Hops Is Real w/ CBC
Rhinegeist Brewery

12FLOZ can
Served in a perfect pint glass

This beer pours an orangish yellow hue and hazy. It is topped with an inch of tan head that leaves nice lacing.

Medicinal smell with some citrus

Sweet and medicinal flavor.

Medium bodied with a slightly thin mouthfeel

Decent beer.

So here, finally trying the HIR collabs, known for the famous signs on the stretch between the two cities as well as the MLS derby (go Crew!). This is the Rhinegeist portion of the program. On pour, the beer takes on an amber gold color with a good two fingers of head. The head recedes into a thin foam over top. Hoppy, almost fruity aroma. It does actually remind me of an orange creamsicle, or citrus at least. Taste is pretty similar. Something says orange creamsicle. It definitely has hops and citrus. There is a little extra, like lime juice. The malt is up front and the bitterness is out back. Mid-body, fair carbonation, clean and concise finish. It's good. Solid. Probably boring to heavy IPA drinkers, of which I am not.

 

On tap at "The Tap" in West Lafayette.

A - Medium to dark gold with ice clarity and dense, creamy white lacing, light carbonation.

S - Some light weedy earthiness and delicate citrus.

T - Tropical fruit, lime, and citrus. Ends with a tiny amount of bitterness and a slight sweet malt base. Some lingering citrus and lime resin.

M - Big medium body.

O - Pretty uneventful actually. Very mild and sorta mundane.

This might be my new favorite of Rhinegeist except it is a collaboration with Columbus.

It pours deep golden with nice hoppy aroma. There seems to be a trend toward non-hazy American IPAs, everybody is doing them. Cool beans! Big, clean, this is a great beverage. My sample isn't that fresh yet it still is great all around.

Recommended. Thanks to Chad for the sample.

 

All I can suggest is more hoppy bitterness on the backend, as a West Coast IPA should have. This one is as close as you can come though. Great color, nose and taste. Reminds me of CBC's Bodhi

I am trying this beer off the tapper at The Daily Growler in Powell, Ohio as part of a six sample flight. It poured a clear golden with white head that is leaving some nice lace. The scent had nice citrus and pine notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with bright citrus base with pine resin highlights. The mouthfeel was medium in body and had modest carbonation. Overall it is a great beer.

Another let down, I like the Columbus side more which is kinda surprising. This is in the same ballpark as that "cold ipa" they made recently, it's just a really boring west coast ipa, again I dont say boring to mean its objectively bad because its not it's just I have zero reason to even remember this exists.

A - Pours out as a hazy orange body, a short white head that fades to a fluffy cap, and extensive lacing.

S - Subtle dank, vegetal notes over a strong orange creme core.

T - Flavors are tropical, pineapple and banana notes, with an orange zest snappiness, and a mildly bitter, pithy bite to close.

M - Some alcohol warmth, moderate carbonation, and a fairly clean, quiet finish.

O - Quite solid, with unique flavor combinations and a pleasant, soft feel.

 

 

Every drive through Ohio and see signs on the interstate that say that some entity is real, or that it is coming, or that if you don't succumb to their salvation then hell and brimstone will rain down on you? Rhinegeist and Columbus Brewing team up for a PSA that we can all get behind in a collaborative IPA that works to convert all to the glory of hops.

Hops Is Real gets itself with a frothy light amber pour with the zest and zeal of Imperial IPA long ago. Capped with a persistent white crown, the beer seduces the nose with a caramel backed scent of citrus, herb, spruce and peppery grasses for a floral and botanical tandem. As its malty first flow across the early palate, a soft and succinct maltiness captures the essence of caramel and honey in a granola kind of way.

But the hops take command of the session as the ale washes the middle palate and its firm maltiness starts to retreat. Flavors of tangerine, red grapefruit and a pep of pineapple juiciness all carry a branch-ripe flavor with a rounded nectar-like balance. Trending quickly bitter, sharp and dry, the late palate showcases hop bitterness with a clean and aggressive hop bite of pine resins, fresh grass clippings, hemp-like botanicals and a spicier citronella floral bitterness.

Medium-full, crisp and surprisingly refreshing for such high gravity ale, this collaborative IPA in a nearly flawless example of IPA that's been tried and true for decades; a taste that's sorely missed among hop heads and one that's expertly brewed yet simple in its recipe and its effortless mouthfeel.

 

 

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of bubbly foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of resin, orange, grapefruit and toasted bread. Good tropical fruit taste with toasted caramel and a piney bitterness.