An Amateur Beer Snob’s Guide to Beer: The R Beers
An amateur beer snob provides the “R” chapter from his ebook, “An Amateur Beer Snob’s Guide to Beer,” soon available on the Amazon Kindle and online at Smashwords.
What you will find below
The listings below will include the name of the beer, my numerical ranking based upon my own scale of 0.1 to 10.0, and a little of my personal thoughts about each beer. Here and there I’ll also throw in a few funny or interesting quotes about beer from famous folks. And if you’re curious about my ranking systems, let’s just say that a 5.0 is a decent beer, a 1.0 is an awful beer and a 10.0 is a fantastic beer.
R beers
Red Dog
3.1
A prototypical American beer. Good for darts, bowling and as a bar beer. Nothing special. A little too much carbonation for me.
Red Hook ESB
3.7
ESB stands for “extra special bitter,” which is one of three types of “bitter,” an English ale. This brew is sweet and heavy in the mouth. There’s too much fizz and it goes down a little rough. Probably makes a decent pub beer to go along with pretzels, peanuts and small talk.
Red Hook IPA
5.4
IPA stands for “India pale ale,” traditionally a type of English pale ale. This has a little burnt sweetness but it doesn’t have much of the usual sour India pale ale flavor, unless you let it sit and become room temperature. According to the packaging, this beer was originally called Red Hook Ballard Bitter, named after the Seattle neighborhood the first Red Hook brewery stood in.
2.4
One of the most overrated beers I’ve ever drank. For people who aren’t really beer snobs but want others to think they are beer snobs. Made in Kingston, Jamaica. Lots of fizz here with a skunky taste. I’d rather drink Budweiser (not really; it’s called sarcasm).
Red Wolf
3.3
It’s beer. You can drink it. You Budweiser fans who want to live on the wild side a little can try this without getting too turned off.
Rhino Chasers Peach Honey Wheat
7.3
Brewed and bottled by the William and Scott Brewing Co. of St. Paul, Minnesotta. Nice frothy feel with a light sweet taste. The peach flavor is just right, not overpowering. Reminds me a little of Pete’s Wicked Strawberry Blonde.
Road Dog Ale
5.3
This Scottish ale is brewed by Broadway Brewing, LLC, of Denver for Flying Dog Brew Pub of Aspen, Colorado. This beer is a little sweet with a slight burnt taste, like most Scottish ales. A little education, for those who need it: “Scottish ales” are a type of sweet, dark ale brewed in Scotland; not all Scottish ales are necessarily “Scottish ales,” but all “Scottish ales” are Scottish ales. Did that make sense?
6.0
I have been told by more than one source that this beer was the official beer of Ohio University from the mid-to-late ’80s. Any of you alums want to comment? Anyway, this beer is very wet and a good thirst quencher. It has a frothy taste that stays with you. This isn’t a real exciting beer but it is very agreeable. Normally I wouldn’t say this is a beer snob’s beer, but the taste is so smooth.
Rolling Rock Light
5.4
Basically this tastes like Rolling Rock with some extra carbonation thrown in. Not bad for a light beer. I couldn’t find Rolling Rock’s mysterious number 33 on the bottle anywhere. Smooth.
Rogue Ale Younger’s Special Bitter
7.4
Extremely smooth despite the barest hint of carbonation. A light, wet bitterness is here that will leave you more than satisfied. Goes decent with chili.
Rogue Mocha Porter
5.9
From the Oregon Brewing Co. of Newport, Oregon. Pretty sweet for a porter. There’s some maple flavor behind all the sweetness. Heavy on the stomach. Not for wimps.
Ruddles Pub Ale Draught
4.8
I’m usually not a fan of these draught ales in a can, but this one isn’t too bad. Has the smooth, milky head of a draught. Very wet, almost to the point of being flat. There’s a slight hops (bitter) flavor that is a little stronger in the aftertaste.
Quote from Benjamin Franklin
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Related beer links
The Amateur Beer Snob’s Guide to Beer: The S Beers
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