Father’s Day Red Ale is a 4.5% Irish Red Ale from Yo-Ho Brewing. It’s a limited edition beer brewed for Father’s Day, and is only available as part of the Father’s Day gift box.
Father’s Day Red Ale Aroma and Taste
Father’s Day Red Ale pours out a clear mahogany colour with a decent head that settles down to a couple of centimetres. Now, I’m not really down with red ales, but I wasn’t expecting it to have the aroma that it did. I imagined that a red ale would be… heavier, maybe? More robust. This beer is lightly hoppy and dry, with a lager-esque malt profile. There’s a little bit of a wheat aspect too, perhaps.
Tasting it hits you up front with bitterness, as well as a strong showing from the malt. It’s also crisp and dry, and dare I say tangy? What’s going on there?
Just as the aroma foreshadowed, it doesn’t have a heavy, sluggish quality I normally get from the red ales I’ve had in the past. This could be due to the slightly lower ABV than usual (4.5%) – a higher ABV red ale tends to make me feel woozy and lethargic, for some reason (and no, it’s not called ‘getting drunk’, I know). Father’s Day Red Ale tastes light, and combining with that lower ABV makes it very drinkable.
As it warms up to room temperature the crisp flavours and hops diminish and the taste becomes sweeter, taking on a creamy, smooth quality. I bet this would be great from a Real Ale pump.
Father’s Day Red Ale: The Bottom Line
I’m not a big red ale fan (nor am I a person who eats shoots and leaves), but I was glad to get this Father’s Day gift. It’s very drinkable, but also benefits from a slow sipping, dad-style. Thanks, son!
