Roots Woody Organic IPA

I really rather enjoyed a bottle of Roots Organic Brewing‘s Island Red that I tried a way back in the year, so it was with some anticipation that I cracked open a bottle of this Organic IPA one chilly evening, ready to indulge in a little west-coast hoppy goodness.

Not quite sure what Roots are up to, but once again this produced a mammoth head, that took seemingly forever (maybe 5 minutes) to settle down. Seriously, this beer’s crazy when it comes to the foam department – I had to wait a long old time before I could actually pour out the whole pint, and I wasn’t really in the mood for waiting. But wait I had to…

Glad to report, that wait wasn’t in vain.  A nice citric tang to this brew starts things off with a refreshing bite, soon followed by a decent dose of hops and a slight hint of pepper, with a sweet malt backbone that helps give it some solid flavour. Not as spicey as the White Hawk I ruminated over on the weekend, but still a good mouthful of beer to enjoy.

One word of warning: look out for the sediment at the bottom of the bottle if you decide to give this one a tryout. I ended up with way more of it in my glass than I knew was coming, and had to miss out on the last inch – a disappointing end to a beer adventure that had waited a while to begin.

Despite my slightly grumpy ramblings, this one was on the better side of decent – so without further ado…

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Roots Island Red

Fresh out of Portland Oregon, Roots Organic Brewing are a new name on my tasting list, and purveyors of a interesting line in completely organic beers. Based on their name, that’s coming as no surprise, right?  Anyway – first up and out of the ‘fridge was a bottle of their Roots Island Red, a brew with a label I really liked, and which they describe on their site as a “red stout”. Intriguing.

First thing to get past is the insane head on the first pour – literally almost an entire pint of bubbles. If you’re tempted by this review to try one, mind how you go with that wrist action. Under the huge pile of white stuff on top, this Red Ale is a deep cloudy hazelnut colour with a fine ruby glint when held up to the sun. Reasonably attractive in the glass, and smells pretty good too, with a healthy dose of yeast and malt on the nose.

After battling through the fiendish foam, the beer itself is decently complex beast – brewed with oats as well as wheat, apparently, it’s got a heavy helping of malten bread flavour to deliver to your tongue, followed up with a pleasant slight sourness that tickles the pallate and gums. The finish is bitter, dry and lingering.

Overall this is an interesting beer that’ll probably repay a second or third helping. Not sure how I’m going to keep the carbonation under control next time I try it, but try it I definitely will.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again