Beer Garden


Brewery and Country of Origin: Maine Beer Company of Unit 3 Industrial Way, Portland, ME, 04103, USA

Date Reviewed: 5-19-15

Now that it's finally safe to say the seemingly endless Snowpocalypse of 2015 is a thing of the past, you may have a sudden urge to pop over to your local garden center, fight all of the other massive SUV-driving suburban homemakers vying for parking spots, drop elbows for the last daffodils on the shelves, and ruin your knees whilst adding a bit of color to your lawns. And of course, when you're planting new and exciting flowers and shrubs to your garden, you're probably going to need a wheelbarrow. The beauty of the wheelbarrow lies within its rudimentary function, rather than its actual appearance. It is a simple tool which makes gardening, construction, delivery, and moving easier, and it has been around since the second century AD (brought to the world by China, of course). In fact, the wheelbarrow has proven to be such an effective use of simple machines (a lever and wheel & axle), that it pretty much has remained largely unchanged since. Sure, the wheelbarrows of today may be made with more high tech, lighter yet stronger materials and some even come with electric or diesel powered motors, but truth be told, the wheelbarrow has stood the test of time. And much of that is owed to its simple, intuitive, and versatile design. Today, normal gardening wheelbarrows can be purchased at your home improvement store and come in many colors, but like common kids wagons, the color that most people think of when it comes to the traditional wheelbarrow, is red. Perhaps then, the wheelbarrow's typical color was the inspiration for the Maine Beer Company's take on the red ale. This particular beer is a bit on the heftier side with a 7.00% ABV strength, but it's a good casual, simple beer which pairs well with a good number of foods and seasons, and of course, features a rich reddish copper color. Though this is a hoppier beer than most red ales, the flavor profile is fairly simple without being too focused on bombarding your tastebuds with a plethora of exotic spices or fruits. Perhaps then, the perfect beer when planting daffodils and moving stuff about in a red wheelbarrow, is a Red Wheelbarrow.
Date Sampled: 5-02-15 At: Gavin's Apartment, Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, USA
Beer Style: American Amber/Red Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 7.00%
Serving Type: 16.9 oz Bottle, 16 oz Tumbler Glass
Rating: 3.62

Look

Red Wheelbarrow pours with a fair amount of choppiness, with an above average level of carbonation action, producing a thick, inch tall foam head with a medium low retention rate, a slightly tan/off white color, and a medium high density. This beer has a clear and filtered appearance with a rich copper red shine with a fairly bright glow in the light. There is no visible sediment or settling, and this beer displays a full amount of lacing on the glass.

Aroma

This red ale has a fairly low strength aroma overall which has a rather hop dominated orientation. As this is a red, there is expectedly a good amount of medium roasted malt secondary noticeable, with a bit of sweet biscuity undertone, as well as a hint of earthy notes and some oak wood present as well. More subtle, citrus notes add a bit of delicate complexity to the aroma of this beer, which gives off a light alcohol tinge.

Feel

This is a medium bodied brew with a lower than average amount of carbonation delivered to the palate. This beer features an average weight and an average viscosity, which makes this beer mostly easy going, yet still having the presence to be adequate for all seasons and weather. This beer has a slightly crisp overall feel and finishes with a bit of refreshing quality toward a dry, lingering close. This beer finishes with a small, but detectable alcohol bite.

Taste

As indicated by this beer's aroma, the Red Wheelbarrow has a mostly hop oriented bitter flavor which is well balanced with a good presence of medium roasted toffee and caramel like malts which give off a semi sweet secondary in a mostly simple flavor profile. This beer's flavor also contains a bit of cookie undertone and a small amount of earthy wood notes. This beer finishes dry with a mostly bitter, long lasting aftertaste which lingers without any metallic or alcoholic taste.

Our Take

Overall, this is a well balanced, fully flavored beer which should satisfy most who are either looking specifically for a hearty, yet easy going American red ale, or simply want to enjoy a good, casual drinking go-to beer for pretty much all normal occasions. This beer features a more hoppy profile than traditional Irish Reds, which tend to bring a sweeter, maltier character to the table, but that is not to say that this beer doesn't deliver a good amount of sweet caramel secondary. This is a versatile beer which drinks easy despite an above average alcoholic strength. But because this is a more hoppy version of a red ale, traditionalists may want to search for their beer style definition elsewhere. In general, this beer's rather broad spectrum of flavors and character makes it a great pairing option with meat pies, poultry, stews, grilled vegetables, and Trios or Do-Si-Dos Girl Scout Cookies.