RnD IPA #44
Russian River Brewing Company

on draft, in tulip shaped glass

appears a clear medium golden color, white head. Well rounded citrus and dank hops. Crisp bitterness, thinner bodied. nice WC style IPA

Pours a little cloudy yellow gold color. Very aromatic with floral, almost perfume notes of tangerine blossom, lime and pine. Very pleasant. The taste is very tangerine forward, if not more on the unripe or pith side of the fruit, so some lime notes creep in. Mouthfeel is a bit crisp with a moderate bitterness that builds over time, lending to a piney flavor that works well. Very effervescent, so much that it lingers on the sides of the tongue well into the finish. Overall a great take on the hoppy IPA and must try for experimental hop types.

 

On tap at the Blue Dog Tavern, Lansdale, PA, into a 10oz tulip.

Pours an ever-so-slightly hazy dark yellow with about a finger of white head. May be the lighting in this place but I swear I see a tinge of light green in this beer. Ok lacing and retention.

Nice aromas of pine, citrus and light tropical fruits.

Nice enough pine and resin flavor but the sweet fruitiness is almost a little artificial. Kind of an off-putting flavor I can't put my finger on.

Sticky, medium to full bodied mouthfeel. Bitter after taste.

Overall, good, not great. Always great to try a RR beer though.

Clear, pale yellow body; excellent carbonation; dense, thick head, white and lasting. Grassy and herbal nose; pungent; obscure note of cereal grain in the background. The taste generally follows the smell; grass-like with a strong, bitter quality. Medium mouthfeel; fine balance between the residual sugars and inherent dryness.

It's not often I give a rather bland, generic overall score to a Russian River beer, but this one merits my assessment. Looks great, feels fine, but the taste comes across a way too grassy and bitter.

ABV: 6.5%; pouring temperature: 46 °F; bottling info: 050324
Source: local purchase (Lots A Liquor)

510mL bottle marked bottled on 5/3/24 poured into a tulip pint glass

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a two finger white head with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus hops, grapefruit, lime, faint mixed tropical fruit and some green onion. Flavor is pale malt, lime, grapefruit, mixed over-ripe tropical fruit and green onion; moderate bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. This tastes has clear New Zealand hop character with grapefruit and lemon/lime citrus and muddled mixed fruit with some tropical notes. There is a bit of green onion too, which I generally like in mild doses. For some reason, Southern hemisphere hops never got me very excited and this version of RnD was somewhat lackluster for my taste. The bitterness and tame herbal hop character didn't help. It's quite drinkable and I was satisfied with the whole glass, but it's a one and done for me.

 

 

 

 

Cloudy yellow pour with a small white head.

Aromas of pungent overripe melon with some citrus and honey.

Flavor is garlicky and dank. Cooked onions sauteed in gym socks.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall, a pretty mediocre IPA. If you like the garlicky hop character then you'll probably enjoy this.

 

2024-05-19
500ml bottle served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. Bottled on 05.03.24. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park two days ago.

Pours clear light brass with a big fluffy head, maybe two inches, which settles into a thick clumpy layer, sustained by quite a bit of visible active carbonation. Smell is dank and lemony, some melon rind, some floral sweetness.

Taste is surprisingly powerful honey and flower sweetness with not-quite-equally-powerful lemon rind and melon rind bitterness. However, further sipping allows the bitterness to build and the sweetness to just about take a back seat.

Mouthfeel is smooth, almost silky, with just a little carbonation liveliness. Overall, very nice IPA.

interesting asphalt-type of aroma from the NZ hops.... but not in a bad way.