Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Specialty Ale. 8% ALC by VOL, brewed and bottled by Bear Republic Brewing Company, Healdsburg Cloverdale, California.
Appearance: dark crimson coloring, slim off-white head. S'okay.
Aroma: rich, fruity malt first, hops second. Not much else.
Taste: There's the spicy rye malt, there's the high hops, here's the juicy malt. High bitterness matched the malt well. Then the rye rises up, a turbid tango, spicy malt and bitter hops, back and forth.
Further in, some chocolate charges in, some rich cocoa malt. Tasty stuff, but muddled, unfocused and odd, though not in a good way. Interesting, but not very well put together. I want to like it, but I just can't. Decent enough, though…
I like rye ales, rye IPAs, etcetera…just not this.
Let's look at what they say: "Hop Rod Rye is a high performance, turbo charged, alcohol-burnin' monster ale with dual overhead hop injection, made with 18% rye. Brewmasters notes: Don't drink & drag. Sediment at bottom of bottle may be a ruselt of the truckload of hops in this non-filtered ale."
I have a feeling Bear Republic might be yet another brewer that so many like, and I just don't love as much. Alas, and alack.
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and, looky here, notes from the first taste, May, 2003:
Appearance: brilliant red color, with an off-white, big and bubbly head. Aroma: sharp hops, fruit: grapefruit, pineapple, and pine.
Lush, delicious mouthfeel, and a lingering, long-lasting finish.
Hops are emergent throughout, with the deep, dark, fruity, delicious flavor ringing through and through.
At first, the hop attack is harsh and spiney, but ultimately this brew gets rounded out quite nicely.
The notes I construct this review from are not perfect, they were scribbles and scratches jotted down while sharing this bottle with a friend. Rest assured, though, that it made an indelible impression on us both!
Another great one from the Bear!
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