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Dark brownish amber of chestnut in color with a two finger high tight-whipped cream ivory colored top that never, ever fades, one absolutely beautiful glass of hoppy necture. Top gets crusty with smooth divets as it settles in. Eventually the top lays a perfect cloud of ivory puffed crustyness and the lace in super huge thick curtains, lots of curtains!

Aroma is deep dark dried hops that hints at pine and citrus, a good load of hops for sure, nice and piney with a sappy resin and airyness of pine needles thats nose fillingly awesome. A real nice backing of hard darkened rye and toasty malts with a touch of chocolate sets some nice noting.

Taste peels out of the gate with a smooth and soft roasty malts up front, thats quick and fast then it slams into high gear with a complex wall of full octain hops, alot of dried variants, crispy bitter pine, dried grapefruit peels, smokey caramel, buttery burnt biscuit and torched lemon, very leveled and smacked of great hoppyness. I barely detect the rye but I think it helps with the overall quick sharpness thats poking through in some of the first hints of bitterness giving it a boost like extra turbo. Zoom, Zoom,Yummy!

Feel is quite full and fully loaded with bitterness from just beyond the beginning; strong midway point and floats into the finish as the parachute opens with nice bitterness and a woody baked dryness.

You lucky bastards out in Cal. you've got it made. This stuff and Stone brews! Wow! What a treat it must be to visit your liquor stores? Great stuff!! It burns down the track and never looks back. Its got my engine roarin'! Bear Republic has a nice IPA twist with this bad boy.

Served In: Pint Glass

This beer has received a lot of kudos – it is listed as a strong IPA, not a double – it pours a very dark amber – between dark gold and stout color from a 22oz. bottle. The initial nose is of hops but that is belied on the first taste which is very malty with a bit of hoppy grass thrown in. A nice beer but it is malty on the initial taste, the mid taste and the finish – malt, malt, malt. If I want malt, I’ll buy a red ale, a stout, a malt beer, even some bitter beers, but I don’t want malt in an alleged IPA. I love Bear Republic brews but this one left me hopless because I was so overwhelmed by the malt.

Served In: Pint Glass

22oz. Bomber

Opened with a good healthy pop. I've had two of Bear Republic's beers in the past and both of them had giant, sticky, rocky heads. Hop Rod is no different. The head is off-white and leaves big chunky lacing all the way down the glass. The body was a lightly hazed dark amber. Lively carbonation comes up from all over the bottom of my pint glass. This stuff looks pretty damn tasty.

The smell makes my mouth water in anticipation for a drink. It starts off sweet like caramel which stays around in the background the whole time. The hops take over pretty quick though and they are pure citrus. A couple layers of the citrus. There is grapefruit and orange.Orange being the latter of the two. Hitting at the end is the rye.

This beer will make you pucker up and get your tongue tingling. It's similiar to the smell in that there is a solid malt backbone that tries to balance but doesn't get it done, which is just the way I like it. The rye comes through mid-palate along with a strong bitterness that fades to something more managable but lingers. The hops come through right after the rye makes its appearence and finish the drink off with nice splash of citrus.

The mouthfeel is really the way I like it. Medium bodied with above average carbonation that tickles your tongue. The hops get your tongue tingling like it's about to go numb and makes you need that next drink.

The drinkability is high for the simple fact that each drink almost makes you need another. Of course the taste doesn't hurt either. Very good.

This is one of the top IPAs in my opinion. The ability to hide the alcohol like they did makes this one dangerous. The rye just puts it above so many other IPAs. This is an excellent beer that I'll be visiting often from now on.

Reviewed: 10/18/06

Served In: Pint Glass

Don't drink and drag. It says so on the bottle. Hop Rod Rye pours a dark amber red with good clarity. A somewhat bad pour by me but it still looked good. Nice head and excellent lacing.

The smell has a big aroma coming right out of the bottle. Following the lines of RyePA. Pine notes with citrus overtones really dominate the aroma. Limited malt smells but there are caramel and basic malt smells are present. Some hints of rye as well.

The taste is mild hop taste and a good spicy flavor from the rye. A good piney taste upfront that quickly makes room for a limited bite from lingering bitterness and rye. A slight astringent note but not over the top. This is followed by a limited but flavorful caramel taste is noticeable in the background. Some minor sweetness into the finish with some hints of soapiness that lingers. A light yeast character but mostly clean.

The texture is a littled watery but good flavor and decent body. A creamy taste but the spice limits the texture. Very easy to drink and a nice overall beer.

Served In: Bottle

A - Large two finger head that lasted a surprisingly long time. Tons of carbonation engulfed by massive dark amber (yet transparent) body. Good lacing too.

S - Rye bread and an almost pungent hops aroma. Love the smell and got better it warmed.

T - It took me a few different tries with this one to put my finger on what I like. Similar to the aroma, it is the rye and hop combo. What rounds it out nicely is the malty caramel background.

M - Seemed a little light for the taste. Lots of carbonation but an overall nice creaminess to the finish.

D - Solid "IPA" that keeps me coming back for more. Different twists on an already well liked style are always welcome.

Served In: Pint Glass

Review from 10/19/06

A - Cola like brown transparent body. Big, two finger fluffy head settles to look like mashed potatoes.

S - Rye malt is abundant along with some good hop tones. Nothing overly impressive overall on the smell though.

T - Sweet and malty up front. Rye is present, but not overbearing. Works into sweet hop tones, then into hop bite.

M - Thick and almost creamy. Carbonation is subdued and good.

D - Great beer, as usual for Bear Republic.

Served In: Pint Glass

Rye brews agree with me. As do Bear Republic brews, so this one I knew would be good. Pours a dark amber rust color. Smell is very good, a hint of alcohol. Taste is just as smooth as the smell. Very easy to drink with a solid hop after taste. highly recomended.

Served In: Pint Glass