Great Waters Scarlet Pimpernel

Formerly brewed at Great Waters Brewing
Style: Amber Ale
St. Paul, Minnesota USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Cloudy dirty orange. Nice nose, fruity, light clove, a bit wheaty with some candy sugar. Flavor not as good, odd spiciness mixed with tartness and honey.

CASK: Amber Coloring with White Creamy Head. Lemon and Chamomile on the Nose and Tongue. Creamy Mouthfeel. Light Dry Hop Aftertaste. Sugary Sweet Taste to it. Overall Very Light to Drink...If I Wanted to Make a Beer with Tea Herb Qualities to It, This Would be Something to Shoot For.

On cask at the brewpub: No longer the red it once was as the beet juice has been removed from the finishing stages of the recipe from its earlier release. Now its a calming light gold hue with a clearish body. Solid capping of off-white froth sits on top with a bit of smoothed oatmealy texture. Lacing sticks in broken strings and spotting. Aroma is a bit lemony and musty honeyish with a nice aromatic presence of chamomile and fresh spring flowers. A fairly strong bouquet here, perhaps a bit one sided with the incense-like demeanor but I like it. Taste is sweet and tender with a nice crisp edge where some evident honey coated bread and candyish malting play within the chamomile and floral tones. Stays pretty flavorful with flowery spices and grasses, not the hot kind of spice, more like potpourri or candle-like incense. Chamomile is the biggest presence then I tend to think of jasmine, cinnamon, mint, and dried vegetable soup stock. Interesting play between the sweeter candy coated honey malt and its seasoning spices. Feel is quick and clean with one very simple light body. Boldness or thickness isn’t really meant to be its strong point, and that does tend to keep it from being, perhaps, a bit more entralling to the palate. I’m giving it a bit of a nudge up though for what it is and why its being offered as such. Trying to get the average drinker to try a cask/warm beer is difficult when its not a lighter styled beer. So this is their new lure. Not a bad idea nor a bad beer. I liked it and would and probably will have it again.

Thin bodied and very watery...not much in the way of hop bitterness to help lift this one out of mediocrity. Too timid and also suffers from the pervasive "floral" notes that so many of their beers seem to suffer from. My glass seemed flat and maybe even a little stale or played out.

Cloudy appearance. Light spices. Some honey and hops in the aroma. A session beer. One has to give Great Waters credit for trying things like this. This experiment turned out ok.

Cask. Darker red color with a medium head. Earthy aroma with a lot of vegetable-like qualities. The taste is light and floral with a hint of raddishes. The honey does stand out on the finish. Definitely different.