Nail Brewing - Red Carpet - Imperial Red Ale - Beer Review

Brewed By: Nail Brewing
Beer: Red Carpet - Imperial Red Ale
ABV: 8.4%
Malts: Pale, Cara Red, Munich
Hops: Citra
IBU: 50

Nail Brewing - Red Carpet - Imperial Red Ale in the Craftd Alpha glass

"We sent our famous Nail Red to hell and it came back stronger. Tread carefully between caramel malt flavours, balanced citrus, floral and hop aromas."

Review

Nail Brewing is a brewery located in Perth, Australia that was established in 2000. I hadn't heard of them before or seen any of their beers so was keen to try this imperial red ale when it arrived in a mixed pack of craft beers.

I've had red ales before and quite enjoyed them and was hopeful this one would be no different.
The can itself as a really cool design with a red snake/serpent design on a dark blue background. Upon opening said can and pouring, the beer colour was reminiscent of pouring a can of cola. Plenty of golden froth and some real caramel and sweet toffee notes from the malt became fragrant as they escaped from the can. Yum.

The bitterness is well matched by the sweet malt and hop notes - and the bitterness does linger a little in the mouth after each sip. But 50 IBU's in a beer will certainly lead to some lingering bitterness and it's appropriate for the style of beer. I was a little surprised to read they only used citra hops in this one - as one of my favourite all-time hops, I was surprised I didn't pick it. 

This is perhaps because the hops tend to take a bit of a back seat to the malt presence - at least in terms of taste. I found the hop aroma on the nose much more prevalent than on the taste buds.
As the beer warmed up though (or perhaps after I'd drunk a bit more) - some orange and citrus flavours came to the fore which was a welcome surprise.

At 8.4% ABV I wouldn't be enjoying too many in a session (without falling asleep at least) but the one I did have was very enjoyable indeed.

Nail Brewing - Red Carpet - Imperial Red Ale Can

Rating

8/10