Row 2/Hill 56
Russian River Brewing Company

Throwing it all back to 2005, Russian River revives the forgotten classic American Pale Ale with the exclusive use of Simcoe Hops to take us back to an era when Nickleback was cool.

Row 2 Hill 56 comes at us with a mostly bright, exuberant streaming, pale golden appearance while floating a cottony, airy froth. As a familiar scent of citrus, herb, pine and grasses mingle with lighter caramel and honey, the nose is an even-keel balance of malt and hops. Dryly sweet once on the tongue, its those caramel and honey flavors that bring out a toasty granola reference.

As the attention quickly turns back to the hops, the middle palate shows quick dryness to favor the impressions of white grapefruit, orange peel and lemon zest that the hops leave behind. Developing into a quick and snappy bitterness, the later flavors trend herbal with hemp, pine, peppery resins and a fresh grassiness.

Medium bodied and trending lighter and drier as well, the session desperately wants to be that of an IPA but the tepid flavors and feels keep the drinkability aligned more with session IPA and drier Pale Ale. A medium-length aftertaste of dried greens and citrus peels chase those IPA insinuations into a peppery afterglow.

Pours copper in color with a teeny white head that gave way to lacing. Nose is slightly citrus and slightly wine like. Taste is very grapefruit and pine. Feeling is nice bitterness. Very well done.

Bottled 10/12/22.

 

 

 

500ml bottle. Poured out a clear, golden yellow color with a small, off-white head of foam. It left sudsy trails of lace on the glass. It smelled of orange, orange and more orange. Nice caramel nose with some resin. Sweet orange taste with a zesty kick. Toasted caramel with a piney bitterness.

 

 

This is a fantastic single hop simcoe APA. The malt perfectly balances the hops and the hops flavors are grapefruit and pine with very low level of bitterness. Over exceeded expectations with this beer. This is a perfect example of the hoppy beers I crave over hazy stuff.

An interesting beer and not what I expected. My bottle was four weeks old so perhaps the almost total lack of head was age or handling related. pale golden color with a extremely minor haze. A very pronounced grapefruit nose, and a very delicate carbonation of extremely small bubbles. This is a love it or hate it beer. I'm not a fan of most American IPA's as they are nothing but hop. There is no balance, no finesse. The Pliney brothers solve with with specific gravity, and the balance of those beers slight sweetness with their hop profile is rightly legendary. They are very good beers. This beer is dry and a therefore a little thin. I can understand the barley water comments. But I found it refreshing and the balance of Simcoe hops nicely done. Imagine a much better version of an Athletic Brewing Co. offering. Interesting. Not a go to, but not bad.

 

Bottle pour- clear pale gold straw color with thick white head leaving copious frosty lacing. Nose is all citrus and pine. Taste follows with a crisp lingering bitterness on the finish. A Simcoe hopped delight.

Pours golden yellow with a 2 inch foamy, white head, which lasts. Heavy lacing to the end.

Aroma is pine, grapefruit, floral.

Taste is pine, grapefruit, earthy, resinous.

Medium bodied, light carbonation. Dry finish.

Beautiful. Brewed with one of my favorite home brewing hops.

 

Excellent soft golden yellow body; good, lively carbonation; fairly thick and creamy white head, sticky with dense sheets and fingers of foam clinging to the glass. Beautifully balanced smell with soft, creamy notes of biscuit and bread dough scents with a gentle, earthy bit of hop aroma. The taste follows along the lines of the smell; mild biscuit notes; subdued and balanced hop bitterness; a kiss of esters and mild, light pepper spiciness. Medium-heavy, smooth and silky; semi-dry yet rich mouthfeel.

This pale ale just feels and drinks incredibly softly and smoothly. It has a mild quality overall yet exudes some subdued and complex taste and mouthfeel qualities. Very sublime...

 

 

Very watery, imbalanced, third-class beer from a first-class Brewery. I love Russian River Pliny the Younger & Mind Circus. But this beer tastes like carbonated, hoppy water.

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely spectacular. Clean and smooth, with subtle bite and hops. Could not recommend this higher. More subtle than the rival Pliney but nothing short of what Russian River does best.

 

L: A pale orange when held to the light, with a tangerine appearance otherwise and a couple fingers of ivory froth settling slowly and leaving nice sticky patterns of lace on the glass.

S: Brilliant grilled and basted pineapple plus clean tangerine and a touch of pine and passionfruit. Mouth-watering.

T: Follows the nose. I don't get a fraction of the fruits the other reviewers are listing. The palate is mostly pine, then unrippened pineapple, then tangerine for me. The balance is superb though. Top notch quality. As flavorful as a beer nearly twice it's size.

F: Medium-thin, crisp and off-dry, carbonated and dangerously crushable. Smooth and bitter too!

O: Only my second Russian River brew thanks to @Pstone530 for the wonderful trade. Had Pliny the Elder and this one is a real match for it. The execution on this APA is amazing and I would call it tragically underrated for the style. Here's the thing the bottle I'm drinking is even two months old to the day!

Chill hazed gold with a medium sized white colored head.

From a distance you can smell candied pineapple coming off of it. Smells hoppy as expected. Strong scent of candied pineapple. Strong tropical fruits, passion fruit, papaya, pineapple and lemon. Smells a little sweet but this really is a fruit basket in a glass.

Starts out mild and fruity and fairly dry. Wheat cracker malt. It is quite dry for the smell.

Mouthfeel is OK.

Overall not a bad ale but the Russian River STS Lager is better.

 

22oz bottle served in a nonic glass, bottled on 03/31/20.

Look- Clear golden color, large bright white head with great retention and nice sticky lacing. moderate carbonation streams visible.

Smell- Pineapple, citrus (orange, grapefruit and lemon), light stone fruit, bready malt, light pine and floral/grassy hop notes.

Taste- Similar to the aroma. Pineapple and citrus, peach, resinous pine, bready malts with a light lingering hoppy bitter finish. Very well balanced.

Feel- Medium/light bodied, dry and really crisp, super refreshing. Medium carbonation on the tongue.

O- Easily one of the best pale ales that I have had, this stuff is killer. A definite must try.

Bottled 033120. Pleasantly surprised to find this when I went to the local store to grab a bottle of Sanctification. Who knew Simcoe hops could be so delicious?! One of the OG varietals that has kind of faded with the hazy hop trends, in my opinion. But this changes all of that. A stellar WC APA with an amazing nose and flavor profile, full of fresh fruit, some resin and grass, and a sweet malt bill that you pick up in the great finish/feel. Incredible beer.

 

Wow! This is such a surprisingly smooth brew that I did not know it the first time I tried this! Russian River delivers again! This is just delicious goodness!

 

Bottle slight less than 1 month old.
Hunting this down for a while.
Look: Golden slight chill haze. White fluffy head with lacing.
Smell: pine and malt.
Taste: grapefruit, pine, herbal, Grassy. Little fruity.
Feel: medium full and refreshing. Hint of crisp bite.
Overall: refreshing pale ale. 100% simcoe. Not over the top.

 

 

 

Bottled: 3/31/20

Just a delicious beer. It's well balanced and at a slightly lower ABV than the majority of RR's releases. I was told going in that it had a funky taste but I found it to be delicious through and through,