Thursday, August 8, 2013

Summit Horizon Red Ale Review



Summit Brewing Company already has a couple IPAs on the market, their aptly named "India Pale Ale" and their "Sága IPA". So it should come as a surprise to no one that their next "Unchained" series beer called is called "Another IPA."

However, I'm not here to focus on those beers but rather their Horizon Red Ale, which is classified as an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5.7%. Though I would be pressed to call it an Amber Ale because while it is a Red Ale in appearance, the rest of the beer tells a completely different story.

The beer pours a dark hazy red color with a very foamy head with a bit of carbonation along the sides of the glass.. The lacing is spotty and it finishes rather clean.

The nose has an unusually strong piney hop and caramel malt scent upfront. Along with that are some grapefruit and citrus hop notes. The flavor is a bit more hop-forward with Piney and Citrusy Hops on the front of the palette with some caramel, malts and yeast notes in the back. It has a bittersweet caramel-hop aftertaste. The body is a bit of the hefty side with some mild carbonation so it's reasonably easy to drink.

I would characterize this more as an IPA then say.....an Amber Ale. This doesn't mean it's a bad beer, in fact, it's a very good beer! My expectations were set to more of a maltier beer but instead I got a nice hoppy surprise that comes off as smooth and well balanced. Try it out if you get the chance!

Summit Horizon Red Ale - 8.5/10

**UPDATE**

After I posted this review on Twitter, Summit posted their new redesigned labels on Twitter to coincide with their updated logo. Amongst them was their redesigned for Horizon Red Ale and....well see for yourselves!



Well played Summit, well played....

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