 Delirium (411), Santa Cruz, California, USA
Jan 20, 2008
Draught. Pours dark amber with a small white head. Aroma is caramel malt, citrus hops, and some spiciness. Flavor is the same, plus a bit of roasted malt. A quite highly hopped amber, but retaining interesting amber-ale malt character so it’s not just a relabeled IPA... reminds me a bit of the famous Mac and Jacks amber. Very well done. Like Ale_Drinker, I consider this underrated and wonder if perhaps they’ve improved the recipe since the earlier ratings.
DYCSoccer17 (1996), Davis, California, USA
Mar 9, 2008 16 ounce sample on tap at the San Jose location. Aroma is quite malty, caramelly with some mild fruitiness. There is also a touch of buttery diacetyl and light metal. Ringwood? Transparent orange-amber body with a small off-yellow head with light lacing present. Slightly astringent start, which becomes quite malty, burnt, and toasty. A little buttery diacetyl is also in there. A light, herbal hoppy bitterness is present in the finish. Pretty boring, and a bit flawed.
yesyouam (318), Fairport, New York, USA
May 24, 2007 (Sampler at the San Jose location) Face Off Red is a red-amber ale with a fleeting white head. The aroma is spicy and herbal, like an ESB. It is medium-light in body, pretty smooth, and perhaps a bit chalky. The flavor is well blended and balanced, with a decent bitterness.
Ale_Drinker (1055), Sunnyvale, California, USA
Mar 30, 2007 Outstanding amber here. Huge malty aroma and flavor. Tons and tons of roasted malt, very rich beer. Body is smooth and full, but not too heavy. Gorgeous red color. Why the heck is this beer only a 3??? Looks like the rest of the ratings are 7+ months old. Maybe this brew just needed some time to mellow out. Or maybe with the most recent batch they’ve finally got the recipe down. Because right now... it is SUPERB. One of the best ambers I’ve ever tasted.
after4ever (1652), Brier, Washington, USA
Aug 9, 2006 Draft at the San Jose brewery. Looks ok; medium ruddy amber with a suggestion of head for a minute. None of their beers really holds a head. At first, this beer seemed sour; there was soap and aluminum in there and it was disappointing. After a couple drinks, though, it started to stake out a bit of a flavor profile--more of a rye-like sourness and a moderately interesting herbal hop finish. Curious about their hop use, there’s never any classic citric bitterness or resinous overtone, and it’s always clingy. May have more to do with their ale/lager yeast alloy, smearing the flavor note there.
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