Beer of the Week

The beer: Vixen Irish Style Red Ale

The brewery: Old Bust Head Brewing Company, Vint Hill Farms, Virginia

Description (from the website): "Our deep amber Vixen Irish Red, has a luster as rich as the thick-coated red fox that roams the local wood.  Medium bodied, with a clean finish, Vixen draws you in with a sweet caramel allure up front and gives chase with hints of roasted malt through the taste.  A tea-like soft bitterness on the backend is so pleasing, you just may find you're reaching for another glass of this wily brew."

Would I buy it again? The bottle advertises the beer as "clean, classic, and malty," and that's a great way to describe it. It's not hoppy, it's pleasant to drink, it's clean, it's just a nice red ale. Very comfortable, nothing fancy. But since it's a red ale, which is a fairly uncommon style, the taste doesn't directly overlap with a more popular beer. I'd buy it again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Red Mo Ale

Brewed by: Otto's Pub and Brewery, State College, Pennsylvania

Description (from the website): "American red ale. Very malty and crisp. It has all the fun without the AMD (Acid Mine Drainage)! Brewed with Nugget hops for the bittering and late hopped with Liberty."

Would I buy it again?: This is the last beer I got from Otto's, and we saved the best for last. I haven't exactly been kind to red ales in the past, but this beer definitely stood above the others I've had. It had a nice bit of flavor, not overly strong by any means, but enough to be noticeable. The beer stood out a bit, and I appreciated that. I'd definitely get this again.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Bullseye Red Ale

Brewed by: Ithaca Beer Company, Ithaca, New York

Description (from the website): "Brilliant garnet red in color with clean but complex malt character. Hops take the stage with dynamic pine and spicy, woody notes supported by light citrus.

Would I buy it again?: Probably not. I'm not entirely sure why I keep thinking that I'm going to enjoy red ales, because I never really do, and this particular example was no different. It just didn't have that much taste, and the taste that was there wasn't all that great. It's easy to drink, but I can think of a lot of beers that fall under that criterion that I'd rather have.

Beer of the Week

The beer: Blood Red Sky

Brewed by: Innis & Gunn Brewing Company, Edinburgh, Scotland

Description (from the website): "Blood Red Sky sets a scene. Warm Caribbean sand, flickering candles, cold beer and anticipation of the night to come. From this place came the inspiration for this brew. Jamaican rum barrels meet Scottish red beer in an explosion of cool, spicy rum notes, vanilla and rich fruit. We brew Blood Red Sky using our unique barrel into beer method, turning the traditional beer into barrel process on its head without losing any of the wonderful flavours and aromas from the barrel."

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I would. I got this as a birthday present a few days ago, and the idea of a rum barrel-aged beer was so intriguing I had to drink a bottle of it right away. I've seen plenty of bourbon barrel-aged beer, but not rum barrel. I'm not a huge drinker of rum, but this beer was very good. I could definitely taste the rum, and it mixed very well with the beer. I think I actually like it better than the bourbon barrel beers I've had in the past.