Lucky SOB Irish Red Ale

Poured into a mug, the appearance was a nice looking burnt amber color with a finger’s worth of sustaining white foamy head that fell off at a decent pace. Light stringy lace.
The aroma had a good blend of toast, caramel/toffee malts, leather, dried leaves and a light honey right before some earthy hop spice slid in for a fairly nice blend.
The flavor leaned towards the sweet side and though the hop spice didn’t fully blend all of the way, I wasn’t worried so much about this one. As the aftertaste seemed to take the toast and malts towards that light hop spice decently.
The feel was about medium bodied, perhaps just a touch under with a fairly nice sessionability about it. Good carbonation and the ABV felt fine as well.
Overall, finally, I was getting worried as the other two Flying Dog bottles seemed to be off kilter to me. This one saves the day! I can relax now.

2016 catch up - Bottle at home - A nice beer. Great colour, lots of malt and a really good mouth feel. It was nice to try, but not something that I would seek out again.

12 ounce bottle into pint glass, best before 7/1/2016. Pours crystal clear deep reddish copper color with a 2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Dense soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the head. Awesome appearance. Aromas of big caramel, honey, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness, herbal, floral, light pepper, light plum/apple, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, honey, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness, herbal, floral, light pepper, light plum/apple, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate herbal/spicy bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, honey, brown sugar, brown bread, toasted biscuit, light nuttiness, herbal, floral, pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Low levels of diacetyl are noticeable, but not out of line for the style. Light-moderate dryness from bitterness, that increases through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready, and lightly sticky balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice Irish red ale! All around nice complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; and very smooth and easy to drink. A very enjoyable and well done style example.

Bottle: Clear, deep copper with a creamy beige head. Caramel and toasted malt scent. Taste is slightly nutty, caramel malt and flat cola. A moderate, leafy bitter. Light....but nicely flavoured and bodied.

Bottle. Toffee malt and fresh hay aroma. Amber with small head. Sweet nutty toffee malt and mildly bitter green hay/quinine flavor. Nice body. A very nice Irish ale.

Draft. Clear deep amber color, small tan head. Aroma of light toast. Taste is toasted caramel. Plain.

Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle poured into a snifter. Clear light Amber with small beige head. Aroma is Irish malt, medium/light body, low carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is light Irish malt with some hop balance.

Bottle at home. It pours deep red-amber with a decent white head. The nose is toasty, spicy, malt-driven, bread, leaves and earth. The taste is smooth, bitter-sweet, toasty, toffee, dried fruits, spice, earth, leaves and bread and not a whole load more. Medium body and average carbonation. Fairly simple stuff, but not all bad.