Try?
Here we go again with another in the Brick Mason Series from Atlanta’s Red Brick Brewing Company: Brick Mason Old Stock Ale. Actually, the beer I’m sipping and writing about is their Old Stock Ale, and to be fair a few more releases have hits store shelves in the Brick Mason series since this one. Being that this is an Old Ale in style, however, and these generally age well, I thought I would let it get a bit older before a review.
Red Brick used to be known as Atlanta Brewing, though they’ve always brewed a Red Brick line of beers. While Sweetwater may be Georgia’s largest craft brewery, Red Brick gets the nod as the oldest, and they’ve long been a favorite of mine. September 29 of 2013 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the day Atlanta Brewing was founded.
The
Brick Mason series is an attempt to replicate the recent trend towards
one-off specialty beers common among craft brewers today. Old Stock Ale is
actually a blend of three different beers, but I’ll let the brewery tell you
about that. They say:
A blend of three copper ales. One aged in oak barrels for 60 days. Another brewed with LOTS of dark caramel roasted malts, and one brewed with a blend of sweet and bitter orange peels and star anise. Lots of complexity. Will age well.
I say:
Red Brick Old Stock Ale pours to a dark maroon color with a thick, creamy tan head formation and a soft fruity malty nose. A very big caramel malt palate is the first thing that hits me when I take a sip, quickly followed by slightly less substantial notes of McIntosh apple and pear fruit. The caramel and fruit combine to give a tasty candy apple impression. Vanilla from the oak aging is present, and the beer is woody with notes of rum raisin ice cream and spice cake. Ripe bing cherries, bitter orange and subtle licorice come out towards the finish. It’s all wrapped up with some grassy hop aroma, a long drying herbal bitterness, and gentle alcohol warmth (alcohol content is 7.9% by volume).
I find this to be an amazingly complex beer bursting with fruity flavor. A very, very nice beer indeed. With about 8 months of age on it the malt and yeast flavors have really come out, and I think this one could go another year or two if properly stored. My only complaint is the price. Red Brick beers used to be an incredible bargain, but they seemed to have jumped on the high price bandwagon of late. This one goes for $9.99 which I think would be a reasonable price for six; sadly Red Brick old Stock Ale comes in 4-packs for that price.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
(G)=Growler
