Russian River Bravo

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Santa Rosa, California USA

Served on tap at the brewery. The body is crystal clear and amber colored with a scattering of white bubbles on the surface. The aroma is very malty with crisp hop aromas. There are some yeasty notes but it smells more like wort than beer. The hop flavor is stronger than the aroma but equally as crisp. The malt flavor is dominated by the hops. It has a medium body and decent drinkability.

Bravo! Bravo all around - hops, growler shipping and ultimately this beer! Growler arrived in great shape - well carbonated and just (seemingly) as fresh as straight out of the tap. Not familiar at all with Bravo hops, but wondering if they’re possibly the one used in Hop It. Very well done. I was a bit worried (stupid me) that I wouldn’t enjoy as much as either one of Vinnie’s more aggressive CA or Belgian styles. Why would I not trust this man? Grassy, superbly balanced, nice finish. mmmm

On tap at Russian River. Clear golden color with a rapidly disappearing head, followed by lots of sticky lacing. Lightly sweet, floral, hoppy aroma with a subtle earthiness, but balanced by a sugary (not necessarily 100% malt-derived) sweetness. Rich sweet sugary flavors with a burst of juicy grapefruit hops and some earthy/leafy overtones. Super rich, sugary smooth palate with a fizzy champagne-like quality. Overall an extremely well-made and enjoyable brew. Reminds me more of a hoppy belgian-type beer than a straight-up "IPA".

Draft clear, light copper color with a lasting white head. Somewhat malty aroma with Belgian esters. Slight malt character with a yeasty spicyness. Oranges, bananas, grain of paradise. Finishes bitter and a bit fruity.

On tap at Russian River brewery in Santa Rosa, very light sparkling yellow color with some haze. Not much head development, only a fine film with some lace. Vinous aroma with some white wine influence, slight peppery spice and a noticeable floral hops kick. Weaker flavor though, nothing to rant about. Kind of sweet but the hops aren’t where they need to be for this brew. Finishes crisp and easy, a refresher to drink but not to philosophize about.

On tap at the Russian River Brewery. The beer pours gold with thin off white head. It has a mild aroma of faint spice, tartness and faint sweetness. The mild spiciness must be the Bravo hops. The taste starts mildly sweet with some tartness and a big punch of Bravo hop spice with the addition of floral and some pine hops. I can’t pin down the dominant Bravo hop character. It seems to be spice, mildly floral and pine. Interesting. I look forward to trying more of this variety. It is a tasty hop heavy Belgian style yeast ale.

Draft. Comperable to the other Russian River IPA’s as far as looks are concerned. The aroma brings the foreign Bravo hop right into your brain, however. Tasting, the Bravos have a slight celery, green quality, but they are still bitter and quite sharp in terms of their IBU’s. The beer is well-built to show the hops off, but leaves the palate clear and clean.

It is hard to make a hop like Bravo taste good, but this is as close as it gets. Nice spicy mildy phenolic nose with a bit of allspice and clove to counterbalance the somewhat harsh vegetative Bravo character. Delicate and inviting mouthfeel. Clean and hopforward finish.