McNeills Ruby Ale

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

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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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.

Pour light golden ruby decent creamy beige head. Aroma citrus, pine caramel, grapefruit. Taste bitter, citrus ,caramel, fruity, grapefruit, tangerine. MF medium body decent carb. Solid brew but kind of meh.

Bottle last year. Pours a cloudy amber brown, insane soapy lacing that is sticky to the max. Absolutely huge white head(see pic, and I poured this as slow as i could without stopping). Awesome amber ale/ipa aromas of pine, flowers, earthy bread, and citrus fruit. Taste is very crisp with a nice tangy hop flavor mixed in with the english and pale malts. Great aftertaste. Very good amber ale from a relatively unknown brewer in my area.

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)

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.

I forget who brought this to Paul’s party, but thanks.

Poured a cloudy dark amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of caramel and citrus. Taste is bland and lightly hoppy, with a bit of citrus and a dry bitter finish. Thought this was an amber ale; didn’t feel quite hoppy enough to be an IPA.

Bottle, thanks Dmac. Pours out a nice amberish color with a moderate off white head. Aroma is of some very light citrus hops and grain. Taste is sweet, sticky malts, oranges light bitterness and some grains. Not bad.

Red - I’m gonna ahead and call it ruby - with a rocky, dense head. Smells like caramel and pine - simple but pleasant aroma. Flavor is crisp, with some pine and caramel, just like the aroma. As it warms, I rather unpleasant sour note emerges.

On tap at McNeill’s. Mild caramel and a bit of buttterscotch, with no hoppiness in the nose. Overall, a mild aroma hut pleasant. Clear dark amber orange, with thin off-white lacing head. Medium watery body with medium carbonation. Starts with mild maltiness but with a predominant bitterness that has a nice fruity hoppy kick behind it. A bit of cooked vegetable in the finish, too, unfortunately. After is dry and bitter, but not harsh at all. Decent ale, but perhaps wasn’t at its prime tonight.

A reddish, yes, ruby, dark amber ale with a thin lacing light moka head. Aroma of caramel malt, cinnamon, perfumey, and light boiled veggies. In mouth, a sweetish malt with oily mouthfeel, very grainy, not hoppy, with some light acidity. Medium bodied. Bomber from Brattleboro Food Coop, 4$.