Beer Blogging - Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale
Beer beer beer. Specifically, Ricardo's Red Rocket Ale from Bear Republic Brewing. Here's what it has to say about itself: "Red Rocket Ale is a bastardized Scottish style red ale packed with distinctive flavors and an aggressive hop character rivaled by none. This unfiltered, bottle-conditioned, amber colored ale breaks all style molds". That certainly does sound promising.
The pour: a dark red ale with an enormous, fluffy tan head. Seriously, the head on this thing was imposing. I probably could have floated a dime on it, had I been so inclined and had a dime handy. The head went down over the course of about 5 minutes, leaving lots of lace on the sides of the glass.
The aroma: mmmm, hoppy. Lots of floral hops are the main thing, and there are some sweet malts lurking underneath. There are a lot more hops than I was expecting, actually, which is a good thing. I like hops.
The taste: a lot like the smell, actually. This is an exceptionally well-balanced beer; I'm actually having a little trouble picking out when each flavor transitions into the next. There is definitely a delineation, in that the first part of the beer is the Scottish red ale part, and the second part of the beer adds the hops. You don't notice the switch when it's happening, though, which is kind of cool. This beer would be too hoppy, except for the hints of malt that pop up throughout. They're sweet, they're caramel-tasting, and they take the edge off of the grapefruit and lemon peel of the hops. The effect is really great. I'm a big fan of this beer, and I'm very sad that I'm only now trying it for the first time.
The rating: 9/10. If you like Scotch ales (like McEwans, for example), and you like IPAs, this beer is custom-made just for you. It's sort of the best of both worlds. This is a well-put-together beer. You should buy some as soon as possible.
The pour: a dark red ale with an enormous, fluffy tan head. Seriously, the head on this thing was imposing. I probably could have floated a dime on it, had I been so inclined and had a dime handy. The head went down over the course of about 5 minutes, leaving lots of lace on the sides of the glass.
The aroma: mmmm, hoppy. Lots of floral hops are the main thing, and there are some sweet malts lurking underneath. There are a lot more hops than I was expecting, actually, which is a good thing. I like hops.
The taste: a lot like the smell, actually. This is an exceptionally well-balanced beer; I'm actually having a little trouble picking out when each flavor transitions into the next. There is definitely a delineation, in that the first part of the beer is the Scottish red ale part, and the second part of the beer adds the hops. You don't notice the switch when it's happening, though, which is kind of cool. This beer would be too hoppy, except for the hints of malt that pop up throughout. They're sweet, they're caramel-tasting, and they take the edge off of the grapefruit and lemon peel of the hops. The effect is really great. I'm a big fan of this beer, and I'm very sad that I'm only now trying it for the first time.
The rating: 9/10. If you like Scotch ales (like McEwans, for example), and you like IPAs, this beer is custom-made just for you. It's sort of the best of both worlds. This is a well-put-together beer. You should buy some as soon as possible.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
6:48 PM
