FIRST DRAUGHT: Red Horse gives something of a bumpy ride

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/08/2017 (3166 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The only problem I have with the annual Coast to Coaster events that MLCC puts in is that there’s usually not many other beers introduced to Manitoba during the two months of the program. The program is absolutely amazing to the point that local beer vendors (including Keystone Motor Inn and Victoria Inn) and restaurants like the Dock on Princess are taking part in it.

The event is now over and new beers are slowly starting to pop up as simply “new releases” rather than part of a festival — Vankleek Hill, Ontario’s Beau’s All Natural Brewing has a brand-new West Coast IPA called Full Time IPA that’s now available at the 10th Street and Victoria Avenue Liquor Mart for $5.30 per 600 ml bottle. Beau’s popular Lug Tread Lagered Ale is now available in four-355 ml packs at vendors in Manitoba for $9.95, I haven’t seen it yet in Brandon, but Keystone Motor Inn may be getting it soon.

Beau’s buddies over at Winnipeg’s Torque Brewing is available in Brandon more than ever! Their Summer Sessions taster pack is now available at Liquor Marts in Brandon (excluding Sobey’s West) and Dauphin for $22.80 per 473 ml eight-pack. The taster pack includes their popular Witty Belgian Witbier, Muster Point American Pale Ale, Mangoza Gose, and Pool Side India Sessian Ale. For those who pick up the taster pack, this will be most peoples’ first time ever trying a gose — a sour ale with a heavy saltiness to it, the perfect beer to have shots of tequila to!

The folks over at the 10th & Victoria Liquor Mart were pointing out Red Horse Beer the other day, stating that it’s a new product in Manitoba that sells out just as quickly as it hits the shelves. Of course, I have to try this beer!

Red Horse is a Filipino-style lager brewed in Hong Kong by San Miguel Brewing. Red Horse reminds me of an old school Canadian brand of beer that was popular back in the pre-stubby era of Canadian beer, the label has a very 1950s look to it and if the bottle looked a bit roughed up, I could believe that this may be an O’Keefe’s product from back in the day.

San Miguel’s Red Horse Beer is a strong lager brewed at eight per cent ABV, it has your typical golden-straw appearance to it, a good amount of carbonation within the beer itself, and a moderate amount of snow white foam on top.

The aroma of Red Horse is sweet, rich, and reminiscent of many malt liquor-based beers beers we see here in Canada. I’m getting sweet creamed corn, a bit of barley graininess, grassy hops and notes of beers that remind me of Labatt Blue Dry, an overly sweet malt presence.

The taste is a sweet flavour that reminds me of corn bread. There’s notes of sugar, a bit of graininess, a hint of apple peel fruitiness, and a bit of a fast food hamburger bun flavour at the end. This does remind me a lot of a Canadian malt liquor product but this definitely has more of a bready presence to it.

Red Horse Beer is $2.75 per 330 ml bottle. For the price, it definitely is a bit excessive — it’s essentially a pricey malt liquor product. However, this is one of the most popular beers in Philippines, and seeing that Westman has an amazing Filipino population, I know this will be selling well! The price per bottle is a bit excessive — but then again, it is eight per cent, so it gives off a bit of a buzz. I liked that this beer was eight per cent, but I didn’t like this beer at all. It was reminiscent of most North American malt liquor products, especially Labatt Blue Dry, which you can buy for $4.19 per 740 ml can at beer vendors throughout Manitoba.

You can find San Miguel’s Red Horse Beer for $2.70 per 330 ml bottle at Liquor Marts in Brandon (Corral Centre, 10th and Victoria).

2.5/5 Pints