Amber to red

Who's up for some malty goodness? Today's pair are of the russet persuasion, noteworthy for being something Irish brewers don't produce very often. Tellingly, they're quite different from the usual formula for Irish red ale.

O Brother, for example, has allied with coffee roasters Velo to create a Coffee Amber Ale, exclusive to Aldi. It is indeed amber: a dark shade, though not at risk of being mistaken for porter or brown ale. That's topped with a head of fine bubbles, looking almost nitrogenated. The aroma is dry and roasty, though very much in a beer way, not coffee. There's a hint of cherry or similar red fruit too. The coffee waits until the flavour to appear, but isn't shy when it does. It doesn't taste like the frighteningly serious gourmet coffee that I associate with named roasteries, but is sweet and somewhat powdery, suggesting (to my untutored coffee palate) instant with a dollop of cream. Next to that, there's lots of genuine malt character, bringing more of that red fruit from the aroma, though more strawberry than cherry, some light caramel and a toasted grain dryness to keep things balanced. It's no masterpiece of complexity, but is enjoyable and delivers well on the promise of amber ale with coffee.

For its 38th Limited Edition beer, Hope chose Red Ale, which I thought was an odd move until I read the small print. 7% ABV with Citra and El Dorado as dry hops means we're a long way from Macardles. There's definitely a citrus quality to the aroma, but not intensely so. It only smells a little like a pale ale. I think of El Dorado as a fruit-candy flavoured hop, but the main flavour of this beer is at the opposite end of the spectrum: dank, oily, and very savoury. That contrasts strongly with the caramelised malt, and it's a bit disconcerting at first, especially when the beer is still fridge-cold. It rounds out once there's a little warmth on board, however, even if it never quite loses its sharpness. The strength helps the malt hold its own against the hop onslaught, though I don't think I can fairly call it balance. While this is a bit of fun, I'm happy for it to be a once-off. The experiment to marry rich red malt with resinous American hops has not been entirely successful here, and the result is just a little too discordant to be enjoyable. I have tasted plenty of excellent American-style amber ales, but they tend to be more subtle on all fronts, and with good reason, it seems.

I somehow doubt that these beers will meet the needs of the people who complain about the lack of red beers from Irish breweries. Both are significant twists on the plain caramel-water of mainstream red. And while I wasn't a huge fan of either, they're still better than the norm. Hooray for variety, I guess.