Russian River Bravo

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

Copper color; small head. Hoppy golden Belgian aroma and flavor. Similar to a de Ranke XX Bitter, Hop-it, or Houblon. Lovely flavor and balance brtween a Belgian and bitter, citrus hop monster. Tasting it on tap now at brewery...might have another or another Sanctification ...yumm!

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

From a growler thanks to general_gao. Gold colored body with a creamy white head. The aroma has a sweet note of oranges along with some grass and leather. There is also a toffee undertone. The taste has some grapefruit rind along with some Juicy Fruit gum. There was also a little bit of pine. Nicely done and relatively subtle.

On tap at the Brewpub. This was listed on the board on the Belgium side. I was a little surprised when it smelled and tasted like an IPA, and now that I am here to rate it I find out why. It was an IPA. Nose of floral hops this clear amber colored brew had nice smooth mouthfeel and good flavors of caramel malts and hops. Good bitter finish. A very smooth and drinkable brew.

(hand bottled by irishboy) Thanks Richard! Pours a golden colour with a small fizzy white head. Aroma is earthy, citrus hops, euro yeast with hints of fruit. The yeast really makes it presence in the initial taste along with citrus hops with some sweet malts. Finishing with bitter hops & yeast. Interesting IPA, like a hefe and ipa clashed. Definitely tasty..

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.

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.