Coney Island Freaktoberfest

Ok that is a bit freaky. Light ruby color liquid flows forming a smallish, diminishing pink head. Looks a bit like fizzy pomegranate juice. Quite light in aromas. Small hints of grain, pale malts and a touch of fruit. A light lager scent and as it warms some malt liquor smells. Light malts in the front. Some alcohol and mild herbal hops in the back. Thicker in feel, but quite a bit of zip to keep it from getting too thick and cloying. Reminds me of an amber malt liquor in many ways. This serves some entertaining qualities. No, we are not children, but it is fun to have something incite your senses, whether it is audibly, odorously, physically, gustatory, or in this case visually. While not a great beer in many senses, I am going to have fun passing this around as a gimmick brew this fall.

Date: 10/04/2008
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta

Appearance: cloudy candy apple red, fine pink head, bits of drippy lace
Aroma: sweet malt aroma with a rich fruityness,
Flavor: sweet and fruity flavor, lots of balancing earthyness, long bitter finish,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 11/20
Rating: 3/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

Draft at Redlight Redlight. Weird beer. This one pours a very lightly hazy blood red color, capped with a foamy, strawberry milkshake colored head. The foam settles quickly to a wispy film, leaving delicate sheet-like lacing in its wake. The aroma shows heavy, sweet notes of caramel malt and glazed biscuit, followed by dry grains, piney hops, and hints of citrus. The flavor is sugary sweet, showing way too heavy on caramel, along with astringent pine hops that burn the back of the throat. The medium-plus, sticky body starts out mildly annoying and ends up downright cloying. This is an odd one. Drinkable, but not very good.

I must say that drinking something this red and not tasting fruit was weird. Pure red pour with a reddish/purplish head. Aroma is very plain and malty. Some hints of hops can be found on the nose, but not a lot. Beer is a little better than some are rating it here. Malty flavor gives way to an odd bitterness at the end.

Draft@Redlight. Light dusty nose, almsot no aroma whatsoever. Weird red-purple color with a pink head. Bland ricey lager flavor. Off finish. Light and fizzy. Is this a pale lager with food coloring? Shite.

Pours a "freakish" red. I’m not a fan of coloring beers so it doesn’t get high points from me, pretty nice malt thickness at the start but ends with a faint and unsatisfying dry hoppiness, this brewery makes some good beers - but this isn’t one of their best offerings.

Dark red/cherry colour with a pink head. It looks like a kriek...not sure where that colour comes from. Some caramel and wood aromas. It’s sweet, thick on the palate, with caramel, toast and a modest earthy hoppiness and a slightly dry alcoholic finish. An odd duck, but similar in structure to the Sword Swallower.

I’ve pretty much been a fan of the beers under the Coney Island name, but this is a TRAINWRECK! Pours blood red with a soapy dark pink head. I loathe artificial coloring (or anything artificial) in beer. The aroma has toasted malt, sweet marzen caramel and just a bit of hops. Medium body with some weird slickness and underlying carbonation. The flavor starts somewhat medicinal, muddy malt, spicy hops and some plastic. The finish has lingering plastic, spicy hops and semi-sweet malt. On the positive side it is unique, on the negative side it’s impossible for me to enjoy. This sucks, but I’m looking forward to seeing their next new beer redeeming them.