origin: Santa Rosa, CA
price: $7/22oz at the Petaluma Market
ABV: 7.6%
NSP: 7.1
website
I have to start with an apology to Santa Rosa's Third Street Aleworks (TSA): guys, I'm sorry I doubted you. Why? I was a little hesitant to buy this, if only because of where it's from: why would you ever open a brewery around the corner from Russian River? I naively thought. But TSA has been around since 1995, so clearly something is working. And this beer is fantastic! We've finally found a contender for best in class for red IPAs, alongside Hop Head Red.
It looks like TSA has excellent Irish stout brewing capabilities, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't a top contender for the style in any competition. The beer leans a bit towards an American strong ale (think Stone's Arrogant Bastard, but a little less arrogant) which is totally OK with me. It's quite delicious with a nice caramel+cherry type thing going on, but with a big hop punch; it's definitely "A BIG RED 4 HOPHEADS", as the bottle puts it.
I can see this hitting the spot with a nice plate of spicy barbecue, but either way I'll have to do an update of the Sonoma County Trilogy. Well done, sirs!
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