Houndstooth Irish Red Ale

It’d been a while since I placed an order from the folks at Eastbound Brewing Co., but checking their website in December showed a couple of new offerings that I wanted to try, including Houndstooth Irish Red Ale. The 5.1% ale comes in 355mL cans. The beer is bronze and pours with a decent covering of creamy head.

Houndstooth has an aroma that touches on caramel, copper, and roasted malt. The flavour starts sweet and bready and ends with caramel and ferrous notes.

Eastbound’s take on the classic Irish style is a pretty solid effort.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Inn O’Sláinte

An Irish red ale from Waterloo, Ontario, Inn O’Sláinte is built by Innocente Brewing Company. It’s a 5.2% alcohol, 18 IBU brew sold in 473mL cans.

Inn O’Sláinte is a coppery ale that pours with a hearty cream-coloured head. Its tinny aroma has brown sugar and caramel notes on a bready base. The flavour has a metallic crackle, surrounded by rich caramel and nicely toasted malts. The beer closes out with a modestly bitter and considerably coppery finish.

For an Irish-style red ale from Waterloo, Inn O’Sláinte has some pretty fair chops. It has adequate strength, considerable flavour, and a sassy look. I’d definitely buy this little ale again.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Red Sunset Irish Ale

By way of Collingwood, Ontario, and delivered to me via my brother, the unsinkable R.A.N., was a 500mL bottle of Red Sunset Irish Ale. Put together by Northwinds Brewery, this Irish red ale clocks in at 5.6% alcohol and 31 IBUs.

A hazy, deep ruby number, Red Sunset pours with a tight fog of creamy head. The beer has a mild metallic and malt nose. Its flavour is packed with sweet caramel notes, balanced against toasty malts and a grainy, unexpectedly bitter finish.

Well made, but not exactly special, Red Sunset is an enjoyable bottle of beer. Coppery, malty, and nice; this was a fine effort from an Ontario brewery that I haven’t heard much about, but will definitely be keeping an eye on. Although hops and bitterness aren’t staples of Irish reds, I’d have enjoyed this one a bit more if there had been a bit more IBU emphasis.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Vulcan Ale

Vulcan Ale comes from Calgary, Alberta's Pluto's Moon Beer Co. This beer contains a reasonable 5.4% alcohol, 33 IBUs, and comes in 473mL cans that make a solid commitment to the Star Trek theme. I took part in a joint review of this Irish Red Ale with my pal Ryan.

According to Ryan, a beer drinker of few words, the nose had a crisp, fresh lightness. There was a solid onset with a weak finish. He called it the kind of beer that you'd drink on a hot day.

My own take was that there was a malt-driven aroma, with rich notes of caramel, brown sugar, and biscuit. It had a very smooth texture and a round, malty flavour. There was considerable sweetness, cloaked in caramel, and a touch of breadiness. The finish kept up the breadiness, and also had a faint dusting of hops edge. This wasn't a bad brew, but other than the odd Vulcan packaging, it wasn't particularly memorable.  Also, the label declares this stuff to be "mind-melding good". Why not "mind-meldingly good"?

Rating: Ryan--7.0 out of 10, Stout Man--7.0 out of 10

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Strong Patrick

Strong Patrick is a Strong Irish Red Ale from Vankleek Hill, Ontario's Beau's All Natural Brewing Co. It comes in 600mL bottles featuring one of my all-time favourite beer labels, featuring a be-shamrocked luchador. Strong Patrick is No. 18 in Beau's Wild Oats Series and contains 6.7% alcohol.

According to the label, a portion of Strong Patrick is aged in whisky casks--this gives the beer a recognizable whisky quality that shows up in both the nose and flavour. Additionally, the aroma is malty and has some notes of raisin. The flavour stays on the malt highway and drives all night. There are notes of caramel and raisin to keep the whisky company.

All told, this beer tastes like some kind of buttery, raisin-y, toffee-y, dessert from the British Isles. There isn't a lot of bitterness to speak of. There is some boozy warmth, but it doesn't taste particularly strong. I'd have liked a bit more hops, but otherwise, this stuff hit the spot.

Strong Patrick pours a handsome amber colour, topped beneath a mountain of of-white foam.


Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Yellowbelly: Fighting Irish Red Ale

I had a pint of Yellowbelly Brewery and Public House's Fighting Irish Red Ale fresh from the source. Weighing in at 5.5% alcohol, it was a deep amber hued ale topped with a silky cream head. Its sweet, malty aroma had a brown sugar and copper accompaniment. There is a pleasant, smooth front end with some bitter crunch at the backdoor. Some brown sugar and molasses notes provide a bit of sweetness and the finish was hoppier than I expected. Additionally, there were some coppery notes.

The Fighting Irish Red Ale is a well rounded beer that moves from malty to bitter. A fine first taste of Yellowbelly's wares, this stuff ensured that I'd come back another day to try some more of their lineup.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Paddy's Irish Red

Another entry from Oakville, Ontario's Trafalgar Ales & Meads, Paddy's Irish Red is a golden coloured ale with a reddish hue.  It's slightly hazy and topped with an off-white head. Paddy's is sold in 473mL cans and contains 5% alcohol. The can declares "We only sell what we can't drink ourselves!"  That's the kind of brewer I know I'd be, which is why I stick to critiquing.

This brew has a grainy, toasted aroma. The flavour is also pretty toasty, moves malty to bitter, and is pretty delicious. It's not super hoppy at any stage of the game, but isn't timid either.

Paddy's Irish Red is quite a nicely balanced ale that is very drinkable and well constructed. If you find a can, buy it. You're gonna want to give it a try.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

CCBC-Irish Red

I spent an enjoyable early afternoon at Washington's Capitol City Brewing Company sampling a variety of beers. However, most of my drinking was sample sized glasses. Their Irish Red was the only full pint that I quaffed. I sampled this one on the advice of my bartender.

The Irish Red, not surprisingly, arrived a deep brownish red colour. It was moderately cloudy and topped with a quality cap of eggshell head. The aroma was malty with some gentle molasses sweetness. Tastewise, there were notes of molasses and a bit of brown sugar. The brew started sweet, with warm maltiness, and then gave way to some gently floral bitterness.  It was a nice, full-bodied ale, and one of the best on offer at the CCBC.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.