The other day, G-LO came over to drop off #2 son. Never one to arrive empty-handed (as previously noted, his Mamma raised him right), he brought with him a bottle of Red Wheelbarrow from his favorite Maine brewer (and frequent summer vacation sanctuary), the Maine Beer Company. Of course, you can’t just drop off a child and then run. You really need to make sure they get acclimated to their surroundings; even if this might be the 400th time the boy has been to my house. Suffice it to say, that we found the time to crack open the Red Wheelbarrow while expertly watching our boys. Initially, G-LO was just going to try a little beertography and move on, but as my love for the beer increased, I decided that it was more than worthy of a review.

Here is what the Maine Beer Company has to say about their Red Wheelbarrow:

Like many of our beers, Red Wheelbarrow (which started out as a pilot batch brewed by Brewer Dan Roberts) doesn’t fit neatly into a style category — think of it as a stronger, more hop-forward interpretation of a traditional red ale. Red Wheelbarrow is not, however, a “red IPA” — there is robust malt character (think raisin and fig) on both the nose and palate that temper the abundant hop presence (think citrus fruit).

I found the Red Wheelbarrow to be…

Appearance : Cloudy amber with a lot of tan foam.

: Cloudy amber with a lot of tan foam. Aroma : Hoppy and malty with hints of toffee and caramel.

: Hoppy and malty with hints of toffee and caramel. Taste : Front-to-back an exceptionally well-balanced beer. Lots of citrus and malt balanced with a good bit of hops and just a little hop bitterness in the finish.

: Front-to-back an exceptionally well-balanced beer. Lots of citrus and malt balanced with a good bit of hops and just a little hop bitterness in the finish. ABV: 7%

G-LO has been bringing us bottles from Maine for several years now, and I have yet to find one that I did not like. I’ve had Peeper, MO, Mean Old Tom, Collaboration Time 1, and King Titus, and they were all very good. I would put the Red Wheelbarrow right up there. I thought this was a fantastic take on a Red Ale with just the right amount of hops to balance with the sweet malt flavors.