Further Thru The Haze
Bear Republic Brewing Co.

RB transfer

Worrisome, the crack that opened a pint can. It frothed up and a little erupted out of the can. Obviously, it's well carbonated. Then, a ginger pour to empty the can's contents into a clear glass liter mug went very well. Which means there was no stark white foam unleashed, now typical of the modern IPA. Instead, there sat a modest off-white head on top of a beautiful dark amber and cloudy beer. Unfortunately, the aroma is off-putting, as it's wheaty and seems almost devoid of barley malt. It also is lacking of a hop presence. To taste, there's some alcohol burn, some bready sweetness and vague resinous/citrus hopping, in that order. For a barley deprived brew, its mouthfeel isn't bad, isn't good. Maybe it's a little smoother than expected, but certainly not up to the shot of alcohol included. As with most wheat beers, there's virtually no glass lacing. Overall, it's superficially sweet, brings too much taste of alcohol, falls way short of a good hazy IPA's body and proves once again, that barley malt remains a necessity in a great IPA.

 

 

 

 

Bear Republic Brewing Co. "Further Thru The Haze"
16 fl. oz. can coded "BB 04/21/21" and sampled on 03/24/21
$3.99 @ Kindred Spirits & Wine, Fairfield, CT

Notes via stream of consciousness: Well this is surprisingly clear for a hazy beer. Maybe I need to swirl the can and see if there's anything left in the bottom... ahh, there was a little bit but it's still pretty clear. The head is a decent sized cap of densely foamy white. In the nose I'm finding a fairly moderate aroma of citrus, flowers, and golden malt. It's a little tropical fruity as well. Double IPAs usually have less of an aroma than standard IPAs so I'm OK with it but I thought it might be a little brighter. On to the taste... I'm getting a lot of orange, some lemon, and a hint of grapefruit. There's some melon, papaya, ... ... guava, ... ... ... passion fruit, and a little bit of pine there as well. I'm also noticing the alcohol which is a bit odd at just 8%, but that's OK, it's not harsh or anything. It has a median bitterness and it finishes dry with a slight bit of acidic hop bite and some citrus and mineralish citrus pith lingering. I think what's missing here is the malt. Well, that AND the haze. It's medium bodied and gently crisp, which is fine, but it just seems a little less malty than you might expect of a double IPA, even if it is a double NEIPA. At the end of the day I'd tag this as a decent enough double IPA that's got more of a west coast bent to it than that of a NEIPA. It's not really even hazy, which is the weirdest part, but perhaps it's just an off-batch. I'd but it again - great summer beer - but it's not anything spectacular.
Review #7,278

 

 

 

Look: It pours smoothly, with a foamy head and a bright orange hazy look - a good introduction.
Smell/Taste: Bright citrusy tones, with some modest bitterness and maltiness. Some good stone fruit and orange flavors
Feel: Has a nice creamy smoothness
Overall: It's a nice easy-going DIPA. One I would have again.

Pours a yellow golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has citrus and fruity hints
Taste follows the nose with a well balanced citrus and fruity flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good NE Pale Ale

Tall can, "Best Before" dating of 3/17/21 stamped on the bottom.

New England style hazy IPA from a stalwart of west coast brewing and west coast IPA.

Nice looking medium hazed up pour, frothy cap, fully coating film, with a load of fine sheeting and webs of lacing left on the glass.

Rich fruity notes on the sniff...peaches, melon and mango...

Juiced up, fruity n tasty with more stone fruit notes, melon and a back note of some moderate chives and cat piss....flavorful, fresh and well worth a try...go get some....quality NEIPA from a large west coast craft brewing heavy weight...who would have thunk it...

 

 

Bear Republic. I've always liked the name and for the most part, I hadn't reviewed one of their beers on here in a *very* long time. When I saw this in a can at ShopRite Liquors in Caldwell, I wanted to have the label for my collection but wanted to see how these guys have held up over the last 10-15 years. While I wasn't as impressed with this as their more popular offerings, this was sufficient to kick back with although I never quite warmed up to the taste of this...

The pour to this was reminiscent of something of yesteryear from the West Coast as the golden honeydew hue looked waxy wity quite a bit of large, dark chunks of sediment floating in it. Those settled to the bottom as the head that topped this off was quite nice and complementary to the liquid. Several rings of soapy lacing could be seen below the thick and rockier layer near the top of my pint glass as this was this brew's best attribute. Loads of melon, honeydew, and wheat in the nose as the yeast, Passion and star fruits, grapefruit rind, and very dank pine were in the taste as this was just a bit too sharp and acrid for my particular taste. Lots of resin and wax in the aftertaste as the yeast was not quite what I was accustomed to.

The booze was spot-on as I felt a bit of warming but never did I feel that this was a New England IPA. Full in body without a lot of carbonation, this was not a smooth sipper but became less astringent as I worked my way through it. Best before 9/28, the grapefruit tang and piercing hops receded after my initial sip although this was just a bit too exotic for my liking. Worth a go for something different but I'd have to have a fresher can of this to see if it was just me or not!

 

A - OK pours a nice Hazy honecomb colour with a thickish White head that dies but laces.
S - Interesting aromas of mainly Passionfruit but backed up by some hopy notes
T - Plenty of Stone fruit up front with a smooth back end that is slightly bitter
M - Medium body and carbonation
O - Solid