Hop Rod Rye - Bear Republic Brewing Company

This week I grabbed Bear Republic’s Hop Rod Rye. This beer is a twist on the traditional beer styles, taking the beloved India Pale Ale and substituting rye for some of the barley malt. This typically has the result of adding some spiciness to the beer, which adds an interesting touch to hoppy beers like American Reds and Ambers.

Bear Republic started as a brewpub in Healdsburg, California, and has since opened a larger production brewery in nearby Cloverdale. The brewmaster Richard Norgrove was awarded Brewer of the Year at the 2006 Great America Beer Festival, and has made a name for himself producing rye and hoppy beers. The Hop Rod Rye itself has quite a history, winning gold medals at the 2003 and 2009 California State Fairs and the 2002 Chicago Real Ale Festival.

IPAs are usually served in a regular mug or pint glass, due to their strong aroma, and this beer is no exception in that category. Due to its bitterness, this beer will pair well with stronger cheeses like cheddars and blues, and would work well with pepper jack as well. As for a main dish, a good pairing would be white meats such as poultry and fish. My personal favorite to pair with this, however, is a nice, spicy curry. The bitterness in these beers is usually strong enough to cut through the spices in a curry, and there is no big, roasted malt character to clash with the rest of the dish like a Russian Imperial Stout would.

The beer poured a clear amber with a reddish gold hue. A finger of off-white, almost tan head quickly formed, but the texture was very fine, much more like a good Belgian than I expected. The aroma was quite strong, and was dominated by a piney hop scent with citrus notes and no malt aroma. The aroma dissipated surprisingly quickly, even more so than in other IPAs. The mouthfeel was surprisingly smooth and moderate bodied, and the carbonation, while quite high, was creamy, almost like nitrogen. The taste was also smooth and almost balanced at first, but the bitterness with hints of citrus just kept growing. This beer was surprisingly bitter, even for an IPA, and the bitterness just kept growing through the aftertaste. There was some sweetness left from the malt, but it did very little to offset the bitterness, and any contribution from the rye was also overshadowed by the hops.

This beer was pretty good, and surprisingly smooth, but the level of bitterness was quite high. I would not recommend trying this beer unless you know you like other IPAs. If you haven’t tried an IPA before, I’d recommend Green Flash IPA instead, as that IPA has more floral notes to balance the bitterness.

Size: 12 oz

Price: $2.70

ABV: 8%

Look: 4/5

Smell: 3/5

Taste: 3.5/5