1 post tagged “ale”
I've tried Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye Specialty Ale a couple of times, and it strikes me as sort of a middle of the pack brew, it's subtle rye taste overpowered by a strong hop aftertaste. I really wasn't expecting this to be quite so hoppy, it may as well be an IPA. The color is mid to dark brown/tan, and it even smells quite hoppy.
I was sort of disappointed that I could not taste more of the rye, since it's not the most common beer or ale flavor. To be clear, the initial taste is pretty well balanced, not overpowering. But the aftertaste is pretty overwhelming.
Perhaps I was forewarned by some of the label descriptions: it's described as a monster ale, turbo charged alcohol burnin' dual hop injection dragster. It backs this up with being called "hop rod" and it even has a hot rod on the label. To be honest, this stuff reminds me of a better version of Sierra Nevada, so if you like that, you'll probably like this even more.
To sum up: what I like about this ale is that it packs a lot of wallop. For $5 you get a brew that is 8% alcohol, and the alcohol is totally overshadowed by the different flavors this hop rodder has going on. Also, it has a pretty unique taste. What I don't like is that this beer has an overpowering aftertaste, and tastes rather bitter. Here's an alternative viewpoint.
I was sort of disappointed that I could not taste more of the rye, since it's not the most common beer or ale flavor. To be clear, the initial taste is pretty well balanced, not overpowering. But the aftertaste is pretty overwhelming.
Perhaps I was forewarned by some of the label descriptions: it's described as a monster ale, turbo charged alcohol burnin' dual hop injection dragster. It backs this up with being called "hop rod" and it even has a hot rod on the label. To be honest, this stuff reminds me of a better version of Sierra Nevada, so if you like that, you'll probably like this even more.
To sum up: what I like about this ale is that it packs a lot of wallop. For $5 you get a brew that is 8% alcohol, and the alcohol is totally overshadowed by the different flavors this hop rodder has going on. Also, it has a pretty unique taste. What I don't like is that this beer has an overpowering aftertaste, and tastes rather bitter. Here's an alternative viewpoint.
