McNeills Ruby Ale

Brewed by McNeills Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
Brattleboro, Vermont USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

Not an IPA, not even close, but a recent read ale, love the boldness of the hops mixed with the sweet enjoyalbe malt presence. Nice....

Bottle. Pours a cloudy brown with a small white head. Aroma of caramel malt, raisin, and bitter grassy hops. Flavor is quite similar with sweet malt initially, raisins and a bitter finish. IPA?? I don’t think so, it’s not very hoppy. Not that flavorful really, just pretty simple. Just kinda blah. 6/4/6/3/12 (3.1/5)

Bottle. Aroma of big, sweet, caramel malt, light floral hops, seemingly only there to balance the sweetness. Flavor has some of that sweet malt, but not nearly as rich as the aroma led me to believe, partially overtaken by a stale honey sort of character. Medium-light bodied. Ok I guess. Certainly no IPA here though.

Bottle. Slightly sweet malty aroma, some hops. Reddish orange body, off-white head. Don’t know if the recipe for this has changed, but I’m getting far more malt and less hops in the flavor than noted by earlier reviewers. Not much of an IPA character. More like an ESB, or simply an amber ale. Anyway, it’s a pleasant very mild sipper from one of Vermont’s best brewers.

UPDATED: APR 30, 2009 Tasted on tap as Ruby Red Ale. The name is ideal, tons of ruby grapefruit aromas and flavors, like grapefruit with bits of the pith in it. The malts seems a bit papery, (not the hops this time, odd) and there is a slight metallic tinge to the finish. (RE-RATE: Bottle, Not the same beer at all; much less hoppy, but the malt flavor seems much richer. Still was going to get the same rating +/- 0.1)

Growler. Deep ruddy amber beer topped by a very thick beige head. Aroma is quite hoppy with lots of herbal noble hops. Light malty sweetness with an earthy bitterness and lots of herbal/woody hop flavour. A little but dusty but it doesn’t have that mustiness that these guys normally have. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

5-23-08 bottle shared with lb4lb thanks to jwale73
Thick red brown with a creamy head. Smell is mild and very subtle but has some pine sol hints in there. Flavor is strange and has some medicinal sweetness that I don’t just love. Overall, not awful but not great.

bottle from jwale73. Thanks!
Pours ruby to crimson with lasting beige head. Smell is lightly hoppy and oddly metallic. Taste is dry, hoppy, fruity and dry. Decent beer. Tastes almost like it’s on the way out, and I understand they have bottling issues as well.