Brewery: Loch Ness Brewery
Style: Bitter
ABV: 4.2%
One of the common themes with a lot of micro or craft breweries is that they started off as two or three pals who liked beer who wanted to brew beer and worked out that other people would want to buy that beer.
Loch Ness is no different, starting out as ‘three keen beer enthusiasts’ in 2011. Tasked with producing a beer for the local pub, the trio did so and moved to brewing for a wider audience.
Along with RedNESS, the brewery has created LightNESS, WilderNESS, LochNESS, DarkNESS, HoppyNESS and GoldenNESS.
Also in the pipeline are Prince of DarkNESS (an imperial stout); SpookyNESS (a dark red beer with ginger); the brilliantly-named NESSun Korma - an intriguing-sounding curried stout; NESSiah, an IPA; golden session ale CaithNESS and Christmas beer FestiveNESS, a red bitter infused with Christmas spice. Bold ideas and, by the sounds of it, some bold tastes as well.
RedNESS is a deep red bitter, pouring a clear coppery-red (unsurprisingly) with a beige / off-white head.
The aroma
Where to begin? Right from pouring, there are strong smells of plum, caramel, toffee and something that could be aniseed or liquorice, with possibly a hint of Red Delicious apples as well.
The taste
Although not quite as in-your-face as the medley of aromas, RedNESS is a pleasant beer. Not too heavy-going (pun fully intended), it’s surprisingly light on the palate, with an initial malty, hoppy taste giving way to hints of biscuits and liquorice.
There’s a flash of dark fruit before a smooth, lightly-bittered finish.
