Beer of the Week: Red 5

From the Beer Writer: Despite what one may be led to believe in our land of golden, bone-dry IPAs, malt is not a four-letter word. OK, it is in a literal sense, but there’s nothing wrong with adding color and complexity to hoppy beers care of specialty malts. I was recently reminded of this when sampling this week’s featured beer, Red 5 IPA, a red rye IPA from Scripps Ranch’s Night Parade Brewing (which used to go by the moniker Voodoo Child Brewing before rebranding last week). This specialty offering, which was brewed for enjoyment during the brewery’s annual Star Wars Day celebration on Saturday, May 6 (yes, they know it’s not May the Fourth, but, yo, DUH, it’s more fun to party on a weekend than a Thursday), is delightfully retro and took me back a quarter century to the first two craft beers I ever drank. Those life-changing beers–an American strong ale and an American barleywine–were over-the-top in every way, from their piney hop bite to their toasty, caramely malt backbone to their industrial-strength ABV (alcohol-by-volume). Over time, as the beer industry shifted to leaner, lighter hop-driven beers (something I’m fully in favor of as it allows drinkers to better appreciate all aspects and nuances of the hops in their pale ales and IPAs), I’d forgotten what a delightful sensory experience is presented when big hops and bold malts battle for taste-bud supremacy. Red 5 provides that tasty interplay with far less booziness. If you’re like me and might enjoy a trip back to a galaxy far, far away, then this is the beer you’re looking for.

From the Brewer: “The hops are strong with this one, so don’t underestimate its chances. Enjoy ample amounts of Mosaic and Pekko hops with chocolate and caramel rye malts, loaded into quad laser cannons and locked straight on course for your tastebuds. Let’s grab this can and go home! Red 5 sits halfway between classic red and rye IPAs in terms of flavor and richness. Rye specialty malts add a smoother flavor that is more earthy, slightly sweet, and mildly spicy; less sharp than base rye malt while still retaining a bit of dryness in the finish like an Irish-style red ale. The Mosaic and Pekko hop combination adds a blend of bitter citrus, herbal and floral flavors that complement the more mellow rye character.”—James McCanna, Co-founder, Night Parade Brewing