Review Date 2/2/2013
Try?
Re-buy?
I had seen the brand of beer a few times around Atlanta beer stores: Red Rock. I didn’t know much about it, to be honest, except to wonder that I recalled them making ginger ale. Indeed, there was and is a Red Rock Ginger Ale, though it’s not the same company. The soda company was founded in Atlanta and now produced in Indiana; the beer is brewed in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Most times, I would pick up on of the half-liter bottles out of curiosity, though the price tag would usually dissuade me from adding the item to my shopping cart: $5.99 to $7.99 a bottle.
Until I saw a bottle of Red Rock Secale 2012 Bavarian Style Doppelbock Lager Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels. Now that sure sounded good, and being the doppelbock aficionado that I am, well, I finally decided to take the plunge and fork over my hard-earned $5.99. “Secale”, if you’re wondering, is Latin for Rye, though not having a Roman centurion with me at the store, I didn’t know that until I got home and read the label.
“Se-cal-le, Latin for rye, is a German style double bock brewed with this all too underappreciated grain, then lagered in High West Rye Whiskey barrels for 6 months. Double Bocks were first brewed in Munich by the Paulaner monks, an order founded by St. Francis of Paula.”
Alcohol content is 8.5% alcohol by volume.
Secale 2012 Bavarian Style Doppelbock Lager Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels is, again, the first bottle of Red Rock beer that I have ever tried. I’d like to tell you that it’s an amazing beer, full of dark nutty Munich malt notes, hints of whiskey and spicy rye.
I can’t though, because if I did, I would be lying to you. My bottle was pure vinegar, terribly sour and infected. No doppelbock, rye, or whisky notes had a chance to some through here. That was such a shame, because I was really looking forward to this beer.
I’m not sure where the infection occurred, in the barrel or on the bottling line. I do know that it happened somewhere, and ruined the beer. Now, brewing defects will occur, and to be fair I e-mailed the brewery to see if they knew anything about this. The silence was deafening from Red Rock, and I never did get a response.
That’s a bigger shame. Not long ago I had an experience with bad beer from another brewer, and they responded within 24 hours with an offer to refund my purchase price.
Again, when you price your beer this high, it had better be good. It’s very unlikely I’ll buy another Red Rock beer. $6 to $8 for a 16.9 ounce bottle of possibly infected brew is a very pricey risk, indeed.
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
