Final Draft Brewing, Redding CA

27 June 2023

Final Draft has a large space and they brew all their beers on site; the tap list is good-sized:

I started with a flight; you can read about each of the beers in the list above so I’ll just give my impressions of them. The presentation and colors are both spectacular!

Carnegie Kölsch – This was my favorite of these four, I think, even though it didn’t stand out as a front runner among all those of this style I’ve had in the past few years.

Full Nelson Pale Ale – I guess this was my second most favorite, but it was more bitter than I personally like in a pale ale.

Attention Deficit IPA – And perhaps the head brewer lost track of measurements on this one because I found it to be a very bitter IPA, not at all balanced compared to almost all others I’ve had.

Buried Alive ESB – I love a good ESB; this didn’t stand up well to any other ESB I’ve ever had. It was too malty and yet too bitter at the same time. (They also refer to “ESB” as “Extra Special Beer” … odd, considering everyone else correctly calls it “Extra Special Bitter” which is the English style.)

The food, a Turkey Club, redeemed the beer! It was unusual in that the bread was perfectly toasted and hot but all the ingredients were cold, but that didn’t detract from the flavors or the freshness of all the ingredients. There are no pre-sliced deli meats to be found here!

I followed the flight with a pint of their Hammer Down, a Munich Dunkel. It was pretty true to style but I would have preferred to order something else if I could have been assured it wouldn’t be excessively bitter.

Finally, I’m including a photo of the bathroom sinks as I thought this was a very clever use of kegs for the sinks.