Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale

Being known to your friends and family as a beer geek has its advantages. My recent natal day was spent hosting a beer and cheese party and receiving numerous beery gifts. One of these, flipped my way by the unsinkable M.T., was Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale, brewed by Cleveland's own Great Lakes Brewing Co. At a spine-tingling 8% and 70 IBUs, these strong red ale wasn't fooling around. Sold in 12oz bottles with a menacing vampiric label, this beer poured with a healthy, ruddy hue and a less than lustrous cream head. In my dark backyard, the stuff looked ominous, but held to a light, it was actually quite a luminous ruby ale.

Nosferatu had a warm, metallic aroma with some sweet fruity and malty notes. That's how the taste started out, too, before veering alarmingly toward bitter and hoptastic. From the nose, I was unsure how this beer could possibly contain such a high percentage and bitterness rating, but that was quickly made apparent with my first sip. While less bombastic than a double IPA or other hop monsters, this stuff had some life to it.

Despite the wicked handle, Nosferatu Imperial Red Ale proved to be a refined villain, more suave than evil. I found it very enjoyable. A bit more emphasis on the malty front end to match the scent would have been nice, but this was an otherwise outstanding brew.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

G'Night Imperial Red IPA

G'Night Imperial Red IPA comes from the Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard, North Carolina. I had a 16oz can of the stuff, which weighs in at a dastardly 8.7% alcohol. It was a clear, amber brew crowned with a solid ivory head.

There was a strong waft of hoppy, hempy aromas. This pungent brew trod the line between boozy sweetness and heavy bitterness. There was quite a bit more going on on the malt side of the spectrum than I expected. There were notes of raisin, hemp, toffee, and pine.

This full-flavoured beer packed quite a boozy wallop. It was sweeter that I'd have guessed, but definitely interesting.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Red on Red Collaboration Ale

Red on Red Collaboration Ale is a project between Barrie, Ontario's Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery and Surrey, British Columbia's Central City Brewers + Distillers. The label on the 750mL bottle nicely marries the Monkeys' and Central City's emblems (a winged monkey and a woman on a bicycle). At a liver-rattling 9.5% alcohol and 80 IBUs, Red on Red is billed as an "Imperial Double-Red". There's a lot on the label about this being an "East Meets West" venture. As someone who comes from one of Canada's Atlantic provinces, I have to object to Ontario being referred to as Eastern Canada. The Maritimes and Newfoundland exist, you guys. And Quebec is huge!

It's a very attractive not-quite-clear ale that falls somewhere between ruby and amber. It pours with a thick and loose layer of tan head. There is a sweet and malty nose that has some copper notes and a vivid hops tail.

This ale is definitely a slow sipper that tastes every bit as forte as its 9.5%. It moves from sweet, warm, and slightly metallic to fiercely bitter hops 'n' booze.

This stuff is easily the most substantial, full-bodied red ale that I've ever sampled. If you're into strong and bitter, but tired of Imperial I.P.A.s, Red to Red provides a really excellent alternative. I haven't got a single bad thing to say about this brute, except that it appears to have been a one time deal. Really excellent work from two strong Canadian breweries.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.