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12oz Bottle
$10.99 6-Pack
Big Red Bloomington

Bottled 2/08

This is an Irish-style imperial red ale. A somewhat aggressive pour produces a fingers worth of dirty white head over the top of a rusty red body. The body has some haze to it and the head leaves some thin patchy lacing on its way down. Not a bad looking brew.

I can't pick up much in the nose until I swirl and it comes alive for a minute or two until the next swirl awakens it again. You don't usually hear it too often from Irish-style reds but this is robust. Caramel drizzled biscuity malt is big throughout. Somewhere in the middle a sweet bread of some sort pushes its way in but fades just as quickly. There is some sugary pineapple hoppiness on the backend but it's faint and comes through just enough for some balance. There's a ghost like alcohol on the finish.

The flavor follows the nose in stride. Toasty, biscuity, and caramel malts all mesh together nicely. Some of the pineapple and citric hoppiness show up mid-palate through the finish but just to balance things out. I have to give Upland credit. There is zero alcohol noticeable in the flavor, which is quite an accomplishment for a beer weighing in at over 9%.

Healthy carbonation gives this beer an incredibly fluffy, velvety mouthfeel that's unusual for such a monster. The body is on the bigger side of medium and really fits things nicely.

Ard Ri goes down far too easy for such a big beer. The mouthfeel makes this a pleasure to imbibe. This drinks like a standard Irish red. Watch out, these could catch up to you in a hurry!

Ard Ri ended up being a solid seasonal (St. Paddy's Day) release. I'd pick this up again. I just wish I would have had it on St. Patrick's Day, would have made the night even more fun!

Reviewed: 3/22/08

Price: $10.99 Served In: Pint Glass

Pours a hazy deep red with a hint of copper. Some yeasty chunks floating around the glass. Smooth off-white foamy head atop settles fairly quickly and leaves just a bit of lacing on the walls of the ping glass.

Deep caramel malt with a nice smooth sweetness. Hints of toffee and biscuit. Slight hint of fruity hops. Touch of roasted malt.

Super smooth malt body. Creamy toffee and caramel. Very nice sweetness slides across the palate and coats it with a touch of roasted malt and a bit of fruity hops. Hints of apple mingle with the toffee nicely. The 9% ABV doesn't make itself apparent in the aroma or flavor. More toffee comes back in the aftertaste and sticks around for a bit.

Served In: Pint Glass