Racer X Double IPA
Bear Republic Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

A: crystal clear; copper in color; 1 finger finely pored light tan head that receded to a wispy cap; nice rings of lace;

S: very ripe pineapple;

T: follows the nose up front and at the end; in the middle, there's an added floral component; mild bitterness on the finish;

M: medium to full bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: a little too sweet for my taste;

On tap. Pours with a clear copper with creamy tan foam. Moderate retention, excellent lacing.
Very malty aroma with caramel and lemon hoppy notes.
Malt backbone carries strong grapefruit golden caramel and grahm cracker flavors running into a pleasantly bitter finish.

So nice to run into a west coast brew in the the overwhelming NEIPA market. A truly superb ale with outstanding balance. Drinks dangerously well and going back for another sip before they run out!

 

 

 

Reminded of this beer by the How many Beers of Fame have you reviewed? post. Surprised that I had not reviewed this before, have had several times. This is a great brew, don't think that it is distributed in MA anymore?

BB: 04/11/21
Consumed: 02/02/21

L: Pours a pale to medium amber with a medium chill haze. An aggressive pour yields a nice off-white 2 fingers of head. It has ok retention, but what's left is sticky and leaves nice webs of lacing as the beer recedes in the glass.

S: Citrus rind (grapefruit?), Citrus pulp (orange?), a bit of pine, and prominent caramel malt.

T: This is a hop bomb all right! I get blood orange on the front end flowing into the mid palate where it mixes with sweet caramel malt and sweet Valencia orange. The caramel malt continues and mixes with waves of pine resin bitterness on the finish. At first blush the sweetness is being balanced very well by the bitter finish, but as the beer warms the sweetness starts to win.

F: Medium-full body with medium-light carbonation. The mouthfeel is creamy and a bit sticky with a dry finish.

O: This beer takes a bat made entirely of hops and smacks you in the face while simultaneously shanking you with a sharp malt shiv....old school to say the least. To me it is actually closer to some of the proto-NEIPAs or what we used to call East-coast IPAs; i.e. a nice strong bitterness, moderately sweet, and a nice dry finish. To me, though, this is a bit sweeter than an East-coast IPA. As the beer warms it becomes a bit more unbalanced as the sweetness starts to become more prominent in both the nose and palate. For me that detracts from the palate more so than the nose and it loses .25 to .5 in the taste column as a result. As it warms it is not as balanced as it's younger sibling. Either way, this is a great IPA and a safe harbor in a "Locust Reign" of NEIPAs. You should try it if you get a chance.

16oz can, best by 4/11/21, into a Gandhi-Bot tulip.

L: Pours a clear, striking copper body beneath two fingers of dense, creamy tan foam. Moderate retention, excellent lacing. Beautifully old-school.

S: Balanced aroma of caramel malts and citrusy hops. Simple and classic.

T: The taste takes me straight back to my formative years as a craft beer drinker, massaging both hops and malt into a perfectly balanced, thoroughly assertive river of flavor. Grapefruit, pine, caramel, and biscuit are all present in equal measure, with everything wrapping up in a solidly bitter, resinous finish with just enough lingering caramel to keep things smooth. Delicious.

F: On the full side of medium-bodied with ample, velvety carbonation. Sticky in a good way.

O: Simply splendid, and not just for nostalgia’s sake. The hop/malt/alcohol balance is dialed in just right, with every component singing clearly and nothing dominating. Great stuff. Beers of Fame tick 202/250. Cheers!