Beer Review: Red Hook Eisbock 28
Beer Review: Red Hook Eisbock 28
I read about this in a Binny’s Beer Blog post. In the post I said I would probably get the Brrbon which is a bourbon barrel aged winter warmer, but standing there in the store with one bottle being $7.99 and the other $12.99, economy won out. The slick frosted black finish on the bottle certainly didn’t hurt at all.
I usually don’t read reviews of beers online before tasting it myself because I don’t want to biased. With this one, I wanted to tell a friend which beer I was drinking, and the easiest way was to just hop onto RateBeer.com and link the page. While on there, I skimmed some of the lower review. Some, like this one, weren’t very positive:
Big ass, hot, malt bomb. Alcohol very, very upfront with no balance forethought. Might be nice to lay down, but now is very offensive.
I was undeterred. I like to think I have a very accepting palate, and there’s a certain enjoyment in drinking a beer that is largely independent of the beer, especially when it involves experimentation and discovery. So, I tried my best not be biased while writing down these tasting notes:
Pours an amber gold with tan, cream head that disappears quickly.
Tons of roasted malt in the nose with spiciness coming from the alcohol, but it’s not unpleasant. Little to no hops, but that seems to be by design.
The taste is incredibly complex and comes in about three waves. The first is a spice mix of maybe coriander and ginger. This is followed by an intense malt sweetness that would almost be cloying if it were not for be being cut by a burning alcohol taste.
The beer feels like it has a ton of malt, and is smooth, but it is certainly not heavy.
There is a lingering, coating mix of malt and alcohol. Almost like a burning sensation on the tongue.
I actually really enjoyed this beer. The alcohol warmth was almost like what you’d get with a spirit, but that seemed totally appropriate for something that purports to be a warmer. The taste beyond the alcohol was complex and came at me in waves. If I were to get it again, I would split the bomber with a friend, because I got a little too buzzed off the one bottle for just a relaxed tasting.
This beer isn’t for everyone. If you don’t mind the alcohol burn, this beer shows how complex and interesting a beer that focuses on the malt can be.