"Traditionally Crafted, legendary Ruby Beer" it says on the front label.... "Full bodied & well balanced with a chocolate toffee malt flavour, moderate bitterness & a distinctive fruity character & ruby red glow" it says on the back label... sounds nice dosn't it.
The Eye:
It pours clear ruby reddish brown as promised. The head is a meager half finger, that settles much too quickly. The bottle is extremely fancy, with embossing in the glass and fantasy inspired label. Usually when the exteriors are very flamboyant, it is a trick to cover up a lack of "inner" quality
The Nose:
Straight from the fridge, there is not much to brag about. Some hopsy notes, yeast and faint notes of candy and malt. As it warms a bit, there are slight notes of sweet chocolate and raisins.
The Tongue:
It has a general ale like taste, with a good deal of bitterness and acidity from the hops. The body is rather thin and uninteresting. It has some burned notes from malts and medium sweetness, but there are nothing else really in the body, that satisfies your interest. On the backend, there are just fading malts and bitterness
The Verdict:
A disappointing experience. As is often the case with bragging words and fancy looks, there is not much under the hood, when you check it out. There is nothing offensive about it, but the general feeling is just mediocrity. The hops are dangerously close to dominating the basic ale body here, and it is not to my liking, since the body is weak already. You have to seriously swirl the beer to get a nose out of it, compared to other ales that almost jump at you to be noticed. I cannot recommend this one, though it may be fine as a companion to a meal.
The Rating: 2.25 / 5.00
Had it once... Horrible ale. Never again. Definitely must aquire a taste for that.
Agreed, not really interested in aquiring actaste for it :-)
Looking good enough to give it a review!
Looks dont make it alone :-)
I once had this in the UK, but I just remembered the name. It's the problem when you are somewhere where you don't know what's good, you just go by name and description, some are hits, and some are misses.
This one is certainly a miss. Go for the more descrete looking ones... they are usually better :-)
I am personally not a beer fan, but I get to try a lot of them at my job. Thanks for sharing, I always enjoy learning!
I just started a new Adult Beverage tag ... steempub. Feel free to use it. I am trying to get all of the beer, wine, spirits, and cocktail recipe posters to start using that tag. We can all work together to get a great tag going!! if you are interested, I thank you for your support! Cheers! Resteemed from Texas!!