Mandalay Strong Ale
The red-labelled Mandalay beer. Quite possibly brewed as a lager and labelled as an ale. I was unable to ascertain for certain if this is the case though, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe the label. Body is a lagery amber yellow with a slight copper hue. Thin head, no lacing, very bubbly extreme carbonation. Yeasty malt-sweet nose, with little else. I imagine smokiness, but that might be from the guy smoking cheroot next to me. Strong metallic hoppy bitterness to lead off on the front palate, which mellows to a pretty smooth and sweet aftertaste. There's maybe a hint of solvent-like extra alcohol here. I appreciate the level of bitterness that they've included, which balances the rather heavy malt and alcohol. Mouthfeel crisp. This has a pretty good character, all said and done. This drinks very well for a heavier ABV beer. More lagery than I'd consider appropriate for something claiming to be an ale, but not so much as to be outside the realms of possibility. Overall, it's a pretty drinkable beer. A suitable countepart to its little brother blue-labelled Mandalay Beer.