Cherry Ale – Trafalgar Ales and Meads

So, despite a few less then ideal experiences on my own account, and a bad-hat-trick over at http://www.onebeeratatime.wordpress.com by Matt, I went ahead and bought this seasonal offering from Trafalgar (they do make Irish Paddy Red, which I’m quite enamoured with). So let’s see what happens!

Cherry Ale - Trafalgar Ales and Meads

From a 650ml bottle with a best before date marked on the label, the beer pours brown with hints of red.  A tiny head dissipated nearly immedately, to a nearly invisible ring.  Aroma is fruity, I think I only thought “Cherries” because it said so on the label, but definitely a fruity berry-like aroma is there, as is some malty grains.  The taste is a bit funny, there is some cherry to it, but not much, and the finish is all hops, with a bit of grain.  The fruity taste is definitely not particularly cherries, and it’s very subtle.  It’s also a little matallic.  There is some sweet malt in the finish, which is also quite hoppy and dry.  There is no fruit in the finish.  I’m not entirely sure about this beer.  It’s definitely not bad, but I would really like a good bit more cherries to it.  That being said, it’s pretty drinkable.  It’s not really my thing, but I think it is an interesting beer that would probably appeal to a lot of people who weren’t heavy into more complicated beers.  I probably won’t buy myself more of this, but might just buy one to add to my father’s day present.  By the way, Dad, if you’re reading this, ignore that last sentence.

I think, all-in-all, I would like my fruit beers to be, well, more fruity.  I recently had the Sam Smith’s Raspberry Ale, which was not a framboise, but an honest to goodness ale, brewed with whole raspberries.  Like this brew, it showed charecteristic ale features, but was a lovely display of raspberries.  The Cherry Ale just doesn’t have the same fruit presence.  But like I said, it’s not bad.  Cheers, Trafalgar.