Independence Hop Ale
Rogue Ales

Independence Hop AleIndependence Hop Ale
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From:
Rogue Ales
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
89
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 5.69%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
19
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jun 08, 2013
Added:
Sep 27, 2008
Wants:
  8
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by erikm25:
Photo of erikm25
Reviewed by erikm25 from Texas

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: 22oz bomber into tulip glass. Honey orange with darkened amber highlights. A nice hazy sunshine glow coming from the glass. Head is a creamy pillow of off white fluff. Great retention and circling plastered lacing.

S: Delicate floral and citrus hops. Bottle indicates 100% raw unkilned Millenium, Willamette, and Centennial Rogue Farm hops that are picked and driven 77 miles where they are pitched into the brew kettle. That's pretty cool. The aromas are sweet and fresh with just a slight malt roundness toward the back of the nose.

T: Much like the nose the taste is fresh and crisp with a sweet malt backdrop. 80 IBU's and this does have a great zinging hopiness. Leans on the freshly squeezed grapefruit side with a splash of spice. Even with the hop bite there is a nice balance of brown sugary and caramel tastes. Overall both fresh and juicy. Not sure what the ABV is here but I would guess around 6.5%.

M: Solid medium body with a smooth mouth feel.

D: Amazingly good. I was very impressed with every aspect of this beer. I'm very glad I stumbled on this and would love to grab a couple more as it drinks so refreshingly. I enjoy these fresh hop ales and Rogue has manged to put a very fine offering together.
Nov 12, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by praxis16 from Oregon

Jun 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by buckyp from South Carolina

Dec 31, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by twelveinches from Washington

Nov 27, 2011
Photo of loren01
Reviewed by loren01 from Washington

3.67/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a light amber color decent sized head slight lace down the glass
S: Smell is of grassy smelling hoppiness, fairly earthy smelling
T: Ever so slight maltiness followed by piney hop flavor
M: Mouthfeel is pretty good, light to medium bodied
D: Would probably make a good summer BBQ session type of beer. Not my favorite from Rogue but still pretty darn tasty.
Apr 05, 2009
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
22 oz bottle somewhat cooler than room temperature served in a 22 oz mug.

Very pretty beer -- deep amber in color, huge beige head and great lacing. Smells floral, the pine is a little damped down.

Nice cloying bitterness balanced with a honeysuckle sweetness.

Feels like a thin syrup, and is very drinkable. If I had two, I'd drink them both tonight.
Mar 21, 2009
Photo of BrutalBeerFan
Reviewed by BrutalBeerFan from Oregon

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From one of the fine local brewers, a fresh hop ale from 22oz. into my New Glarus pint glass. Listed as 80 IBU

A- A nice lite hazy amber color, meduim to full head.

S- The aroma is citrus with a light earthy yeast undertone.

T- A clear strong bitterness at first taste, lingers pleasantly. Light carbonation tingles the tongue.

M- Meduim bodied, typical, smooth and balanced.

D- A nice beer, a pleasant compliment to the many fine Rogue ales. Very drinkable
Feb 11, 2009
Photo of Spikester
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Cloudy amber with a one finger off white head and plenty of lacings. Aroma is piney hops and some caramel.
Taste is piney resinous hops with a decent amount of sweet malts. Hops do dominate for sure. Some Rogue yeast funk. Palate is perfect carbonation with a medium dry bitter finish. Hops are not quite IPA level but close. A very bold APA for sure. Not sure how sessionable this is as there is no abv listed. I am guessing about 5.5%.
Jan 16, 2009
Photo of Docer
Reviewed by Docer from Washington

3.87/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Purchased a 22oz bottle, poured into a tumbler glass.

Light head with a nice micro-bubble head and lacing. Great sun-tea tones, slightly cloudy.

The smell is my favorite part. Very floral and very light.. almost like smelling a rose from a distance. A very good combo of hops in the scent.

Taste is nice and bitter up front, slight grassiness and a nice malt presence. Hardly a strength of any alcohol.. I would guess it is about 5.5%. Nice bitter aftertaste. Not too overly dry.

A great harvest ale. I would highly recommend this one.
Jan 16, 2009
Photo of olmatty
Reviewed by olmatty from Oregon

3.95/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Appearance- Pours a two finger frothy head with lots of lacing. Beer is a slightly hazy amber color

Smell- Spicy scent of fresh hops pervades after the pour then fades

Taste- Lots of piney and fresh tasting bitter hops against a medium malty backdrop. Tasty but less complex than other fresh hop beers

Mouthfeel- Sting of strong hops make the mouth water a bit with moderate carbonation

Drinkability- A harvest season style, but lightbodied and refresing so it would make a great warm weather brew.

Overall- It's a nice beer, but I would have preferred more complexity from a fesh hop ale. As with most Rogue products quite good.
Jan 10, 2009
Photo of froghop
Reviewed by froghop from Washington

3.53/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
pours a semi-clear copper with a medium size off-white head, and very good lacing.

smell is faint, some hops, slight caramel, and earthy.

taste is well balanced, hops, caramel, slight pine, the bitterness builds as you drink, and the end is nicely bitter.
Dec 03, 2008
Photo of HopHead84
Reviewed by HopHead84 from California

3.88/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I would have loved to drink this fresher than 6 weeks, but the box took a while to get to me. Still, I'm glad to try it.

Pours deep amber with an inch head and scattered lacing clinging to my glass. Aroma is of earthy, fresh hops, some passion fruit, citrus, and pine resin. There's a nice level of bitterness which has a nice sweet malt backbone. The taste has more citrus characteristics than the nose and it's mainly grapefruit. Carbonation is good. I hope they make this again next year, I'd love to try this on tap.
Nov 23, 2008
Photo of SurlyDuff
Reviewed by SurlyDuff from Oregon

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is Rogues fresh hop ale, named after their hop farm in Independence Oregon. 220z bomber, in regular Rogue fashion.

Pours a perfect IPA copper glow, with a nice pillowy head.
Superfresh hop aroma, resiny citrus and floral sweetness. Malt adds to a bit of sweetness, but the hops clearly dominate.

Getting grapefruit and some other citrus from the hops, wet and juicy. It's well balanced and incredibly drinkable. I would rank this up in my top 5 rogue ales. It's got such a lovely bouquet and balance.
Nov 15, 2008
Photo of goindownsouth
Reviewed by goindownsouth from New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
Consumed on tap at Barley's Taproom in Greenville, SC on 10/29/08.

An intriguing brew. I was surprised to learn that Rogue contracted with local hops farms in Independence, Oregon for the hops grown for this beer and that this was the first year in which any harvest was produced

Bronze in color with a respectable head. Aromas whafting of floral hop goodness with some malt balance, but not overly so. The Centennial and Cascade hops play well in this brew. Smooth and surprisingly refreshing, this is a very welcome brew. Great palate balance with the hops and malt but this one is a little lighter on the malt, which I personally prefer.

A solid brew if not one of the hardest to get... Thanks to Barley's, we got it. A nice one, but I would be curious to see how next year's harvest compares as the first year harvest is generally the most tame.

Zum wohl!
Oct 30, 2008
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Wow, they actually landed this gem in Greenville,SC of all places. What a wonderful world to be able to travel down and get a hold of this one. Thrilled to be able to take part in this. I immediately ordered it up as soon as I got there. Served straight from the tap, this one was consumed on 10/24/2008.

This one arrived at me a very nice, and very deep amber color. Rich looking with a light haziness to it that seemed to really fit the profile quite well. Some nice carbonation could be seen streaming up from the bottom of the glass and coalescing into a two inch layer of foam that was soon to fade, leaving behind minimal side glass lacing.

The aroma was very fresh, got to love wet hop ale season. Very nice and very fresh aroma here, lots of pine and citrus notes, hints of a biscuit like middle maybe? Definitely something else going on here in terms of malt, but overall a very nice, and very rich profile here. Up next was a simply wonderful, crisp, clean, and fresh taste. This was a harvest ale at its finest here. Nice grapefruit flavor that came right up front, rushing over the tongue and causing a wave of bitterness throughout. Nice touches of biscuit and bready malts that rolled through mid palate, though light in nature, enough to provide a good bit of balance to it. Smooth, light bodied pale ale, the carbonation was unrelenting, and the entire profile was just very well served. Nice drying, cleansing feeling on the palate that really did wonders, and left me looking for another sip as soon as I found it.

In the end, this was a wonderful, hoppy little plate ale that I would love to get a hold of any day of the week. Simply solid and nothing really bad I can say about it. I am really glad I got to try this.
Oct 28, 2008
Photo of cannabanaceae
Reviewed by cannabanaceae from Washington

4.07/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a silkscreen bomber into a pint glass.
Beer had great head retention through the end. Nice sticky lacing down glass. Color was a dark amber with some haze.

Smell was a nice malt mix, bready,with some earthy grass tones. Maybe some hay, followed by a nice solid fruit hop smell.

Taste was the best aspect of this beer, It started with a somewhat firmillar malt medley I have had in one of there previous beers?, smooth, slightly sweet and whole wheat body. This was immediately hit by the fresh hops bitter pollen, that wasnt overly grassey . I love the mix of hops they grew for this brew. Went vey well with the malt profile.

Mouthfell was smooth and astringent, Body was pretty big on this one. I wonder the ABV for this, it seems around 7.

Wow this is the best fresh hop ale I have had this season, hands down. Port fresh hop second. Iam glad they decided to HOP on the fresh hop bandwagon. Good job!
Oct 20, 2008
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

3.97/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Rogue has contracted with a local hops farm in Independence, Oregon to have hops grown for their specific use. This was the first year any harvest was produced, and as is typical with first year hop harvests, the bounty was modest. That makes this wet hopped ale something of a preliminary venture into Rogue's eventual production of ales brewed with proprietary Rogue-grown hops.

But it's not exactly as if the Rogue-folk are starting from scratch. I'd say there's some historic evidence to suggest they know what they're doing and Independence Ale is consistent with the legacy. Though not a dramatic ale, Independence is a fine IPA of dark bronze with a graceful floral-sweet hop flavor and ample malt balance. It's actually a blend of two one-hop batches brewed with hops from the Independence farm - the first with Centennial hops, the second with Cascade. I can't necessarily identify the specific attributes that the wet hops impart as distinct from a similar ale made with kiln-dried hops. But in comparison to some of the regional wet hopped ales of the recent past, this may be a good thing.

An all around satisfying beer made with fresh, local ingredients.
Oct 10, 2008
Photo of ccrida
Reviewed by ccrida from Oregon

4.21/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
15° P, 80 IBU, 75 AA, 14.1° L, billed as a India Red Ale, with Millennium, Willamette and Rogue grown Centennials. This info was from a bottle my server showed me, which we both agreed is a dumb idea for a Fresh Hop ale! Which is why of course I went for a draught pint. At the PDX pub shortly after they first tapped it, Independence Hop Ale is hazy dark copper with a small, olive-tinged, buttermilk colored head that leaves sticky lace.

Smell is heavy on citrus hops and caramel malt. Not the hop explosion I expected.

Taste is way hoppier then the aroma though, which is a good thing. Really nice spiciness more then citrus, not overly bitter, a great balance with the big maltiness, just awesome.

Mouthfeel is oily and chewy, with a medium body.

Drinkability was so good I had three in a row, my favorite Rogue IPA yet. Love the Red IPAs, this on is very sessionable and smooth - get it while it's fresh!
Sep 29, 2008
Photo of GreenWBush
Reviewed by GreenWBush from Oregon

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I was hoping to do a little research on this beer with some trusted BA reviews, and when I saw there were none, I figured I'd break my de facto embargo of beer reviews.

I struggled about how to classify this; I have no idea the ABV but I know the IBU is high. Its too dark for an IPA though. Well, there's no wet hop category and it seems unfair to call it an APA, so here it lies.

Amber in my Nostradamus chalice, Independence has a small cap of foam and reasonably good cling.

The nose of this beer doesn't pop; I whiffed out of the bottle directly after popping it and got a few green aromas but not much. The Rogue 'house' malt character comes through, not surprisingly.

The taste is similar, good but not absorbing, waves of hop flavor and bitterness all around the mouth and tongue. Drying finish. This JUST came out but doesn't really seem fresh or zingy, but good if you're into that familar Rogue flavor. More layers of complex bitterness.

This takes the general flab of Rogue's maltiness and throws a multi-dimensional wet-hop attack at it - you do really get lots of different aspects of the various hops involved. And lots of bitterness, unfortunately including some astringent and metallic clang.

The brawn of this beer on the palate - almost like a wet-hopped American Amber - leads me to believe we're talking at least 6%.

Good, but not flip-my-wig good at all. I think More Hops Maier may have found a challenge to his usual hop acumen with unprocessed hops.
Sep 27, 2008
Independence Hop Ale from Rogue Ales
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 19 ratings