Bear Republic Racer 5

Brewed by Bear Republic Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Healdsburg, California USA

Golden yellow pour with a nice white head. Nice hop aroma. Hop taste is well balanced with the maltiness . It is a heavy beer-it leaves a nice piney hop flavor and malt in your mouth. Nice lacing-it shows a layer for every sip taken. The head lasted until the end of the drink.

Grapefruit, orange, spice, sweet mild caramel malt aroma and flavour. Orange with white head...nice lacing. Bitter, with lasting dry finish.

This one pours a slightly hazy orange with a medium white head that quickly becomes a small white film with little splotches of froth that give way to dots and ribbons of lace. The aroma from the bottle and while pouring was that wonderfully familiar Columbus and Cascade hops scent, but, as the head retreated, smelled more like allspice, pine resin, grapefruit, mango, orange, pineapple, bubblegum, with slightly floral notes. Bitter hops take center stage in the flavor, with a nice caramel malt balancing quietly from the sidelines. Fruit still somewhat present, but accompanied by a bitterness that lingers after the finish, with a slight spiciness throughout. Rich mouthfeel with very light carbonation. Very enjoyable, and more complex than expected.

Great ipa. Pours a light amber with an abundance of white head and good lacing. Excellent citrus and hops aroma. Taste is similar to the smell, but could have been a little more bitter. Overall this is an excellent beer.

Pours a slightly cloudy amber. Lighter than most IPA, but nice. nice frothy white haed. Nose is mild and floral. Flavor is not killer hoppy, but balance and smooth. Finishes fast with a mild bitterness. I Like it.

Pours a mostly clear, orange color with an average, white, creamy head which settles to a small, frothy layer and leaves some tight, sporadic, drippy lace. Nose is cascade and columbus alright; the floral notes described are more herbal than floral and quite dominant with other notes of light pink grapefruit, faint resinous rustic notes, aromatic bitters, and hints at tropical fruit. Flavor is much better with more of a citrus presence and a prickly bitterness balanced by hop flavors; the nearly high bitterness is noted immediately with notes of bitter oranges, light pink grapefruit, some floral, and hints of cookie with the flavors progressing to rustic notes, faint pine resins, and light spicy pepper. Palate is nice with a medium to full body, sticky and velvety mouthfeel, and a lively carbonation; a very mild warmth is notable in the finish as is some light drying. Finishes with some drying bitterness, lingering bitter oranges, and some pepper and rustic notes. Not really the style of IPA I like, but certainly a unique example. The herbal notes in the nose were a bit offputting for me but everything else was solid. The palate was more like an IIPA than any IPA I’ve tried, despite the light color. A lot of bitterness in this one, matched by some nice hop flavors.

This agressive racer poured a handsome golden brown head into my pint glass. This IPA was well hopped and blended well with malt cutting into the bitterness. Floral notes at the finish.