Review: Molson Fireside Lager (Red Lager)

Molson recently released their newest beer and will it last? Only time will tell. As a fan of Molson's Rickard's brand since 2005 or so, I feel that this might be a rebranding of Rickard's Red, but I don't know yet..

From Molson Fireside Lager label: "A Dark lager inspired by 7 generations of brewing history from Molson, modernized using 7 specially selected malts making its flavour complex and refreshing. A perfect pairing with food and friends."

Appearance: Molson Fireside pours a rich, roasted dark red amber lager. A tad reminiscent of Rickard's Red from back in the day but possibly a tad lighter in appearance. Beigeish/yellow head on top, moderate carbonation.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malt presence to it followed by notes of rich burnt maltiness that reminds me of coffee to an extent. Molson Fireside has a light smokiness to it but nothing like most smoky beers I've had in recent memory. Notes of caramel/brown sugar.. a smokey cinnamon roll as a beer I'd call it. I was expecting a re-branding of Rickard's Red, so far it isn't.

Taste: The first thing I get from the beer is a bit of a nuttiness from the beer, followed by a moderately sweet caramel malt taste to it but not overly syrupy or sweet. A very tad bitter for malt, a bit of a peat-like earthiness to it. Fairly dry, but not overly sweet at all. Definitely an autumn/winter-style ale lager!

Overall Thoughts: I flat out expected Rickard's Red out of this beer as if that this was what this beer was meant to be, but in the end I found this beer to be different, it was sweet & caramelly with notes of smoke, brown sugar/brown sugar, and I briefly described this as a "smokey cinnamon roll as a beer" but obviously without the cinnamon and way too much icing. Yum. 4.6% ABV