Highland Brewing Devil’s Britches
I’ve only had a couple of brews from North Carolina’s Highland Brewing (one of which was their Cattail Peak). I wasn’t super stoked on that particular beer and wanted to give the company another shot. Unfortunately, it had been a while since I last ran across something from them other than the wheat ale reviewed above. Thankfully, the next one I encountered was this IPA. It’s just too bad that the beer is so heavily influenced by another style that I’m not particularly fond of — the red ale.
Devil’s Britches is a 6% ABV American IPA that uses a malt blend that gives the otherwise hoppy and citrusy beer a strong red ale character. There are only a few red ales that I truly enjoy and the effect that the malt profile has on this beer doesn’t make it one of them. I applaud the brewery on their interpretation of the style and this really isn’t a bad beer, but it probably won’t make another appearance in my beer fridge.
Appearance
The brew pours a reddish copper in color with a frothy, khaki cap of foam.
Aroma
Earthy and leafy hops arrive lightly first with a bit of a grassy character as well of the peaty, malty presence of a red/scotch ale.
Taste
This is an interesting beer. It’s got a definite red ale influence across the spectrum with caramel and toffee. The hop profile has a strong leafy presence with a solid amount of bitterness that hangs around for a good long while after each sip. The initial burst of the red ale maltiness is a bit jarring at first — I actually though the beer was off before realizing what was going on. There’s no hint of alcohol.
Overall
Again, this isn’t a horrible beer. It tastes like a fairly straightforward blend of a red ale and an IPA. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work for me. I enjoyed it more so than their wheat ale if that counts for anything. That said, I’ll continue to give the brewery (as with any company my taste buds may butt heads with) many more opportunities in the future.
Rating: 3.25/5
