Beer of the Weekend #928: Red Headed Stranger
It’s a beer review!
The beer of the weekend is a beer I bought the day before Thanksgiving, drank and made notes about a few weeks ago, and am finally posting tonight: Red Headed Stranger, brewed by the Big Grove Brewery of Iowa City, Iowa.
The color is ruddy amber. My girlfriend (whom I am trying to think of a nickname for) says it looks like puréed pumpkin. A finger of buttery, bubble-spotted, off-white head settles slowly but evenly, leaving lacing, a skim, and a collar.
The aroma has citrus, tropical fruit, and toasted malt. There are scents of earthy hops, red licorice, caramel, toffee, orange, grapefruit, and some kind of tropical fruit. My girlfriend says it smells like “mellow, fruity dogfood.” It kind of does.
The flavor is hop forward and has an earthy bite that lingers on the taste buds. The citrus is there, but not so much the tropical fruit. It’s a touch spicy, but mostly hoppy. It is partially balanced by malt, which is bready but also provides caramel, toffee, and toast.
Fun facts about Red Headed Stranger:
• Style: Big Grove calls it Red IPA.
• Price: I think it was $9.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 6.8 percent ABV.
• Red Headed Stranger is a seasonal that is available only in November and December.
• This annoys the proofreader in me: the name should be Red-headed Stranger. That does not look good, obviously.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
The beer of the weekend is a beer I bought the day before Thanksgiving, drank and made notes about a few weeks ago, and am finally posting tonight: Red Headed Stranger, brewed by the Big Grove Brewery of Iowa City, Iowa.
The color is ruddy amber. My girlfriend (whom I am trying to think of a nickname for) says it looks like puréed pumpkin. A finger of buttery, bubble-spotted, off-white head settles slowly but evenly, leaving lacing, a skim, and a collar.
The aroma has citrus, tropical fruit, and toasted malt. There are scents of earthy hops, red licorice, caramel, toffee, orange, grapefruit, and some kind of tropical fruit. My girlfriend says it smells like “mellow, fruity dogfood.” It kind of does.
The flavor is hop forward and has an earthy bite that lingers on the taste buds. The citrus is there, but not so much the tropical fruit. It’s a touch spicy, but mostly hoppy. It is partially balanced by malt, which is bready but also provides caramel, toffee, and toast.
Fun facts about Red Headed Stranger:
• Style: Big Grove calls it Red IPA.
• Price: I think it was $9.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce cans at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 6.8 percent ABV.
• Red Headed Stranger is a seasonal that is available only in November and December.
• This annoys the proofreader in me: the name should be Red-headed Stranger. That does not look good, obviously.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
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