Russell Brewing Luck of the Irish Red Ale: Brewed in Surrey, BC this seasonal release Irish Red Ale has an alcohol by volume of 5% and contains 30 IBUs worth of hops. I enjoyed this on a fairly quiet mid-week St. Patrick’s Day as a nice way to settle down after a busy day of work and pay homage to my Irish heritage.
Aroma and Appearance: It pours a reddish amber colour with two fingers of foam and some teeny tiny bubbles that rose up the glass ever so slowly. The aroma was fairly simple, consisting of toffee, plums and a general earthiness.
Flavour: Upfront it is dominated by plums, earth and nuts in a rather malt forward way which is typical of this style of beer. Its middle is fairly bland, with bits of cherry and molasses while the finish is rather dry and has just a bit of a sooty texture.
Overall Impression: I wasn’t expecting much from this beer, but it was better than I thought it would be. The malty fruits really helped counteract the earthy notes quite nicely, giving it some nice characteristics and added flavour.
Rating: I give it a Very Good rating of 7/10, it is a nice easy drinking beer with some flavours worthy of appreciation.
Food Pairing: Irish bangers and mash or some Irish sharp cheddar would work equally well with this style of beer.
Here’s a good shot from the brewery when they packaged this beer. I think they have a pretty decent Instagram account that’s worth following so be sure to check it out below:
West Coast Beer Geek 
Haven’t yet picked this one up but I’ll definitely give it a try while it’s out. Didn’t even realize it’s a seasonal!
It reminded me a bit of their Scotch Ale which is quite good, they seem to have this higher gravity malt forward style of beer down pretty good which is nice because many places do not.