Brewery Vivant Big Red Coq

Brewed by Brewery Vivant
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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From a growler. Pours a reddish orange with a big fluffy head and nice lace. The aroma is mostly just very fruity with loads of tropical fruit & citrus along with a nice resiny character. The flavor is moderately bitter throughout with a good dose of grapefruit like fresh hoppiness. There are some very complimentary spicy and banana like notes. The beer is largely not sweet and the maltiness is very reserved but noticeable throughout. The finish is dry and leaves a nice hoppy bitterness to linger. Totally enjoyable on all accounts. This beer is strikingly similar to a local favorite Hop Wrangler from Peace Tree.

"This red ale is all about hops." Wow, is this right! I taste no malt sweetness or Belgian yeast. Everything is grapefruit hops. Red amber color with decent head and body. Definitely an IPA!

This beer pours a clear copper-amber color with a medium off-white head that recedes steadily. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. The aroma is hoppy with notes of malt and spice. Medium-bodied with a moderately bitter hops character and notes of caramel malt, spices and fruit. The finish is hoppy with a short bitter aftertaste. Above average overall.

500mL Can. Thanks for sharing Sean! Stupid name aside, this beer misses its mark, but manages to hit another. What set out to be a Belgian IPA, in fact works pretty well as a hoppy session ale. It’s lacking Belgian influence and the hops are far from IPA levels. The hops that are there, when combined with this beers lighter-than-IPA-acceptable body, produces what feels like an all day IPA. It’s still fresh, if occasionally isovaleric, and puts out enough hops to keep me awake. An odd experience.

Pours a clear dark orange color with a nice amount of head that sticks around. Aromas of caramel malt, grapefruit, citrus, and pineapple. Taste has lots of bitterness upfront then the fruit hoppiness takes over backed up by the caramel malt. Finish is dry and you finally taste the belgian yeast flavor. A really good and fairly unique IPA.

amber with finger thick head. delicious hoppiness. very lagunitas-ish in its ability to have huge hops yet still be very smooth and drinkable. stupid name but awesome beer.

Can, this ale poured a clear copper and red with a touch of brown at the sides of the glass, and made a two to three finger off-white head that retreated to a thin cover and ring, the effervescence was about medium with a single stream of bubbles in the center of the glass and a few bubbles elsewhere, there were some small spots and fingers of lacing on the sides of the glass, this beer had aroma of grass, citrus and herb hops, toasted malt, caramel with faint orange, quava and lemon citrus fruit, and fruit and malt sweetness, it had a good hop nose that almost turns to the herb side of things, the flavors were grass and citrus hops, toasted malt and caramel, the finish was on the dry side with hop bitterness and citrus trailing, the mouth feel was less than medium with average carbonation on the mouth, the nose had a good dose of hops, and hops were out front on the palate to, I hardly noticed the Belgian Yeast, a good hoppy ale.

On tap at brewery, pours a clear dark amberish red with an off white head, the aroma has a touch of hops mixed in with the malt, the flavor has a ton of citrus and floral notes, some tropical fruit as well, solid stuff.

Tap @ Brewery Vivant. Clear, red orange appearance with a cream colored head. Bland, floral, light citrusy hoppy aroma. Floral, slightly soapy, light citrusy hoppy flavor. Bleh bleh blah.

On tap at Brewery Vivant. This beer is a mountain of hops in my face from first aroma to finish - what’s not to like? If you’re looking for the candy sweetness associated with most Belgian beers, you’ll have to look hard . There is enough malt to support the hops so they don’t overpower it, but the hops are definitely the main event.

Sampler from 8th Street grille. Pours reddish orange with some head. Very lowly carbonated. Aroma is very belgian yeasty, caramel, some pine. Taste was caramel malty, some citrus and some pine. Sticky. Finishes with some length, somewhat sweet. Interesting.