Mudgee brewing co. ‘Smokey’ red ale

Rating:

image“Hopped with Amarillo and brewed with smoked malt, this red ale features hop characters and finishes with a lingering smoked flavour”.

Served in a shaker glass, our first attempt at a pour yielded nothing but a glass full of foam so be very patient. Once we lost half the bottle we finally got to enjoy a muddy mahogany brown appearance with a rocky 3 finger tan head that settled to around a 1/4 inch crown on top. Laced really well. The aroma instantly explains the ‘smokey’ red on the label as dominant smoky and peaty wafts emanate initially. Some decent funk too. Underneath lies complex wafts of tart berries, oak, cider, toffee, whiskey, plum and a hint of liquorice. Quite phenolic as well. Wow, so much happening. In the mouth it offers a frothy texture with high levels of carbonation. Medium-full body. Upfront we detect heavy peated flavours that weigh in on the tongue. Tart berries, oak and citrus from the clever addition of Amarillo hops carry forward through the mid-palate and finish smokey with a mild dryness. Great length. The 5.1% ABV is surprisingly low considering the depth of flavour, the brewers have done really well to pack so much in without it being higher. We’re not terribly fond of smoky beers but this one is certainly an exception. Good to see it’s not only fine wine coming our of this region, but great craft beer too.