Beer Man: Fort Collins Brewery offers smooth, tantalizing beers
Beer Man is a weekly profile of beers from across the country and around the world.
This week: Red Banshee
Fort Collins Brewery, Fort Collins, Colo.
I recently spent an enjoyable evening sampling several canned beers from Fort Collins Brewery.
Although the beers were very different, they were all marked by a general smoothness and great drinkability.
My favorite of the bunch was the Red Banshee red altbier. Alt is a traditional German ale that preceded the rise of lager popularity in the 1800s. The style is marked by a strong malt background, and Red Banshee nails that aspect.
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The biscuity malt background was present in both the aroma and flavor, without being overly sweet or heavy. In a twist to the style, however, Fort Collins added caramel malt. This gave the malt base some pleasant toffee notes with just a touch of sweetness.
German hops added some floral and grassy notes, and there was minimal bitterness. If you’ve never tried an alt before, the 5.3% ABV Red Banshee is a good place to start.
Shot Down was a chocolate stout that featured a good balance between the chocolate, caramel and coffee notes. Like Red Banshee, it went down smoothly.
The chocolate was forefront in the 5.8% ABV stout, but not overpowering, allowing the other flavors to make their presence known. Unlike many stouts, it was not coffee-roast bitter or tangy.
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Far Away India Pale Ale is another IPA of a type I’ve been enjoying lately. It’s brewed with Cascade, Columbus and Chinook hops, then dry-hopped with Centennial and El Dorado hops. While grapefruit was prominent in the aroma, there also were easily discernible notes of melon, tangerine and pineapple.
The flavor was more of pine and grapefruit, as most American IPAs are. There were noticeable soft malts in the background of the 6.5% ABV IPA, along with mild bitterness and slight harshness.
Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat didn’t grab me as much as the other beers. A large part of it was not being impressed by the flavor of pomegranate, which just seemed like a variation of grapefruit. While well made, the 5.1% ABV beer would appeal more to those who prefer American pale ales and IPAs.
Technically, all these beers were well made — nice heads, lacing and carbonation. Fort Collins beers are available in at least 18 states; its Beer Finder link is here.
Many beers are available only regionally. Check the brewer's website, which often contains information on product availability by mail. Contact Todd Haefer at beerman@postcrescent.com. To read previous Beer Man columns, click here.