Rad Red

Upland is Indiana's second largest craft brewery. They are well known for their wheat beer and their wheat and most importantly they are located in Bloomington, by the IU campus which makes them near and dear to my heart. With the Big 10 tournament underway I felt like it might help my Hoosiers if I enjoyed some Bloomington beer while wearing my striped pants.

One of the best parts of being so large, is they are easier to get in liquor stores, and anywhere that may sell premium beers. Rad Red is their amber ale, and one that I did not drink a ton of in college, so I wanted to give it a chance. I picked up a six pack and made it happen.

It poured out a nice light amber color with more sediment than I expect from a major craft brewery, but since I home brew that doesn't scare me off. Upland is known for doing great beer and doing it green, so I am not sure about their filtration process. They head went away quickly. It didn't have much of an aroma, sort of a bready beer like smell (not very helpful I know, but sometimes beer just smells like beer).

The beer had a light maltiness with some smoked flavor and caramel and bread flavors making up the sweet side. It had a piney hop bitterness throughout the entire beer that I was not expecting from an amber, but also not over powering. It finished with a sharp hoppy bite, but some of the caramel flavor lingered after every taste. It had a nice mouth feel with a strong effervescence. It was very light in flavor and in consistency  This beer is nothing wild and crazy, but it tastes good, and has a nice easy feel that would let you drink it all day long.

I give it a 3.