Bridge Road Brewers ‘Fat Man Red Suit Big Sack’ India Red Ale

Rating:

10346652_465712536946230_2497580571659850666_n“Originally brewed for export to Canada this red IPA showcases some of our Aussie Hops. Galaxy Topaz and Enigma.”

Well, it may already be 2016 but who says we can’t still enjoy a Christmas beer? And what an interesting label we have here. Yes, we’ve all seen our fair share of provocative puns but for us this one almost takes the cake, excuse our pun.

As she’s an IPA well serve this in to an IPA glass. The heavily clouded copper appearance is topped off by a tightly compacted head that slowly shrinks to a halo with a few random spots of lacing. We tried this little beauty on tap at the KB a couple of months ago but don’t recall it being this complex. Brilliant balance on the nose though, the all Aussie hop bill of Galaxy, Topaz and Enigma hand this aroma its appealing scents of apricot, guava, pineapple, rock melon and peach. Slightly acidic but that may be the combination of fruity hops and a hefty 7.5% ABV tingling the olfactory’s. The rich malts provide the balance by offering sweet wafts of caramel, honey and buttery biscuits. Plenty to like so far. In the mouth it’s dense and quite sticky with a moderate Co2 level. The 65 IBU is a little surprising, it is quite restrained and feels more like 50-55 bitterness-wise. A potent cocktail-like mix of booze, fruity hops and caramelized malts lead out, transitioning to a caramel/toffee malt driven mid palate. The alcohol warmth returns before a heavily sweet and slightly dry finish rounds it all out. Excellent length. Decent offering, we just don’t know if we’re completely in to it. It’s very sweet almost to the point of being cloying but thankfully the fruity hops do pull it back a bit. For the most part it’s a solid drop, there’s just a couple of minor features that we weren’t all that keen on.