Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of catching up with a very dear, old friend who had moved off to Vegas, years ago. We started our evening with a trip on the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls – a boat that offers passengers an up-close-and-personal view of our majestic natural wonder. Although both of us grew up in the area, it’s not often we do "touristy" things at the falls, making it an experience I will never forget.

Once we’d been completely soaked to the bone, we headed to Hard Rock Café for some burgers and Irish stouts. Seems my old pal doesn’t get out to try too many brews, so I felt that it was my job to enlighten him a bit. After we threw back a few Guinness pints each, and stuffed ourselves full of 10-ounce burger, we headed back into Buffalo to continue catching up… but first, I had to snatch another bit of Irish brew for him to taste.

After scanning the coolers at a near-by convenience mart, I settled on Flying Bison Aviator Red. I wanted to introduce Paul to something brewed right here in Buffalo, and hadn’t myself imbibed in a Red Ale in some time, so I figured it was the perfect choice.

Upon opening the bottles once home, we were inundated with a deep caramel nose, mixed with just a bit of chocolate. Malt hops are the culprit here, for sure. After clinking bottles we each took a swig – smooth caramel flavor with some bitter hops through the finish – a lovely balance, if I may say so myself! The golden brown and scarlet colored brew has a creamy, smooth, well-bodied mouthfeel – a beer you know you’re drinking, but not quite as heavy as a stout.

Paul enjoyed my choice as much as I, which is great because I always get a kick out of turning people on to new things. Hopefully he’ll be more adventurous in the future too – maybe we’ll even get some reviews of Vegas brews!

TAGS [ BEER REVIEWS | RED ALE | FLYING BISON | AVIATOR RED | NIAGARA FALLS | BEER REVIEWS ]