Bear Republic Crazy Ivan

Brewed by Bear Republic Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Healdsburg, California USA

ACBF 2008. I really liked this one! Had I not been told, I never woulda known that the wort base for this one was basically that of a pale ale. The belgian strain mostly takes over so you get many of the estery characters you expect from a belgian, but there’s just a hint of that hoppiness in the finish making it very unique.

Tap at Blind Tiger. This was surprisingly very good- quite a bit better than I remember either of the parts of this beer to be. Hazy deep amber with a nice head and good lace. Aroma is very citrusy, with a dank weed herbal hint and light mint- good sweet malts as well. More big malts in the flavor- light fruitiness, and tons of sticky tacky hops- pine and resin. Good finish- harsh bitterness which was refreshing.

Enjoyed on-tap at Cole’s. This beer rocks. Dark fruit aroma. Dark fruit colour with a little white head and some lace dots. Served a bit too cold, a taste range as it warmed. Above average mouthfeel, and also above-average carbonation. Very tasty grapefruit, marmelade, a wonderful bitterness. So enjoyable.

given the description and a quick taster from the bartender, i could not resist a pint of this lovely ale, the belgian yeast strain added a much welcomed fruity complexity, while the backbone of the blended worts from two big hoppy bear republic standby’s made this hop-head feel at home and comforted.

Tap at the Ginger Man. Great pour, with a wonderful lacing head. The aroma has a thick, sweet hop, with estery Belgian notes and a light spice. Banana, perfume, saturn peaches and sage are noticed. Flavor is very bitter and mildly Belgian, with a full, nutty banana note. Really tastes a lot like a bitter banana nut bread. Easy drinking, with a full but not cloying body. Well done.

Tap @ OBF... Poured a deep, rusty/amber with a slightly off-white head. Buttery caramel malts and hops on the nose. Barley and light hops with an acidic sweetness. A little kick from alcohol. Sweet, candy flavors and a cracker or biscuit-like quality.

On tap at Belmont Station. Quite the odd one, but overall a rockin’ output! All your great flavor from the Rocket is there, with a little extra bready and sugary push from whatever yeast strain they’ve decided to use. Pours a dark amber, white head. Medium to thick body. Nice hoppy finish while the sweet and semi-fruity flavors of the yeast continue to cause joy. YES.

Draught at the Parish Publick House. The bartender only knew that this was a strong ale from Bear Republic, so I had no idea of the makeup until after I finished and another bartender informed me of the wort mixing and Belgian yeast. It was a red-brown color with a creamy, lasting head that almost grew out of the glass for the first couple of minutes. The aroma was very fruity with lots of peach coming through. I attributed this to the hops, but the Belgian yeast seems like just as likely a candidate, There was also a nice caramelized sugar and light pine quality to the aroma. The flavor had less bitterness than the aroma cautioned, with lots of fruity hops and yeast esters of peach and orange. Bitterness was there, but not too much considering the worts that went into this. Medium bodied with ample but airy carbonation. Rich caramel and toasty malt, but not very sweet or heavy on the malt. This seemed more like an interesting ASA to me. You really would never find a Belgian beer quite like this. Very nice stuff overall, and a nice surprise.