Woodstock Inn Red Rack Ale

Brewed by Woodstock Inn Brewery
Style: Amber Ale
North Woodstock, New Hampshire USA

Notes from "brew weekend." Amber color and thin body. Aroma has some metallic essence, ringwood and some light bitterness. Flavor is bitter and green with some dirt.

Pours clear amber with a tan head. Smells fruity and slightly tarte with some earthy hints. Tastes sweet with some tarte hints and an earthy finish.

On tap at the Woodstock. This had a rich caramel pour, off white foam head with some layered lacing. Caramel, malts, and light hops. Slight hop bitterness in the finish. A good drinker.

12oz bottle from Barb’s Beer Emporium in Concord. Pours a slightly hazy copper body with a half inch of off-white head. Aroma is very very subdued, but hints of hops and malt make it out. Caramel malt with some herbal hops in the flavor. Medium in both mouthfeel and carbonation, with moderate drinkability. I wonder if I may have a slightly less than fresh bottle, which would be more the fault of where I got it than the brewer, but all I can see here is a fairly standard middle of the road American Amber.

My Bottom Line:
This simple Amber Ale relies on its light caramel and wooden, earthy hops to deliver a smooth but forgettable session beer.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam covers the misty amber with golden hues.
-The body is lean, but almost too light to be pleasant.
-There is not much to get from the malts save for discreet caramelization.
-At least, this is well-hopped for what seems to be a beer to accommodate as many as possible.

On tap at the brewpub.

Amber hue in the glass, one finger white head is slightly frothy. nice clarity. some malt up front and some fruity sweetness in the end of the waft. Flavor is basically solid caramel malt with a slight hop bitterness at the finish. Solid, non complex brew.

Halfway between copper and amber with a one finger white head that is slow to dissipate ans quick to lace. Aroma has some up from malt sweetness complemented by citrus and grassy hop notes. Bready caramel malt follows. Flavor has a nice caramel malt profile, become sweeter in the middle and finish. Hop bitterness it citrus in its quality, lingering until the finish. Slight grainy notes are all but drowned out by the malty sweetness. Palate is smooth, but is cut into slightly by a kick of carbonation. Body is thin to medium, mouthfeel ends semi-dry and decently clean. A decent brew.

Poured from the bottle to a hazy orange red with thin skim of a tan head that lingered well and okay lacing. Nose is malty citrus fruit with a hint of roasted nuts. Mouthfeel is thin, with just a hint of a tingle. Taste starts out okay, by picking up the flavors of the nose, but quickly urns grainy and skunky. Finish is no better, as the sweet malty fruit is quickly overtaken by a dry, cottony taste. Unfortunately, the finish outweighs the nice start on this one, and I’ll avoid in the future.