Name: Hop Rod Rye

Brewery: Bear Republic

Style: IPA

Vintage: 2007

Cellared On: June 29th, 2007

Original Tasting: July 3rd, 2007

Great hoppy aroma hits you as soon as you open the bottle. The incredible smell is a bit of a surprise after you try the beer, as your getting a very well-balanced IPA instead of some crazy hopfest. It has a nice spicy unique finish, which I am assuming is from the rye. A great beer.

Reporting from other tasters indicates tastes of caramel, pine, and citrus present.

Darren says: Ohhh…. that’ll get your attention. That’s got some kiddyup in your face! This beer lets you know you’re a real man!

Six Month Tasting: December 22nd, 2007

First thing that hits you right after popping the cap on this beer is the incredible carbonation that has built up in this bottle. Pouring as slow as I could, I still ended up with over half a beer’s worth of foam in my glass! This beer was definitely nothing like this six months ago. This is an unfiltered beer, so I can only assume that yeast have been hard at work releasing CO2 since my last tasting. I think it’s a possibility that I may have an bottle explosion or two in my cellar if this keeps up.

The hoppy flavor and smell of this beer, while still very potent and flavorful, have definitely come down a notch since my last tasting. Consequently, there’s more of a malty presence in this brew now, perhaps with a slight touch of caramel flavor. I’m definitely getting some “old hop” oxidation flavors, which are low enough still be enjoyable right now.

Still a very nice drink, although I miss the big hop burst of the fresh beer.

One Year Tasting - June 17th, 2008

I really can’t believe how well this brew is holding up. True, the hop flavor continues to recede, but they’re still very prominent in this beer. There is that touch of “old hop” taste, almost a kind of roasty flavor. The real surprise here is the promotion of the malt to a position where it’s a major player in this beer’s flavor profile. The combo of rye and barley make for a grainy, almost spicy malt presence that really matches up well with the hops. The caramel touch is still there, and I think it’s getting stronger (or maybe it just tastes stronger due to less hop flavor).

I tasted a bit of alcohol on the end this time around, and the body struck me as being a bit thicker then I remember.

Cellar Outlook:

My hopes aren’t high for this brew. I think the great hoppy aroma will fade too much over time, making for a blander less complex flavor. Hopefully we’ll see some unique flavors from the rye malt emerge.

Six month outlook notes - I’m sure I’ll continue to see the bitter flavors recede in this beer, and I expect even stronger oxidation flavors next time I try this brew. I think there’s a good chance we’ll start to see some winy/brandy flavors emerge here in the next year or two. I wasn’t counting on the unfiltered nature of this beer when I wrote my initial outlook, I’m now uncertain of where the malty/rye flavors are going to go.

One year outlook notes - I’m pretty much agreeing with everything I wrote above, expect I think I know where the malt/rye flavor are going now!

Next Tasting: June 2009