Dave, Desiree, Beer & Wine

Bear Republic is now in Oklahoma!

This brewpub and micro-brewery, located in Sonoma County California, produces award winning beers and has a reputation for brewing high quality brews.

We have a customer who just loves their Red Rocket Ale and clones it frequently.  I’ve had the opportunity to taste the clones which were very, very good.  Now I can try the real thing without having to leave my state of Oklahoma.  Very Cool Indeed!  I will review it another time.

Let’s talk about Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye. The other night I was able to sit down and sip on this very good beer.  Hop Rod Rye is big and bold.  It is an American IPA with the added bonus of rye, which makes up 18% of the grain bill.  The IBU’s are listed as 90+ and the ABV is 8%.  What a treat to drink but don’t expect to be able to taste anything else for awhile.

Hop Rod Rye is unfiltered and highly hopped.  When I poured the beer from the 22 oz bomber, a few hops joined the party in the glass.  The brew was amber in color and opaque due to the high hopping rate.

The aroma from this beer blasts you in the face like the fumes from an exhaust (trying to be clever here…). It is all hops but if you take a deep snort the spicy notes from the rye manage to break through. After smelling this beer my expectations of the flavor were pretty high and it didn’t disappoint.

The hops in this beer are All-American with the strong citrusy character of grapefruit.  The rye creates a spicy flavor that compliments the citrus very well.  This beer also has a solid malt backbone with light caramel flavor and keeps this beer from being just another hop bomb.  The finish has some astringency, mostly because of the high bitterness from the hops, and the finish is somewhat dry and lingers for several minutes.  My taste buds were shot for what seemed to be hours afterward.  I really like this beer.

As for mouthfeel, Hop Rod Rye is a bit astringent from the hops.  The body was medium and so was the carbonation.  All-in-all, it is what an American IPA should be.  Fellow Oklahomans: please go out and buy this beer so Bear Republic will think we are cool beer know-it-alls that appreciate quality beers.

Cheers!

Desiree Knott

High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies

7164 S Memorial

Tulsa, OK 74133

(918) 461-2605

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This entry was posted by Desiree Knott on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Beer Related Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.