Thomas Hooker Irish Red Ale
This traditional red ale gets its unique color from an interesting blend of pale, caramel and roasted malts which promote a sweetness that’s then balanced with crisp, authentic English-style hops. A very unique and drinkable red that’s also favored by amber-lovers. And not only on St.Paddy’s day, but the other 364 days of the year as well.
3.2
153 reviews
Bloomfield, United States
Community reviews
Picture perfect red ale with tan foaminess throughout the sample. As for aroma and flavor Hooker delivers a standard stock Irish Ale, with caramel malts, light hops and some roast to round out the beer. Sometimes a decent beer go down a well worn path.
Drought. Reddish amber colour with small foamy beige head, doughy aroma, sweetish roasted malt taste with a hint of berries, low carbonation, average finish.
355ml bottle. Deep, clear red colour with a moderate tan head. Good red malt aroma and taste, not much bitterness. Flavour is nice and full, not thin like Irish ale can be sometimes. Body was a solid medium. Overall, a nice, full flavour, easy beer to drink.
12 oz bottle. Pours red with a long lasting, off-white head and lovely carbonation. Aroma is of sweet caramel malt, bread crust, hints of chocolate and piney hops. Body is medium and slightly crisp. Caramel, earthy hops, hints of chocolate combine on the palate. Long earthy finish. Good Red but definitely not my favorite.
Draft. Pours deep amber with an off white head. Sweet and toasty malty aroma. The flavor is relatively clean, with toasty malts, light sweet toffee, and flowery hops. Pretty good.
Location: 12 oz bottle from Buy Rite, 11/23/11
Aroma: The nose has caramel malts, smoke, roast, and just a bit of earth
Appearance: It pours a mahogany color with a thick, foamy beige head and some lace
Flavor: The taste is medium-sweet throughout, with just a bit of tartness in the finish
Palate: The body is light-medium, it has a slightly airy and tingly feel, and a fairly short duration
Overall Impression:
This is a solid Irish Red. The random tartness that comes through is a little odd, but otherwise it is fairly on style. This is a decent beer.
12oz bottle. Aroma of pale, bready malts with a little bit of floral hops. Flavor about the same. Could be stronger on both hops and malts. Average texture. An average beer.
Deep amber. Long lasting off-white head. Sweet grassy aroma like the blonde. Little bitter finish.
Bottle. Amber red pour with an of white head. Rich sweet maltiness in the aroma. Similar flavor with some nice roasted caramel malt notes.
This was a pretty standard red ale. It had nice flavor and was easy to drink. The color was a true copper red and aroma was sweet.
Draft in C-Springs as Red Robin’s house ale. It was surprisingly nice but it makes sense now since I see that Thomas Hooker brews it. Really nice Irish Ale with an excellent hop flavor and gentle background bitterness.
Bubble gum nose very amber pour candy molasses flavor kinda candy Kent goldening hops used the malt flavors are kinda weird and bad sorry
Pours reddish brown with an inch of white head. Leaves a fair amount of lacing. Minor toast notes on the nose. Big malty roasted flavor on the tongue which complements buffalo wings very well.
I like this beer a lot, but it doesn’t seem close to style in anything but color, really. It pours a darker shade of red, some kind of burnt or brown-tinged crimson, with an off-white head. A rich maltiness is quickly superseded by a crisp, tangy, almost lemony hop flavor which lasts much longer. The aftertaste leaves just a hint of roasted malt. This is very drinkable, and even fairly well balanced, if not at all what I was expecting. It lies somewhere between Irish ale and American Amber ale.
Had this on tap at a local resturant, pours a clear copper with a thin creamy head, aroma is sweet and the flavor is much of the same, has somewhat of a grassy finish, this was served way too cold and it became more tolerable the more it warmed up.
Rich, nutty aroma. Flavor is fairly similar, dry but with a very creamy mouthfeel and notes of toasted pecans.
(bottle 4/11/10, courtesy of Cletus). Amber color with light cloudiness. Medium off white head. Moderate malty aroma. Light malt flavor with light grass hop. Avg duration. Light bitter finish. Slick texture. Moderate carbonation. Fair lacing.
It pours dull deep copper with weak tan head. The aroma is a mix of earthy hops, spicy hops, caramel-y maltiness and grapefruit rind. Seems a tad odd. The taste sharp pithy bitter to acidic citrus to start and then fills in with thin rings of roasted malts, spicy hops and some caramel malts. Interesting and odd.
This is another beer contracted by Thomas Hooker for an area restaurant called Da Capo. On tap at their location in Avon, this is another example of Hooker’s inability to brew ANYTHING that might be too far away from the norm. Macro abv, macro aroma, macro flavor, macro carbonation, you might as well get yourself a Bud American Ale. Obviously not thought of too highly by the bartender, when asked who the contract brewer is the bartender said, "Red Hook", and when I asked, "Are you sure?", he said, "oh, no, sorry, its Hooker".
Earlier Rating: 12/7/2009 Total Score: 3.2
Im going to join everyone else on this one and say that its fine...not going to blow your socks off...drinkable...etc. the taste is what you expect, how many other ways to say its boring, but good for session drinking?
Nice ruby body with a thin tan head. Great session beer. A well malted body with a notable fruit flavor, kind of a bitter cherry overriding note. Slight bit of cinnamon.
Received 12-oz bottle from Mystery Swap. Pours a clear amber colored brew with a thin off-white head that quickly dissipates to a thin ring. Aroma of toasted caramel malt, some light grassy hops and a touch of roasted nuts. Taste is medium bodied, with flavors of toasted caramel malt, a hint of burnt biscuit, grassy hops and a touch of yeast. Finish is toasted malty aftertaste with a quick sharp bitterness that quickly disappears.
Bottle from Half Time. Pours ruddy amber with a slight beige head. Aroma of roasted malt with a slight hint of chocolate. Med. body. Flavor is rather fruity. Not all that sweet. Might even be balanced. Got a slight tartness from point to point. Ok drink.
A highly sessionable clear amber colored ale with good carbonation. With a light malt aroma and interesting sweet-tart malt flavor. Very drinkable. Finish is a little bitter, sweet and tart. Interesting take on this style. Perhaps I have an odd bottle.
12oz. bottle. Pours a dark auburn with a thin white head. Aroma of toffee and toasted malts. Tart crisp hops followed by toasted malts, light roasted malts and toffee make up the flavor. Finishes rather light and pretty clean. Above average amber ale!
12oz bottle. don’t remember where I got it. deep amber brown pour with a medium tan head. soft sweet nutty aroma. roasted malt flavor, yeast and light earthy bitterness. texture is slick thin to medium.
smells a little sweet but mostly it just smells good. darker orangebrown w/ a slight haze. choco malt or caroub first flavors. a little bitter as it settles in but never over the top. mild creamy co2. even comes across wierdly orange at times. good body on the finish. Big thanks to the lilbeerdoctor, she is a great trader!
On tap at Red Robin, South Windsor, CT. Hazy amber color with smalll beige head. Sweet aroma with hints of caramel, yeast and fruits. Fresh in mouth, not too much hops not aftertaste.
tap: a solid amber ale, but nothing too exciting. Orange-red pour with a thin white head. Fresh and nutty. Thin and bubbly mouthfeel.
Pours a nice deep ruby. Not much in the nose, some toasted grain, maybe. Flavor is fruity esters, toasted grain, caramel. Not the greatest.
The comments below sum up my thoughts. This stuff is not great at all, but decent easy drinker.....BUT there are better decent easy drinkers out there.