I like Sierra Nevada in general, I like their IPA, and I really like their pale ale, all that combined with my general love of Amber IPAs (or India Amber Ales) makes me very excited to try Sierra Nevada’s brand new Flipside Red IPA. 
Read on after the jump for more info and my review!
Beer: Flipside Red
Brewery: Sierra Nevada
ABV: 6.2%
IBU: 60
Ingredients: Two-row, wheat, caramel, chocolate malts; Magnum bittering hops; Citra, Simcoe, Centennial finishing hops
Awesome dank aromatics of tropical and citrus hop action remind me of pineapple, orange, and mango. That’s layered on top of a background of caramel malt. Really enjoying this beer already.
Color is a deep ruby red with orange highlights, all topped off with a nice light tan head that is leaving a pleasant lacing and not going down much at all.
The first thing I notice on the tongue is that tropical fruit action. Those hops are balanced by a malt sweetness blend with hints of caramel and a touch of chocolate. As you swallow you’re greeted with a lingering bitterness to remind you this is an IPA, that bitterness has some mango flavor to it. There is some slightly hard to place earthiness which persists throughout the flavor.
Super smooth and creamy body, courtesy of the added wheat, on the light-medium side of things. There is enough carbonation here to leave your tongue tingling for more than a few seconds after you swallow it all down.
I really like this, though I am a sucker for any blend of IPA and Amber, bitterness wise it falls in the crack between a pale and an India pale. However, there is no doubt to the amber-ness of this beer making it more a hoppy amber then an Red IPA. This kind of Amber IPA style is becoming a common fall seasonal for a number of breweries – including Cincinnati’s own Blank Slate Brewing Company who makes the delicious Fork in the Road – which is exactly how Sierra Nevada is treating it. Not sure exactly when this came out, or is going away, but I’d hurry up and grab some before it’s too late.
It was a Sierra Neveda kinda night for me, and as a teaser I’ve got a review of Ken Grossman’s (Sierra Neveda owner and head brewer) bio Beyond The Pale coming soon!
BrewMinds 