malt and some toffee in there for a lager sweet finish. It stated to evolve into a bit of a burnt smoky ale style. The brew stayed light bodied but the flavour bounced around a bit but settled into a red amber mix.
An Ok brew, nice flavour to it but definitely not your classic red. Something was missing apart from the booze.
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