Beer Review: Stoudt's Scarlet Lady Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: Scarlet Lady was a tea-colored amber that also boasted some other red and gold hues. There was an intense bustle of carbonation as soon as I poured it into the glass. The carbonation bubbles helped lead to an off-white moreso beige head which featured some medium staying power and average web'like lacing inside the glass.

Smell: Very floral hop notes. Quite a bit more than I expected. Otherwise, the aroma of this beer was somewhat bland. There was a tad of roastiness, but the scent wasn't strong enough for me to distinguish.

Taste: Asis customary, I got some sweet malt and caramel up front, but just a little of each. That was followed by some fruity esters to compliment the sweetness. The floral hops led to some zing and bite on the back. The finish was punctuated by a pale taste which also lingered into the aftertaste.

Overall Rating: 

This was an interesting drink. It's classified as a bitter. So, naturally I was expecting a struggle. It was actually more fruity and malty than bitter in that respect. I was surprised. The hops were somewhat complex. Very floral and bitter. They added an interesting touch. The brew is very attractive. Really carbonated. Attractive as the lady on the label!

Beer Review: Stoudt's Gold Lager

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Five percent

Appearance: This Helles Lager had a lovely straw gold color to the body. There was some form of a haze gradient. It started in the upper portions of the brew and faded away to something a bit more transparent down below. The head was quite thick and had an attractive white fluffiness to it. It didn't appear to be fueled by many carbonation bubbles, but it did end up caving in on itself to leave some web-like sticky lacing inside my glass.

Smell: This smelled quite clean. I also noticed a grassiness as well as a bready backbone. Very crackery and a slight hop nose.

Taste: I mainly tasted crackers and bread for the most part on each sip of this beer. Those flavors were especially dominant from the front to mid portions of the tongue. An additional flavor on the mid portion was a touch of sweet caramel to offset some of the stronger savory flavors. The finish was very herbal, crisp as well as hoppy. The caramel in the middle helped to counteract with the bitterness I caught on the finish. Very clean and crisp, overall.

Overall Rating: 

I really enjoyed this. A really quality Helles Lager. A very clean beer. Good cracker flavor with a hint of sweet caramel. It also had a nice hoppy bite on the back. This was very balanced in all aspects of flavor. If anything it did play a bit light. Carbonation was also a tad lacking. Still, those aren't huge reasons to deduct points, in my book.