Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

A few things to note about this beer... 1) it's from Bear Republic Brewery out of California.  These guys do the hoppy beers really well and it shows, as of the 73 beers they have listed 12 are IPAs and 7 are imperial IPAs plus some hoppy APAs and other styles mixed in!  2) It's called Hop Rod Rye for a reason, so if you're not a fan of the hops, might be time to click over on right side of this blog and find a different beer as you probably won't want to look for this one!  If you're a fan of the hops though, check out Calandro's for this one and others from Bear Republic and you probably won't be disappointed.

 

Now, on to the beer... it had a very creamy head that lingered forever it seemed, it took several pours to top off the pint glass and a couple of pint glasses to wipe out the 22 oz. bottle. 

A definite aroma of hops, wow, STRONG with some hints of pine and citrus.  The 80 IBUs this beer boasts come through right away, really inviting a sip.

The taste is overwhelming on this one... overbearing hops and bitterness, but the other flavors shine through. The more I drank, the better it got and the more I could taste the caramel malt and rye flavors present.   Definitely not a beer to start out the night with, but after I got the taste buds warmed up I really enjoyed it.  I know a few friends of mine like the hoppier beers even more than I do (Andrew, Dustin, talking to you two!) and I'm sure this would be right up their alley.

Check it out if you want to test the limits of how hoppy you like your beers!  For a slightly less bitter IPA from these guys, a few places in town feature the Racer 5 IPA on tap, including the Chimes.  It's one of my favorites to fall back on when the rotating taps don't spark my interest.

My rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: A

India Pale Ale

Stone Ruination IPA

Here's one that you can find in the BR stores with better beer selections... the Stone Ruination IPA.  This is out of California and Stone Brewing Co. is a relatively new entry to the Louisiana beer market.  They have been considered by some to be the #1 brewery in the world, but that just like, an opinion man.  This particular stone selection is actually an Imperial IPA, or double IPA.  At 7.7% abv it's on the low end for the style, but if you're drinking beer just to get drunk, this isn't the right one anyway.  

Dustin Davis brought this particular one over to taste... it pours a clear deep gold color. Great head with good retention and lacing. Attractive but not exceptional.  There is a ridiculous smell to it, Dustin says "it's like shoving a hop cone up your nose," and I agree.  Just what an IPA should smell like.  

The taste is hop bitterness up fronts with pine flavors. The bitterness lingers magnificently over a slight malty aftertaste. I love the thicker body to this one, it's like you can chew through the hops to get to that slight malt flavor underneath.

One of the better IIPAs I've had and if any of you out there like the hoppy beers and see this one out at the stores, give it a try!

My rating: A

BeerAdvocate: A

My prior Stone reviews:

Stone Smoked Porter

Stone IPA

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone Ales at the Chimes!

So I guess I've done more reviewing of the Stone beers in the market than any other brewery.  That's not really surprising to me, I've been excited to see them here since day one and hopefully places like the Avenue Pub in New Orleans will keep getting their specialty beers on tap and places in BR will keep the bottles coming!

India Pale Ale