Lompoc Proletariat Red

Brewed by Lompoc Brewing
Style: Amber Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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This red had basically no head. It tasted like a run of the mill and was nothing to write home about... probably Lompoc’s worst effort. Anyhoo, it had a quality mouth feel.

Draft: Deep bright red color, malt and hop aroma. The flavor is sweet and surprisingly really fruity. Almost think this was brewed with rasberries. Some hops come through with bitterness at the end. Semi light bodied. Easy drinking. Really thrown off by the fruitiness though.

Draught pint at Redbones on 11/30/06
Well if there’s one brewery that has a remarkable house character in every aspect, it’s certainly this one. The clarity is always deeply hazy; transluscent. Head is full and almost creamy, off-white in color and receding slowly to cover, leaving large rings of lace in its wake. Body is a glowing ruby-grapefruit with warm orange, tangerine and light auburn hues.
Hops are forefront in the nose and are heavily leafy, bitter and citric. No malt sweetness lingering on the end. A touch of breadiness and some peachy-like fruitiness, probably from the yeast, but also a bit of grainy, almost tannic malt character. But, invariably, you’re dragged back to the heavy dose of dry, bitter hops. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma, though some blandness is inevitable from all of the yeast in suspension. Slight aspirin character, touch of sourness. Needs more hop aromatics and less bitterness. No alcohol noted.
Signature attenuation in the body, Lompoc being some of the more dry beers I’ve tasted. But the dryness becomes rather unsettling, as the malt is just nowhere to be found. Grainy/cracker-like character provides no sweetness, no real support to the heavy IBUs. All of the yeast in supsension does help add a more "full" mouthfeel, but there’s a big difference between the slippery, fatty acid mouthfeel of yeast and the supple, comfort of malt sweetness. Carbonation is moderate, actually quite tight. But in the end it’s just death by hop bitterness. Dry grapefruit in countless permuations (oranges, red grapefruit, lemons, white grapefruit, etc...) but it’s still just hard, bitter citrus, in the end. Light caramel breadiness emerges with warming, with a touch of actual sweetness, but by then, the palate is too fatigued.

On tap at New Old Lompoc, NW Portland. Amber/red with beige head. Good amber beer, nice hops, slightly nitro feel. Bit stripped, fruity malt, berry fruits. Hop, just a bit artificial. I thought an ale didn’t have hops? This is a nitro amber surely?