A Different American Hop Bomb

Of all the styles of beer that are made by American brewers, IPA may be the most well known, with nearly every American crafter brewer offering their take on the style. And although the India Pale Ale is an historical English style of beer, we’ve certainly made it our own. It could well be the standard style for American craft brewers, and many craft beer drinkers have a strong love for the bitter hop flower, and the indigenous varieties here are spectacular.
The American IPA is a unique beast, due in large part to the use of classic American hop varieties, like Cascade, Chinook, Liberty, and Willamette. These styles of hops and newer creations grown in this country are famous for the aroma and flavor they produce in a variety of ales and lagers. In ales, such as pale ale and especially IPA, American hops offer strong and powerful characteristics like citrus, often grapefruit or orange, floral notes, and sometimes piney and resinous qualities. In most American IPAs, malt is an afterthought, and rarely balances with the hops, as bitterness is present from the first sip on to the aftertaste, often with a lingering hop bite that sticks around long after the swallow.
I’m a fan of American IPAs, but I often find that these beers are increasing outrageously hopped, and can become bitter bombs, with little if any other flavor. I attest that hops are to beer what grapes are to wine, but I don’t want my taste buds rendered useless after one sip.
Several newer varieties of American IPAs offer unique takes on the original style. White IPA is a cross between a Belgian-style wit and our favorite hop beer. Black IPA or Cascadian dark ale offers porter-like malt elements blended with the best citrus and pine west coast IPA essentials. Standard IPA proves to be a great jumping off point for numerous off-shoots of the style.
California’s Bear Republic Brewing Co. is similar to many brewers out west in that it offers beers that tend to be very highly hopped, using west coast varieties. However, their excellent Hop Rod Rye is the exception.
A rich, mahogany hue with a light tan head of cream, Hop Rod Rye is darker than most in its class, but whiffs of grapefruit and pineapple follow. The pine notes are likely a combination of west coast hops and spicy rye malt, which makes up 20 percent of the malt bill and sweet maltiness slides underneath. The beer is slightly hazy, due to yeast and other bits from the bottom of the bottle.
The taste is much like the smell, with hops taking the lead, but malt not shying away from the tongue. Fruity, citrus hops start strong and fast, but a sweetish malt and peppery rye combination soon make way as the beers warms; a very unique flavor for an American IPA.
The beer has a fine, tiny, almost creamy carbonation, which gives it a nearly full mouthfeel and a quick, dry, piney finish. Not as bitter in the finish as many, this is definitely still an IPA. While Hop Rod Rye has a stronger malt presence than most American IPAs, and a spicy touch of rye to boot, it is still a well bitter beer, and hop heads will be quite happy with this tasty brew.
Hop Rod Rye straddles the line between American IPA and the Double IPA variety in strength. It’s also somewhat schizophrenic, in that it shows much more of its malt side than most IPAs. In either case, it’s an excellent beer for these warm, sunny days. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. “ Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy.  225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.