“The bastard lovechild of a 1950’s pinup and a 2016 steampunk hipster, smokin’ ruby demands your attention. Rising from the ashes and bathed in the smoke of locally sourced cherry wood, this Bohemian Pilsner is tradition meets skinny jeans and plaid. With Czech Saaz hops and traces of bacon from the in-house smoked malt, ruby seduces you with a truly unique experience. Brewed with a fiery passion rivalled only by her flaming red locks, ruby is one for the adventurous.”
Served from a 750 ml swing top bottle in to a flute glass. Ruby pours a bright amber hue with decent clarity. A short head is generated which quickly collapsed and establishes a thin film over the top. Laced reasonably well though. The nose offers a great balance between traditional Pils aromas of herbal/spicy hops and the smoky characters. Wafts of grainy malts and rice crackers blend brilliantly in to the smoky/meaty notes of smoked ham and ash. Subtle hints of corny DMS and boiled veggies poke through but they’re somewhat quelled by the delicate yet evident smoke. The mouth feel is light on with a lean body but a vibrant Co2 level along with a lifted 39 IBU provides some additional texture. 5.5% ABV. It’s all quite accommodating, just a smooth transition in to the swallow. There’s a nice little switch up on the palate, we definitely taste bolder smoky flavours on entry. That slightly higher than usual IBU provides a gentle bitterness as a sweet and almost caramelized note presents in the middle. Subtle woody notes pop up as smoky flavours return to finish it off. Let’s sum it up this way – as a bottled beer to take home and review it’s crafty, surprisingly sessional and well balanced but as a GABS entry (considering the competition) we probably would have panned it as a little lacklustre and uninspiring. In this instance it has actually drank quite well but at the same time it’s nothing overly memorable. We’re a little undecided here.