Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Big Bear is big and black with a rich creamy tan head. Aroma is chocolate and carmel. The flavor is chocolate, with a coffee-like bitterness and is very smooth. It hides it's alcohol well. A well balanced, finely crafted Stout.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2003 bomber. This is about as borderline double IPA/ regular IPA as it gets. Anyways it’s incredible. Wonderful Orange, red, golds, all the good stuff you want to see. Hazy, small white head, sediment and tons of lacing. Smells extremely juicy of nice rich, fresh hops. I just love when it seems like you can almost taste the soil these hops grow in. Mineralesque, fresh, bitter (of course) lovely. Elegant floral smell and flowery, creamy body. Finish is about as balanced as it gets without being too neutral. Great malt sweetness gives just the right amount of balance to a slightly more dominant hops. Man it’s so hard rating these very top tier IPAs, they are all so magnificent. Medium full bodied and an interesting nutty, chewiness at the end of every sip. 2004 draught @ sunset grill. Still as good as I remember. Juicy, huge depth of hops, very sweet, but balanced, somewhat more watery on draft and less aromatic, but to be expected from the keg.
2004 bomber Blind tasting. Previously being my favorite IPA, I picked this as second after the Smutty, which I had never tried before. Huge amounts of citrus in the nose, but it’s a rounder, juicier, lighter sort of citrus; like sweet mandarin oranges. Very juicy and quite watery, with only a medium body. Some light toffee notes in the background, but not quite the balance I’m lookin for. Though, for a West Coast IPA, they do not overdo the hops, which is probably why I enjoy it so much. I generally don’t care for most West Coast IPAs. Light yellow-gold color, hazy with a large white head.
October 2005 draught at Publick House. A chil-hazed honey to marigold looking beer, with a fluffy white head, great retention and lacing. Smells of unripened tangerines, tart lemons and some tea leaves, with a bit of herbacious essences and finally some sweet honey/pale malts. Still a stand-out aroma, I think. Flavor is dry, perfumey, citric and very well balanced. Does get a bit too strong with the hops bitterness and lightly syrupy-sweet malt though, in the end. Still the hops profile is rich and flavorful and the malt, while not the most exquisite, is nonetheless very well done. Same score.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
03 Bottle. One of the best looking beers I've seen. Reddish brown mahogany, bright but wavy. Tons of sediment due to bottle conditioning. Very hazy. Big rich yellow-beige head. Incredible amount of lacing. Smells of lots of bittersweet hops, maybe the slightest bit of scotch-like aroma. Flavor is mostly hoppy (pretty high alpha content) but has a well balanced medium dry caramel malt backbone. Creamy texture. Finish is clean and surprisingly not that bitter. Touch of light roasted barley. I almost think there is a touch of scotch-like alcohol flavor, but I might just be thinking that. Spicy, full, balanced and very very drinkable. The flavor could stand to be a bit more complex, however.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Pine aroma, with hints of syrup - full mouthfeel, lots of grapefruit - bitterness at the end balances the initial sweetness well.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
This is some good stuff - certain elements remind me of Arrogant Bastard - lots of malts, but not overly sweet, still plenty of hops in the mix - caramel and chocolate - tasty and heavy.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
One of the better APAs I've had in recent memory - the hops and malt presence were close to what some breweries try to pass off as a IPA - tasty, but started getting thin on the palate as it warmed.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Very dark amber colour with a light brown head. Strong aroma of hops, malt and a subtle tropical fruit aroma. Medium to Full-bodied; Strong roasty/smoky malt characteristic with noticeable hoppiness. Aftertaste bittered from both the hops and the roasted malt. Overall, a crazy mix between a scottish and an APA, but works out fairly well. I must thank Jah_noth (Dan) for the local trade and the generous treat! I sampled this 65 cL bomber on 17-October-2003.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Poured a rich red/copper color with a creamy tan head. Aroma reminded me of a barleywine- strong caramel/toffee malts, but with grapefruit and pine hop presence. The sip begins with strong, caramely malt followed by dashes of grapefruit and pine, tangy, bitter rye and a very bitter hops aftertaste. Body was the perfect consistency for the style. I did not find the hops to be dominating or overwhelming.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
A chestnut-brown, smooth Imperial that may be more reminiscent of a Sweet Stout. Thick, creamy tan head. Roasted malts and toast in the nose, followed by strong caramel, toast, sweet fruitiness and a slightly tangy aftertaste. Body is smooth and relatively thin for the style, although this complemented the flavors present here. A unique example. Reminds me a bit of Stoudt's Fat Dog, except Bear Republic is better developed.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
(draught) Deep chestnut-amber; nice, slim & dense white head, good lace. Superb hoppy nose with restrained pinewood or tree-like notes, like stepping out under the canopy of a cool mixed forest. Quite hoppy taste, hop-oil character. There’s quite some malt underneath, but it gets overwhelmed all the same. Well bodied. The finish and texture are a little thinner - the overt hop character? I had hoped for a somewhat less hard taste, and the nose certainly promessed such. Can’t win them all. bottled 12/04 Seem to get more tobacco and freshly roasted coffeebean notes, ending in a chicory-like bitterness.