Belfast Bay Lobster Ale

This beer is from a brewer I have never heard of - Belfast Bay Brewing Co in Belfast Maine. I've seen reports that it is actually brewed by Shipyard, but I'm not sure of the veracity of that info. Regardless of who brews it, it is a fine ale. It poured a deep copper color, with a small, white, rapidly diminishing head. The nose is mostly caramel and malt. The caramel and malt continues in the flavor, with plenty of hop bitterness in the finish. Belfast Bay also makes an Oatmeal Stout, so I'll be watching for it.

Dry Hopped St. Rogue Red Ale

This wonderful red ale starts and ends with hops. The first sip is all West coast hop flavor - piney and citrusy. Then you notice the smooth creamy body with plenty of malt - slightly sweet and fruity too. Finally, it finishes with a lasting hop bitterness. As you can see in the photo, it had a nice big orange-colored head, which left plenty of lacing on the glass. It poured an orange-amber color. Oregon Brewing is one of my favorite brewers, and this beer just strengthened my opinion.

North Coast Brewing's Red Seal Ale

North Coast Brewing is located in Fort Bragg, CA. This is the second beer I've tried from them, and it is excellent. Red Seal Ale poured a red-orange color, with a 1-inch tall head. It tasted of sweet malt and caramel, with a piney hop finish. The mouthfeel was smooth and rich. This would be a good session beer, since the alcohol level is reasonable at 5.5%. I don't see a lot of choices from North Coast here in Florida, but I'll be on the lookout for them.

Lagunitas Lucky 13 Mondo Big Red Ale

Here's another brew from Lagunitas - Lucky 13. They bill it as a "Mondo Big Red Ale", and at 8.5% alcohol, I guess that's a fitting description. It poured a beautiful ruby red color, with a frothy white head. There's a lot of malt in this. It was a little sweet, with lots of west coast hop flavor. My only problem with these high gravity beers in 22 oz bottles is that I feel I need to share! I'm too old to enjoy getting drunk. Now I drink 'cause I like the taste of beer - and this is a good one. Lagunitas comes through again.

Camerons Strong Arm Ruby Red Ale

I had high expectations for this Red English Ale, but they quickly dissipated upon pouring it. It poured a somewhat muddy deep amber, and the head was non-existent. The flavor was uninspiring. It had somewhat of a metallic taste to it which was distracting. I thought it compared to a couple of other red ales that I have had that were equally disappointing - such as Murphy's Red. I love Murphy's Stout, but their red is as mediocre as this one. I'm glad I didn't buy a six-pack!