First sip reveals Nothing more than a whole barrel full of hops. It's just like the smell - very flowery and piney. The bitterness is significant and not fantastic. As with most complex beers, this beer is a muddled mess when you just try to sip it, and it's clearly not intended for just sitting back and drinking while watching TV or something. A good beer requires attention, and I'm going to give it to this beer.
Tip-in surprisingly does not have the carbonation bite that I expected. It's surprisingly simple to start with its light flowery hops and a background of grainy malt. The middle has kind of a caramel and toffee flavor that I wouldn't have expected from an ale like this. The finish hits like a hammer with hops galore and bitterness until the end. After that, there is a lingering bitterness that lasts even longer.
The overall beer is really out of the ordinary for a red ale. Normally, a red or amber ale is very docile and mild, but this one smacks you in the face and tells you to love it or leave it. If I were to do it again, I would probably leave it. It's just too unbalanced for its own good. The malt needs to cut the bitterness better than it does, and that leaves me wanting a different beer.
All that said, I notice the beer getting better as it warms.
2.0/5