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Humboldt Red Nectar: Balance and Great TasteJul 21 '05 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line This is a well- balanced and very versatile beer that most anyone will enjoy.
Red ales make a nice change of pace from ordinary beer and they are known for their wider than normal variation in taste characteristics. One red ale that I had the pleasure of sampling recently was Red Nectar, a product of California’s Humboldt Brewery. Basic Characteristics of This Beer: This beer pours to a copper/orange hue with a clear body and an aroma that is fruity and sweet. The foam level is very good and it holds itself together from the first sip all the way to the bottom of the glass. With this beer, I could detect the taste of caramel, fruit, toasted malt, and a good dose of hop bitterness at the end. There was even a small amount of chocolate taste. The fruit wasn’t necessarily citrus- like, the way many ales taste. No, this beer has a fruit taste that combines apples with only a small amount of citrus. Humboldt brews this beer using two- row pale malt, crystal malt and wheat malt. The mixture is then infused with Chinook, cascade, Willamette, and Mt. Hood hops. The final product has a bitterness rating of 44 IBU and an alcohol content of 5.4 percent by volume. Food Compatibility: This beer is quite versatile and it could accommodate many foods or festive occasions. I think it would taste very good with steak, beef stew, or other red meat dishes. But it would also make a good choice for pizza, chicken, pork, and much more. And it’s also very tasty to drink casually while watching sports; sitting on your deck reading a book; or just about anything else. Final Thoughts: Humboldt Brewing Company is a California craft brewery that has been in existence, on and off, for more than 150 years. NFL player Mario Celotto and his brother Vince helped to revive the once defunct brewery in the late 1980’s and it currently stands as one of California’s most consistent craft breweries. I had heard about Humboldt Brewing in the past but I hadn’t tried this beer (at least not that I can remember- I could have sampled it at a beer festival) until today. And I must say that I find it very enjoyable and tasty. Red ales are often a very diverse lot and you never really know what you might get until you pop the top and take a sip. Some of them taste fruity, others taste bitter and dry, and others taste more roasty and malty. Like amber ales, you don’t really know what to expect. And that is one of the many pleasures of this type of brew- the anticipation of what will be inside the bottle. This is a very well- balanced beer with the tastes of caramel, apple and citrus fruits, and a lingering hop bitterness that is very good and very balancing without going over the edge with its bitter qualities. The aftertaste of this beer is also balanced. The taste of fruit shines through more than anything else, but you can still taste a good amount of the sweet malt after you have taken your final sips. Since this beer is brewed in California and the brewery isn’t all that large, its products are not very widely distributed. I think it’s a safe assumption that most of the public has never heard about Humboldt Brewery. The products I have tried so far are all pretty good and I think they could all sell well with the right marketing campaign. But as of today, this company’s products remain difficult to find. Medium bodied and with a good amount of complexity, Humboldt Red Nectar is a very good- tasting beer that will satisfy most anyone whose lips it touches. I’m giving this beer 4 out of 5 stars for its better- than- average taste, its balance, its attractive appearance, and its great versatility. It’s a beer that most anyone will enjoy.  |
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