It is time for another beer from the Notes.  For any who don't know about this series of blog entries, I stumbled upon an old file that contained tasting notes from approximately two and a half years ago, possibly even older than that.  I decided to post these very sparse notes and I hope to eventually find these same beers again and evaluate them once more, just to see what differences are manifest. 

This third beer of the Old Tasting Notes series is:


  Red Seal Ale, a pale ale from North Coast Brewing. 


Apparently, North Coast has been around since 1988.  No one informed me.  After poking around on their website, I think I may have had some of their beers other than Red Seal, but I'm not sure.  I know I've heard of them.  Old Rasputin and Brother Thelonius.  They also have some Acme Ales which I desire to consume.  I automatically thought of the Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons.  With such good beer names and a good reputation ("worth seeking out" according to MJ and lots of awards) I definitely want more.

Thus and so, on to the notes.  The scorecards used contained five categories:  Color, Collar, Boquet, Mouthfeel, Taste, Overall.  At the bottom of the card there is a space to score the beer from 1 to 5.  They're very generic scoresheets and notes.

COLOR - Orange - kind of cloudy

COLLAR - Clung well to the glass - good mix of bubbles

BOQUET - Strong hops

MOUTHFEEL - Sticky, kind of oily

TASTE - Unexpected tang, excellent hop finish

OVERALL - Very nice, decently balanced, not overpowering

SCORE (1-5) - 4

COMMENTS - Fermentation not perfect - too orange for a red, decent for style - too cloudy - yeast bite

I sound stupid with those ratings.  'Good mix of bubbles?'  Who says that?  Would you go to your bartender and say, "Yo, I wanna beer with a good mix of bubbles?"  No.  Stupid.  My favorite dumb comment is "too orange for a red."  Obviously I simply read the name and assumed this was a red ale.  I did not do my homework and realize it's a pale ale.   'Fermentation not perfect.'  What in the name of brewing does that mean?  I embarass myself with these stupid rantings.

Whatever.  The next Old Taste will be an American amber ale.  Until then, have an old pint.  Er, no, just have a pint.