Newcastle Werewolf

This is my first time trying this beer.

A British import from Newcastle, the Werewolf is advertised as a "blood red ale". It's only 4.5% abv, so it doesn't have quite as much bite as the name suggests, but that's okay. The label has some cool features like claw marks, a werewolf in the middle of the Newcastle star, and the tagline "escaped from Britain", but that's all irrelevant to the beer itself.

The first thing I noticed before even pouring is that this beer has an oddly sweet, fruity scent. Evidently there's some combination of berries used in this brew, which I'm guessing also account for the deep reddish hue. It really is an appetizing looking beer, with a very appealing color and a creamy, moderate head.

In terms of flavor, the berries don't taste as sweet as they smell. Instead, apart from the occasional sweetened hint, they mostly seem to feed into the beer's slightly skunky flavor. It's not a strong enough taste to be really offensive to anybody, but I think this is a bit hoppier than their standard brown ale. Beyond that, the flavor is mild to the point of near absence. There is very little aftertaste, and the whole thing, while perfectly drinkable and probably fairly sessionable, is pretty underwhelming. I'd certainly sit back and crack a few of these open if I was looking for an easy-drinking beer to share with friends, but there's not enough substance to make this something worth actively seeking out to try.