IRA
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom

IRAIRA
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From:
Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
Ranked #84
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
85
Ranked #20,248
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 9.23%
Reviews:
53
Ratings:
175
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 13, 2023
Added:
Jun 13, 2007
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  20
"The "IRA", as it's known around here, marries a ruby red color and rich body with the hop flavors of an IPA. Our unique ale yeast strain adds a delicious layer of complexity. One of the first beers we made, and an enduring favorite."

Brewed with Gambrinus Organic Pilsner malt, imported crystal malt, Simcoe and Brewers' Gold hops. 6.8% ABV, 55 BU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by 2beerdogs:
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Rated by 2beerdogs from California

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

Sep 28, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.11 by TreeTopCasino from Washington

Apr 13, 2023
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.35/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Draft at PreFunk. Dark amber, clear, scant head. Sharp malty aroma, Band-Aids. Taste is also malt centric, leaves, tobacco . Slightly dry, cough drops.
Sep 30, 2022
Photo of ChewingTheBrew
Reviewed by ChewingTheBrew from Washington

3.67/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
How I drank it:
Bottle purchased from the Double Mountain brew pub. Date on the bottle was this year (2022), month was indecipherable. Served chilled into taster goblet to initial smell/taste, then drunk from standard pint glass.

What I liked:
The color - gold/amber, slightly to the brown side rather than the red.
The aroma - roasty malts, dark toast. Smelled very like a good amber.
The balance - Strong malts living together with strong hop bitterness.

What I didn't like:
Personally, this beer is a little too hoppy for me, or the expression of the bitterness is less to my personal taste. It is a well executed beer, and if I were drinking it alongside a greasy, savory meal, I'd probably enjoy it more, and if you prefer strong hop bitterness, you'll probably enjoy it quite a lot too.

What
May 30, 2022
Photo of NickSMpls
Reviewed by NickSMpls from Washington

3.81/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Lovely beer. Vibrant red amber, thick head and clean aroma of malt and yeasty goings-on. Taste is heavy on the "Red" and light on the "India". The bitterness is more on the finish and not so much up-front. This is an enjoyable beer.
Oct 05, 2021
Photo of dunkel_weizen
Reviewed by dunkel_weizen from Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3 year old bottle into a few pint glasses to share. Dirty opaque burnt orange/ blood orange color, thin but very soapy white head. The nose is syrupy caramel, orange, and candied orange peel. The taste is caramelized apricot forward, rounding into tight orange zest and floral hops dancing on a hint of green tea. Body wise this brew is incredible rich and full, finishing a tad wet.

Really great red ale that aged beautifully. Well done brew from Double Mountain, as expected!
Feb 15, 2021
Photo of TheBricenator
Reviewed by TheBricenator from Oregon

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Look: Semi-opaque rich ruby red with a dense head forming quickly and holding at 1-finger, leaving great lacing
Aroma: Pine and citrusy hops, a little toffee, big, bready malt, and some herbaceous notes as well
Taste: Pine and citrus blended with warm bread come quick out of the gate with toffee notes intermingling as well. More pine comes out as the finish nears, followed by a nice but tame bite and a semi-dry finish
Mouthfeel: Silky throughout, a little slick but not too noticeable, medium-high carbonation and again, fairly dry on the finish
Overall: A good, tasty hoppy red ale right here. I’ve been drinking their fresh hop version of this for years and just noticed I’d never had the O.G. One of my favorite styles when done well and this one is hitting all the right notes for me. Classic pine/citrus hop bill with a great dark malt support. Delicious
Aug 04, 2020
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Rated by eatsluggs from Florida

3.8/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Multnomah falls. With Lucian. Elk burger. Forget the hike. Get the beer!
Jul 24, 2020
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.44/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Deep copper rusty red with moderate carbonation and 2 fingers of off white head.

Smells of rust, malt, and toasted malts.

Tastes of toasted malts, caramel, and some charred and sour bitterness.

Medium body with moderate carbonation.

I got this at Wholefoods in Seattle, and am drinking it in Redding, Aug 26th, 2019.
Aug 27, 2019
Photo of MaltsOfGlory
Reviewed by MaltsOfGlory from Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500ml bottle

Bottling date on every bottle in the isle was not printed correctly. No idea on the date, but I would guess it has been sitting a minute, as this is not one of the trendy beers or breweries right now. Hang in there DM!

Pours an absurdly large two fingers of just off white head into my willi becher glass, standing an additional finger over the rim of the glass, and nearly pouring over. Body is more of a dark brown, with hues of orange. Initial lacing looks wonderful. Large amount of bubbles coming up, not unusual with this glass. Looks very good so far.

Nose is somewhat caramel forward, earing on bready, but not quite. Mineral aroma, though it could also be metallic, hard to differentiate. Not really any hop aroma to speak of. Nothing super off here other than the questionable mineral/metallic aroma, either way, this is pretty off style, even for being the red version.

Flavor is pretty nice. Starts off with some easy going, but forward caramel notes. Slides into some subtle, early addition hops, low flavor, though oddly mild bitterness. Finishes with a touch of dark fruit. Not sure if the hops deteriorated, or if this is just an older school IPA, before late hop additions became super popular (I know this beer was made before that became a fad). I’m going to just move forward assuming this is either not that old, or hasn’t suffered too bad, because while there are some question marks, there aren’t any glaring signs. Anyways, even without much hop flavor, this is pretty nice, the touch of caramel, and fruit finish carry this beer. Like the nose, this is off style, but it’s still a tasty beer.

The mouthfeel is very interesting. Bitterness is on the lower end, but damn this is a dry beer. Very surprising too because the first flavor that hits is that caramel - it’s just very well attenuated. Body has some decent thickness to it. Carbonation is medium - low. There is a lot going on here. While this could certainly use more bitterness, it’s actually a pretty nice mouthfeel. Again, off style, but a unique and enjoyable mouthfeel.

The drinkability is very high. This is a dry beer that goes down well, with enough flavors to keep it interesting.

Appearance turned out phenomenal. Had a full two fingers for five minutes, a finger for another ten minutes, and a half finger for the entire rest of the brew. The glass helps, but still.

Overall this is a very interesting beer. Pretty off style, it drinks like a hoppy English brown or something. Hops are too low for a northwest IPA. While it’s somewhat malty, it’s very dry. Both are odd, but make for a pretty good beer. I should dock it harder for style points, but whatever.
May 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.92 by rfreed from Washington

Apr 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4.24 by Curt3 from Ohio

Sep 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.74 by BeerAndFilm from Oregon

Jul 07, 2018
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Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan

4.4/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Indian red ale, which can go either way for me given my experience. This one I was happy with.

Caramel malt smacks you around with a sticky resiny pine. Bitterness for days before tapering off.
Jan 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by Bunman3 from Canada (AB)

May 24, 2017
 
Rated: 3.67 by BlueSpader from Washington

Mar 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mattias from Sweden

Jan 05, 2017
 
Rated: 3.85 by Quesophresco from Oregon

Dec 09, 2016
Photo of chinchill
Reviewed by chinchill from South Carolina

3.53/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle at 6.5% ABV. purchased and consumed near th brewery in Oregon.
65 IBU

A fine looking ale with a brilliant copper colored body and beige head.
Malty and hoppy aroma precedes a solidly hoppy flavor with a faint malt in the background.
Medium body, carbonation and (for an IPA) bitterness.
Jul 29, 2016
 
Rated: 3.54 by BMMillsy from Florida

Jul 02, 2016
IRA from Double Mountain Brewery & Taproom
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 175 ratings