Bison Organic Red Ale

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Berkeley, California USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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(22oz bottle) Medium beige head atop a crystal clear copper body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, chocolate, nutty, some grapefruit. Taste is medium sweet, floral, chocolate, caramel, some grapefruit. Light earthy in the finish. Not much bitterness. Smooth medium body, minimal aftertaste.

Aroma of caramel malt. Reddish amber color with an off-white head that’s insubstantial. Thin to medium bodied. Moderate carbonation. Starts with caramel malt, and it is not accompanied by a great deal of bitter. The hops seem floral. Some nuttiness comes forth toward the finish. The finish does end rather dry, and it has a very little bitter. Even a slight touch of citrus may be there. All in all it is rather mild and malty, but that’s the way an amber usually is.

22oz bottle. Poured a deeper amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of caramel, citrus, toasted and roasted nuts, and a little earthy. Tastes of caramel, citrus and nutty. Tastes and body on the thin and almost watery side.

This is the most under-rated beer I’ve yet had in 2006, but remember that I am a proud hophead. First of all, the guys at Bison must be color-blind because this beer is dark straw, not even a hint of red. The aroma is very highly hopped, with fruit, black peppery and floral spicy notes. Definite 9 for aroma. The flavor is hoppy and citric, with grapefruit and canteloupe hints. Medium palate. Gets hoppier with more tropical notes as it warms. I would, and I will, drink this again. In fact, I’m going back to Total Wine tomorrow to get more of this.

Aged cantelope color, light head & lacing. Nose of lotion, baby powder & light crisp malts & noble hops. Tastes similar with more hoppy notes & ginger like tones. Finishes strongly carbonated & balanced. Not bad, just unique, and not in a way I like.Thanks Indiana_Red!

Reddish amber color. Large sized white foamy head. Malts are fruity and sweet, touch of caramel. Hops are slightly spicy and a touch grapefruity. Fairly typical amber. Nicely balanced. Very lively carbonation. Very drinkable but not very special. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Bomber pours deep copper with a bit of haze and off white head. The aroma has decent strength with citrus, near grassy hops mixed with stale wet cardboard maltiness, cherries and faint caramel. The taste is much the same starting with a pulse of hops and cherry cough syrup and mild stale maltiness. By midway the hops grow to become pine and grapefruit as a modest roasted malt note is noticed. It ends stale, mildly hoppy and with the hops lingering into the after taste.

Picked up at Habersham Beverage Warehouse in Savannah, Ga. Pours a dark copper color with an off-white head, decent lacing. Aroma has some subtle floral notes with a bit of citrusy hoppiness to round it out. Flavor has a definite west-coast cascade, hoppy-citrusy bent to it, but not overblown. Some nuttiness and caramel comes through as well. Mouthfeel is rather thick. Finished fairly strong. Holds up well, and one of the better beers that I’ve had that labels itself as "Organic".

Bottle pours a brownish amber, small white milk foam like head, fairly sticky lacing, with lively carbonation.   A nice combination of malts and hops on the nose, seems well balanced.   I also get a slightly sweet toffee/caramel hint.   Forwardly malty on the tongue, with a little hop bite that balances nicely.   Flavor is quite fleeting, from the middle and towards the finish it falls off rather quickly.   It also seems to be a little less than a medium body.    Only a minor lingering bitterness on the finish and through to the aftertaste.   Wishing also for it to have more caramel in the flavor, but it didnt appear to be there.   This one wasn’t bad, had a great start but a boring finish.

The aroma is herbal hops and a heavy dose of caramel and toasted malt. The appearance is deep amber with an unimpressive head. The flavor is exactly like the flavor. The palate seems good for amber ale. The aftertaste is bitter. This is probably one of the better organic ales around.