Why We Chose It: I have spent the day at the Red Shedman Brewery & Hop Farm / Linganore Winecellars in Mt. Airy and had a fantastic day. I highly recommend, and thought this would be a good intro beer for those unfamiliar. Also, have I mentioned my fondness for rye beers yet... although the honey part makes me nervous.
What Red Shedman Says About It: Take your senses to their happy place. Pale, Munich and Rye malts create a beautiful golden color with a touch of spice. Additions of pure honey create a sweet floral aroma.
ABV: 5.8
IBU: 18
Fun Facts: Red Shedman Farm Brewery & Hop Yard is located among the rolling hills of Mt. Airy, on over 200 acres of farmland, between Frederick and Baltimore, Maryland. The farm cultivates several varieties of hops including Cascade, Columbus, Chinook, Nugget and Crystal. There's also an odd story to the odd name here: http://redshedman.com/story-of-red-shedman/
Again with a total lack of day/early evening drinking on here. I admit, I had pretty high hopes here. Liked the Red Shedmans I've had before (of course that was before I read that really creepy story Scott linked to). I don't go looking for rye beers but I'm usually cool with them. But good god. This is a can of honey. And not in a good way. I think it may be classified as mead. I poured half in a glass for Ro and drank my half from the can. She took two sips of hers and left it to open a Celebration Ale (fear not, she isn't jumping ahead, we just always have a sixer or three in the fridge this time of year). So the second half out of the glass was slightly more tolerable but still just way too thick, sweet, and syrupy. Not a fan at all and so glad I don't have five more of these to drink. I give it 2 out of 5 Josh Boone's. I do need to visit Red Shedman as well. They have a cross country race every year followed by beer which has always sounded pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteI'm almost embarrassed to say that I was okay with this one after Bill's review. I actually thought the honey element was an improvement for a rye beer. In retrospect, it was probably because there was so much honey and that I barely tasted the rye. That makes more sense I think. 3.5 out of 5 for me but glad to be moving away from rye beers now.
ReplyDeleteThis beer is okay. Some elements of a great beer, but overshadowed by the fact that it is just a bit too sweet for my tastes at least. It actually tastes kind of like a mead, which makes sense given the honey content. It does taste better when warmer, and has a fairly pleasant aroma. As a hobbyist beekeeper, I love the cover art though! I'd give it a 3.
ReplyDeleteObviously, I've enjoyed some Red Shedman beers in the past, but this is not once of them. Like others, this is just too much honey and it just overwhelms the the underlying rye beer. Every sip, I like it less and less. I give it 2 out of 5 "Get Me Busy Bee"
ReplyDeleteAs a kid when I was sick my Dad would mix me up a concoction of whiskey and honey. Present day, I think he’d just give me a few swigs of this honey rye. It’s really the overwhelming sweet smell that detracts from the selection. Aside from that it was drinkable by the end. I’ll split the difference with 2.5 out of 5 Dig’ems
ReplyDeleteThis one surprised the hell out of me. But in a good way. Yes, for the purists I hazard a guess that this will fall into the non dilly-dilly camp. In fact anyone admitting to liking should not be surprised when they find their 24DOH friends apprehended them and locked them in shackles. It is the first beer Ive ever had that after a glass swirl actually has legs. Yes its odd for a beer. But funnily enough I'm fine with it. We all signed up for the 24DaysOfHops so that we can be surprised, and this is indeed surprising. I am now sure I'll visit this beer farm with such a great name, though I might not make a BEE line for this one brew. Still [as a refreshing change from hop and peppery overload], I say 3.7 Blind Siders. I daresay it can double as a hot toddy mix too, though would need a whisky jumpstart
ReplyDeleteCatching up on DOB...think this post is awesome.
DeleteThis is Greg Lawson: I have tried to post a comment now twice here, once with my Google account and once with the "Name/URL" option, and both times the comment ended up being deleted somehow! So very f'ing frustrating. I'm admitting defeat and will try to comment again tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the pain Greg. Question: Are you using Chrome? The recently resolved issues for another 24DOBer. Let me know if I can help.
DeleteThis is my favorite so far. I found the honey very subtle and the beer was quite smooth. Maybe my palate is still recovering from that pepper disaster. The only thing I disliked was the aroma which was more like wet socks. I give it 4 Italian Christmas donkeys.
ReplyDeleteWay too sweet for my tastes. Nothing I would try again. But do want to visit the brewery.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this while watching a Tennessee high school football all star game. Because...because...just because!
To me, this beer has a lot in common with "Bee Movie" - lots of honey, and yet fell short expectations. (As Roger Ebert said, "All of this material, written by Seinfeld and writers associated with his television series, tries hard, but never really takes off.)
ReplyDeleteBut, I digress. I feel like the honey was just a bit much - if there was a way to curtail the honey 30-40% or so, then I think Schmed Redfemm would really be onto something, but alas...
So, this is a 2.50/5.00 for me.