Midnight Brewery Rockville Red
Midnight Brewery is located just northwest of Richmond, VA. The company has been around since, I believe, 2012 and yet happening across this bottle of their Rockville Red is the first that I’ve seen their products on shelves in the northern end of the state. I’m not the biggest fan of Irish Red Ales, but having never sampled anything from the brewery, I decided to take a chance.
The 5.5% ABV (23 IBU) didn’t present much of an aroma as subtle notes of bread, caramel and distant fruits mingled lightly. But the earthy presentation once the ale hit the tastebuds was a pleasant surprise. There’s a good balance between the malt backbone and a welcome touch of grassy, leafy hop notes that keep that “red” portion of the ale in check — which I prefer personally. Rockville Red has a nicely crisp mouthfeel, medium body and lingering, lightly drying finish.
That earthy quality is what really pleased me about this experience as you don’t typically encounter that sort of characteristic in this style of beer. Rockville Red is also one of the few, non hop-forward examples of the style that I’ve enjoyed. It’s not going to change my opinion of red ales, nor alter my taste perceptions, but I did quite like it. Maybe another bottle or two will make an appearance in the fridge sometime in the future. Maybe.