Braidwood Ruby Mild

Formerly brewed at Braidwood Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Braidwood NSW, Australia

Serve in Dimpled mug

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Aroma: cherries, Appearance: clear red with a small head. Flavour: lightly sour cherries. Palate: lightly carbonated but medium to full mouthfeel.

Well, it seems like these Braidwood beers are a bit of a lottery. After getting a stable bottle of the milk stout, I was hoping for another one with this. Unfortunately it was way too overcarbonated - not a gusher but it froths up enormously on pouring, and also as soon as it hits the mouth. It’s a lovely opaque deep brown with that excessively frothy beige head on top. It’s not too bad on the nose with some caramel malt and some appley bbq sauce. On tasting it’s a different story though. It’s full of metallic bitterness, the alcohol is too volatile and raw, and the froth and carbonation make it an unpleasant drinking experience. It’s really disappointing that what could be a very decent beer turns into a lottery, and that is something that the brewer really needs to work on.

Bottled. Had none of the overfizzing issues I’ve had with other Braidwood beers or that others complain about. No way this is a mild, it packs way too much flavour - doesn’t seem like a brown to me either. Red colour, fruity tastes at first with some toasted woodiness, like nice hardwood burning on a campfire, creamy palate - reminiscent of a red ale. Hold on though - in creeps a big burnt malt flavour, caramel/toffee tones and fairly heavy feeling finish - it’s gone stout! So... a "red stout"? Is there such a thing? Whatever it really should be called, I liked it.

Bottle: Ok... I’ve just had to stand by the sink for 5 minutes while this bottle has fizzed up almost half of its contents... Lifeless looking hazy rust-amber with just about no head. Slightly sour, musty, fizzy caramel aromas with woody and herbal notes. Very dry, puckering toasty malts and fruity yeast notes (some hops too??). Firey and acidic (infected?). Bordering on vile.

bottled. pretty excitable. unpolished but with some pleasant caramel and red berry flavours. passable

Sweet malt aroma. Clear red brown colour with very very very overprimed head. Smooth sweet sour malt flavour. Smooth fizzy palate.

Second of the Braidwood range that I’ve tried and the second to gush everywhere on opening. The glass was 4/5ths head and took an eternity to settle, leaving islands of lace. Might score higher for Appearance if they sort out the carbonation. Ruby colour. Uninviting and thin homebrew aroma - yeast, prunes, a little alcohol. Too thin bodied for a mild. There’s some upfront apple fruitiness, a shot of warming alcohol and then the same metallic bitterness that ruins the Bitter - like sucking pocket change. The alcohol is clumsily prominent. Pretty crap, really. (Bottle, no apparent best before date)

NFOB 2004 - Reddish brown, light head, heavily sedimented. Very fruity aroma, monsterio, and light citrusy notes. Tart flavour, grainy, caramel maltyness, rich, monsterio fruityness, and a light earthy yeastyness.

7 May 2004 - Sampled AIBA 2004 - Simplistic stewed fruit aroma, clear dark red brown, headless, laceless. Slight fruit flavour and sweet, but flat. I'm in too generous a mood to rate it lower.

I liked the look of this. Its taste though is a challenge because have not sampled anything like it previously. All in all not great but I found it a welcome change from the norm.