North Coast Brewing Company - Red Seal Ale

Get ready to experience a Championship Red Ale. Red Seal took the Gold at the World Beer Championships in 1994 and '95 as well as the Silver at the 1992 Great American Beer Festival. Red Seal is an Amber Ale brewed with American two-row Pale, caramel, and carapils malts. Look for floral hop nose complemented with a sweet caramel malt character. We found the taste to be a wonderful, full rich malty flavor balanced nicely with just the right amount of hop spiciness. Note a slightly dry hop spicy finish that leaves you wanting more. Overall, one of best Red Ales you'll ever try worth it's many accolades.

Beer Journalists and food critics resoundingly agree that the North Coast Brewing Company, located in the tiny fishing, logging and now brewing town of Fort Bragg, California, is a place you can go to simply feel good. Maybe it's the isolation of the sparsely populated, rugged coastline of Northern California or that fact that, to get there, you have to drive for hours along hairpin turns that trace the Pacific Ocean. Maybe it's the friendly reception you'll get from a small-town kinda staff. Or maybe it's just the damn beer! My bet's on Brewer/Owner Mark Ruedrich's award-winning product line up. He's received no less than 15 brewing awards, 12 of them from either the Great American Beer Festival or the World Beer Championships. The Beverage Institute of Chicago recently named North Coast Brewing one of the Top 10 breweries in the world. The judgment was based on the results of the institute's yearlong World Beer Championship tasting series.

The brewery started as a brewpub in August of 1988 and prior to being a brewpub, the building served as a mortuary, a church, and a college! Brewpub manager Merle Ruedrich mentioned that a few of the local townsfolk have never set foot in the establishment and have no intention to as, "They don't think they can have a good time in the place where they saw Aunt Wheezy or someone else for the last time." The brewery has since expanded operations to include a separate brewery located across the street from the brewpub and currently brew Red Seal Ale, Scrimshaw Pilsener, Old No. 38 Stout, Alt Nouveau, Centennial Ale as well as several other seasonal brews.

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (707) 964-BREW or check out their web site at www.northcoastbrewing.com.