As I’ve mention in my last few posts, I’m in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, enjoying my semi-annual tour of microbreweries around the city. We hit Perennial Artisan Ales the night before, and today we are at 4 Hands Brewing in downtown. This is one of St. Louis’ newest microbreweries, having just opened in December. They have four core beers on tap, including: Divided Sky Rye IPA, Reprise Centennial Red, Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown, and Single Speed Session. I’m a big fan of Centennial hopped beers, as well as Red IPAs, so this single-hopped red ale was calling my name.

In addtion, to make this posting a little more interesting, I’ve partnered with Audra over at “Once a Mom… Always a Cook” for the food pairing on this one. This blog crosssover is brought to you by Appliances Online. Let me know if you like it, and if so, we’ll look into partnering with other foodie blogs for our beer pairings.

Location: Enjoyed in an imperial pint glass, at 4 Hands Brewing tasting room in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Numbers: 6% ABV, ~ 195 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It has a dary copper/rusty-red color and appears to be a bit hazy. The head was creamy-tan, big and foamy, and as you can see, left some incredible lacing on the glass. The smell was lightly caramel and biscuity with a good amount of citrusy, slightly piney, hop aromas.

Taste & Feel: The body was light-medium and the mouthfeel was a bit foamy-creamy with a little bit of a carbonation crispness. The flavors up front were a mix of bready and lightly sweet caramel maltiness, which was quickly followed by a hefty amount of citrusy hop bitterness. The Centennial hop bitterness continued into the finish with a hint of pine flavors coming in through the grapefruit and citrus bitterness.



Food Pairing: For the food pairing on this one, Audra has come up with a great recipe for a BBQ chicken pizza you can make at home. This beer had a very nice biscuit flavor up front, which would complement the toasty crust, and the caramel malts would go nicely with a sweet BBQ sauce. Finally, the citrusy hop flavor which kicks in at the end adds dimension, highlighting the beer and cleansing the palate between bites.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the mix of the bready and lightly sweet malt flavors up front, followed by plenty of hop flavor. While they label the beer as a red ale, the amount of hop bitterness could easily place it in the red IPA category. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good beer, and it made me want to try a few more of their beers – which I did.

My Rating:

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