This is a beer I've been wanting to review for a while now but for some reason I missed it when it was available in Brandon. Fernie's Fernie Brewing is readily available in Manitoba with I-can't-even-count-how-many products available. For the most part, their beer is alright.. nothing special but certainly drinkable and better than most macro products on the shelves.
Rockpile Red IPA was the first beer featured in their Bucket List IPA Series, I've previously reviewed a few of their Bucket List beers before here and in the Brandon Sun, such as their Eldorado Single Hop IPA. Rockpile IPA is 7.2% ABV.. stronger than most IPAs on the market.
Appearance: Pours a fairly nutty brown ale with a caramel red hue, thick yellow-beige head that eventually leaves behind a lot of beige lacing on the side of the glass.
Aroma: Caramel malt sweetness, a hint of booze burning the nostrils, a hint of gritty barley, some hop presence but I can't put my finger on it - it's bitter but not any specific hop aroma to me.
Taste: It's definitely a Red IPA but the hops are mostly just bitter for the sake of bitter with no other hop notes showing off here - no pine, grapefruit, etc. Notes of caramel, lots of barley graininess that has a taste reminiscent to straight up raw, wet barley. A bit of a metallic, bitter aftertaste.
Overall Thoughts: I'm not really a fan. It's possible that this is past its prime. The hoppiness gives off just a bitter taste with no real substance. It's easy to drink though and a hint of creaminess... not bad but not great.
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