Beer Review: Fredhead Red IPA (Attaboy Beer)
Happy Father’s Day everyone. Hope you all made the best of your day, I certainly did. Home from Frederick Maryland and with some fresh beer to boot. You can read about my trip Monocacy Battlefield and Frederick Maryland here: Road Trip to Monocacy Battlefield (June 19th and June 20th, 2020) and the lead-up article to it here: Impromptu Two-Day Trip to Frederick Maryland. But now home, safe and sound, and feeling a lot better, its time to spend time with the family and enjoy a nice, relaxing father’s day with some cold, refreshing, craft beer.
The day started with me making the girls scrambled eggs on the grill and them giving me my gifts; which was a ‘The Dadalorian’ shirt, and a small mini-fridge that can hold six cans. It can be plugged in regularly or into a car, so that’s pretty cool. The shirt:
As a fan of Star Wars and especially the Mandalorian show, its definitely a cool shirt. After my shower for the day I made sure to put it on when we went to my sister and brother-in-law’s for a lunch / dinner picnic gathering.
Social distancing was done, don’t worry, (though I did not bring any Social Distancing), but the gathering was only myself and my girls, my parents, and my sister, her husband, and their son. So everyone whose been in contact with each other in recent history anyway. Also, while there, due to an upcoming stomach procedure my father had to be tested for COVID-19 and he got his results by phone – negative. Which was a gift in and of itself for father’s day.
For my father I had gotten him a book about Eagles’ Zac Ertz, as well as a new hand-made broom for their porch, and a rose I planted in their garden.
The get together was nice, and relaxing, the kids played in a water pool and played with squirt guns and water balloons, my brother in law grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and I drank a few delicious Fredhead Red IPAs. Even having one later watching a nice storm roll through.
So let’s check it out….
Beer: Fredhead Red IPA
Brewery: Attaboy Beer
Style: IPA – Red
ABV: 7%
IBU: 50
Untappd Description:
Piney, Roasty, Rich. Fredhead is formally named Fredheaded Stepchild. An ode to the great Red IPA’s out there.
Starting Gravity 14
Final Gravity 3.8
Hops: Simcoe, Mosaic, Horizon, Cascade
Malts: 2 Row, Munich, Crystal 80, Black Malt, Black Prinz
I enjoy the Untappd descriptions for Attaboy Beer’s; they include the malts used, the hops used, the starting gravities and the final gravity. All great for home brewers who would want to replicate (or attempt to) their recipes or make a clone. If anything, it at least gives them a base idea to start from. Plus, for consumers (drinkers) its a great way to learn more about the beer and the ingredients in it that you are drinking. Always cool, a smarter consumer, smarter drinker, is a better consumer and better drinker.
Appearance is similar to Amber Ales; in that its just that – Amber. Red. Red… and an IPA…. Oh, I get it now! Now do take note – this is a IPA – Red; not an Amber Ale, like Nugget Nectar. So remember folks – Nugget Nectar is NOT an IPA, its an Amber Ale, this – Fredhead Red – IS an IPA, and its a RED IPA. Ok? We got all that sorted? Though I do have to confess loving sitting at the bar at Troegs Brewery watching people call Nugget Nectar an Amber IPA or Red IPA or just an IPA in general and everyone roll their eyes, sigh, and try to begin to explain. But anyway….. getting back to the appearance of this redheaded stepchild….. First off, color is a dark amber red, still fairly transparent but not completely (due to its darker hue; not due to filtration). Super carbonated, but not a gusher. Big foamy, fluffy head with randomized and large bubbles.
Aroma is hoppy, but with a much more distinguishable malt backbone to it. Definitely not a hop bomb or a malt bomb either way, by any means. This is certainly closer to being a West Coast style IPA and there is a nice piney, resin, earthy heavyness to the nose on this. A hint of citrus, some of the simcoe making its presence known, but for the most part this smells more like a roasty, malty West Coast IPA.
This drinks like a darker, more malty, roasty, version of a West Coast IPA. It is malty, but not a malt bomb. It is hoppy, but not a hop bomb. It mixes nicely and makes a very nice combination of the two. There is a very healthy piney, resin taste to it that gives it that good old fashion West Coast IPA taste, thats nice to get back to every once in a while. In the current New England IPA dominated beer trends, its nice to kick back every once in a while with a good old fashion West Coast style IPA (even if its a ‘Red IPA’). With the piney-ness and resin, I also get some faint hints of grapefruit, bit of citrus, bit of roasted malt, darker, bread-crumb like malt, slight biscuit, and earthy notes. The mouthfeel for this is pretty much spot on, not too thick, not too thin, right where an IPA should be. Its well carbonated and is a lovely brew. This, along with the other two beers I had at Attaboy Beer were downright fantastic. And definitely makes Attaboy Beer worth a stop if you are in the Frederick Maryland area. This is a great Red IPA, a great West Coast IPA, and just a downright great beer.
My Untappd Rating: ***.75
Global Untappd Rating: 3.6 (as of 6.22.20)
Cheers everyone, happy father’s day, and make sure dad gets to sit back, relax, and drink a nice cold craft beer!
My Trip to Frederick Maryland:
