Populist - Eagle Rock Brewery

BRANDY818

California

4.1/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I like it on nitro even better than normal.

Looks really nice with the thick cascading ntro head and gradients of yellow to white from glass bottom to top.

Nice American hope aromas but not too aromatic, maybe that's the nitro affect, not sure.

Hop forward and hop dominated flavor with a nice lightly cereal underscore.

Love the rich smooth nitro mouthfeel.

Great Socal IPA

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-17-2013 19:55:41 | More by BRANDY818

AgentMunky

Alabama

3.28/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Poured from a 22 ounce bottle into a DFH IPA glass.

A: A finger of fluffy head tops a pale, clear, golden beer.

S: Subdued and fruity. Not obviously hoppy.

T/M: It's alright. Soft, mellow, and creamy. The aftertaste is bitter pine, but, sadly, not much hops in the actual taste.

O: I like it okay, but it's not particularly tasty. Wouldn't have again or recommend. Too sweet and plain.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 05:32:59 | More by AgentMunky

facundoCNB

New Jersey

3.88/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a clean copper tone with a finger of white head leaving behind a nice amount of lacing. smells of pine, grass notes, caramel, light oak. a mildly bitter up front flavor with lots of bready malt hitting the taste buds. give it a minute and your mouth is hit by all the hop bitterness, begging you for more. medium body with great carbonation, sticky and resinous mouthfeel.
a really good ipa. tastes pretty fresh with the hops but is sitll nicely balanced with the malt profile.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2013 06:01:40 | More by facundoCNB

ElSid

California

3.9/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The Beers of California

#45

Bottled Date: None

A: Golden orange with that expected off white head of foam. This brew has minimal, if any, haziness, and the head slowly fades to a thin sheet of white which sticks around for the duration.

S: Mostly earth, stone, and bread. There is hint of sweetness along with some flowers, lemon rind, and dried leaves.

T: Strong malt presence for a West Coast IPA: caramel syrup sweetness, oven baked bread, grain, and sugar. The malt is paired with dried leaves, flowers, grass and a citrus presence that is mostly of lemon with hints of grapefruit. There are hints of pineapple that comes through the moderate hop bitterness and the finish is dry with a clove bite.

M: The feel is medium with good linger and activating carbonation which is all on par for the style.

O: An interesting concoction that is bright, balanced, and unique. This IPA is both surprising and memorable and is evidence that Eagle Rock is fast becoming one of the elite LA microbreweries.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 05:20:52 | More by ElSid

Trueant1

Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy orange classic ipa look. Thin white head.
Smells of some spices up front...can not qute pick these out..maybe sage,pepper? No classic ipa smells of pine oils or fruits and flowers. Nice bitter kick up front! Orange, pineapple, and many other sweets abound! The bitterness wins. Nicely carbonated. A bit of an oil slick, and over the top bitterness linger on and on. Good DIPA!

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 04:40:08 | More by Trueant1

Holland

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Big thanks to Mister_Joshy for sending this my way!

A: light golden to straw with a nice head that stays from the hefty carbonation. Faintly cloudy. Great lacing.

S: hops smell is not super intense, but there's enough citrus and pine mixed in with a bit of malt.

T: well balanced between bitterness of the hops, malt, and some small hop flavors. Nothing is intense, but it works.

M: medium body with excellent carbonation

O: the beer just isn't a hop bomb like I would expect from something with "West Coast IPA" on the label. Decent, but not a world beater by any means. Knee Deep, Alpine, etc all do great stuff in the region, and this is fairly run of the mill. Grab a sierra nevada first.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 00:08:24 | More by Holland

ThePaleRider

California

3.33/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A - Honey, amber color with a thick three finger white head. Head retention is amazing. The lacing around the glass is some of the thickest I've ever seen. Really nice looking poured right out of the bottle.

S - Very muted hops. A little bit of biscuity malts and toffee. Not a whole lot going for the nose of this IPA.

T - Tropical fruits, mango, passion fruit, some pineapple. Not picking up much in the line of the bitter fruits. Pretty sweet, but very easy to drink. If you don't like the real bitter IPAs this may be the choice for you. After taste is pretty similar to my initial impression.

M - A little oily. Nice body with little carbonation to show for.

O - Pretty standard IPA that would be amazing if it had some bitterness thrown in.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 22:17:40 | More by ThePaleRider

mdaschaf

Washington

3.9/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to James for this one!

A: Pours a deep orange color with a one finger white head on top. Decent retention leaving some splotches on top. Sticky lacing forms on most of the glass.

S: Just a bit of grapefruit rind and orange upfront with a nice piney aroma at the end.

T: A bit of grapefruit, orange, and citrus upfront. There is a hint of mint in the midpalate and some pine on the finish. A bit of grainy malt as well.

M: A medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation. Slightly dry finish.

O: A solid IPA, easy drinking with a nice flavor profile. Thanks again James.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2012 01:30:14 | More by mdaschaf

kevanb

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Filled my growler on 9/1, reviewed live from an Eagle Rock Pint Glass

The beer pours a great copper honey color, hints of orange, gold, and hay appear when held to the light, fairly clear, faint chill haze. A wonderful 2 finger white fluffy head sits atop the beer, has good retention that recedes into a nice film atop the beer after about 2 or 3 minutes and leaves behind some great sticky, webbed lacing. The aroma is nice, piney hops, lots of hop resin, very coniferous and earthy with a strong caramel malt backing. Cereal grains also come to the forefront, there is a definite balance between the hops and malt, however, the integration is a little muddled. The flavors are pleasant, earthy hops, piney hops, bitter hops, resinous hops, yes, there are hops! Well hopped for sure, nice integration, but there is certainly a lot of malt in the beer. Cereal grain, caramel malt with a bit of sweetness in the finish. The body is nice and sticky, fairly rich, dry at the finish but with a great amount of carbonation.

Verdict: A decent local IPA form Eagle Rock. Definitely has a bit of a home brew feel, but it's satisfying, amply bitter, fairly balanced and easy to drink. I'm happy to have Eagle Rock down the road, that's for sure!

Serving type: growler

09-04-2012 01:04:14 | More by kevanb

Blackwolf

3.85/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from Bottle to Pint Glass.

A- A nice hazy golden tone, a tad more than a fingers width head that settled after a few minutes to leave a little cap on the beer. Great lacing, stuck to the glass well. It looks very inviting.

S- Maybe I grabbed an older bottle but the smell wasn't there too much for me. Kinda bready, grapefruit citrus slightly aggressive bitter hop smell on top of it all.

T- Grapefruit from beginning to end. Not too malty, not too bitter and a lemon grassy hop balance to it. Some caramel/toffee notes are revealing themselves here and there if you look for it. All the flavor bottoms out too fast for me, but the citrus lingers on your tongue for a short while.

MF- Medium thick body, light syrup feel. Dry spice to it as well. Just okay for an IPA.

O- This is a decent IPA. Very subtle but it grabs you with its mild flavor just enough. If you are looking for something with high IBU try a different beer, if you're new to IPAs also try another... This is something you can appreciate if you like your indians but something I don't think you should go out of your way for. Luckily I work at a craft beer store and get 20% off :) It's good though, and I had to finally try Eagle Rock Brewery since they are the local boys and I lived VERY close to them. I definitely been spoiled to aggressive ales though so this is just par for me. ;)

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2012 07:50:58 | More by Blackwolf

ngeunit1

California

4.23/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a slightly hazy golden-orange with a finger of frothy white head. The head fades down at a normal pace leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of grapefruit, orange, other citrus, and pine hops with sweet caramel malts and a bit of breadiness.

T - Starts off with a mix of grapefruit, orange, and other citrus hops with some bitterness and some sweet caramel malts. Through the middle, some pine hops come through with some more bitterness alongside a bit of bready malts. The finish is a mix of grapefruit and pine hops with some bitterness and some sweet bready malts.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a dry and bitter finish.

D - Very drinkable. Good hop profile and bitterness and good overall balance.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 05:10:26 | More by ngeunit1

Halcyondays

California

3.78/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours amber with a medium frothy white head, solid lace.

S: Pine and white grapefruit, classic West Coast IPA notes.

T: Pine, herbs, some grass, lemon and orange. Citrus and woody pine, a nice mix of flavours dominated by the hop flavours, malt is mild.

M: Medium-bodied, soft frothy carbonation, resiny.

O: A good well-made CA IPA. It didn't bring anything new to the game, but I enjoyed a pint of this for sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 04:18:36 | More by Halcyondays

BucannonXC5

California

3.88/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22-oz. bomber into a pint glass at my house on July 29, 2012 (picked it up for $5.99 at KnB Wine Cellars in San Diego, Calif., on July 28, 2012). 2-3 fingers of head. Light pale color. Frothy, foamy white head. Decent retention all around.

Smelled citrus hops first (seemed to be grapefruit leading), really could smell a great deal of bitterness. Also caramel, light chocolate, spices (maybe pepper). Not too overwhelming overall. Decided on a 3.5 over a 4.0.

Nice balance on the tongue. Still bitter though. Caramel, light chocolate, citrus hops - lime, lemon, slight pine. Still that pepper spice.

Medium-to-light body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter finish.

Never heard of this, but enjoyed it after picking it up at KnB Wine Cellars. I’d give it and Eagle Rock another try.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 05:11:07 | More by BucannonXC5

UCLABrewN84

California

3.85/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly murky honey orange with a 1 inch foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt and some pine and herbal hop aromas. Taste is of the pine, citrus zest, and herbal hops up front with some honey and malt flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of bitterness that lingers on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good IPA with a better flavor than smell in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2012 02:40:27 | More by UCLABrewN84

ocelot2500

Arizona

3.53/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazy orange tinged golden color with a tight, white head that leaves little bits of lacing.

Smells of clean hops with citrus and pine notes.

Tastes of the hops upfront with a solid malt backbone. Hops lead off with pine and grapefruit that leaves a moderate bitterness. Malts come in to balance things out with a toffee sweetness and bready character accompanied by a creaminess. Finishes with a bitter note and a bit of alcohol.

Mouthfeel is medium with a smooth amount of carbonation.

Overall, this is a solid IPA worth a try, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 03:45:57 | More by ocelot2500

MEsoJD

California

3.58/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

[Poured into a generic tulip glass]

I: I picked this up due to a recommendation at Whole Foods. I figured I would also support close breweries. I may have to lay off West Coast Ipas... it's a style that I'm starting to get too accustom to. Anyway, lets see it ERB take on the style is satisfactory.

B: [7% ABV. 22 Fl. OZ. May 2012 bottle] The bottles label will be the first thing to draw you in. It's a quite attractive label with a good quality feel to it. Includes an adequate amount of information, including a small back story (always appreciated). So it is definitely eligible on the looks front for my beer trophy shelf, but we know that's not enough.

A: A hazy orange/slightly transparent body with a fluffy head (moderate dissipation), and good lacing.

S: Grapefruit, orange peel, and earthy/grassy malt (sweet sense is minimal).

T: Spicy hops complimented by grapefruit and earthy sweet malt with a sharp sour back bone.

M: Crisp finish, med bodied, med carbonation, and apparent alcohol.

O: As you can see, this isn't a totally predictable WIPA. It's an interesting take, but not what I would consider to be favorable to the style. My biggest gripes were on the smell and taste fronts. I like my ipas to smell sweet, and I really find the sour twist to be off putting (though I like sour in the appropriate context). With all of that said, it's not a bad beer. I appreciate the interesting take on the style, it just wasn't for me. Definitely worth a try. I can see many people split between this brew. Til next time.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2012 21:15:34 | More by MEsoJD

FosterJM

California

4.23/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1320th Review on BA
Bottle to Tulip
22oz

No bottle date
Purchased for $5.99 @ Walnut Liquorette

App- A dark orange with a yellow bottom. Only a 1 finger white fluffy bubbly head.

Smell-  A creamy hoppy aroma with a nice pine undertone. Not overpowering at all. Nice fruit flavors with a bit of orange vs. tropical

Taste- A really nice beer. Has a ton of layers behind it. A small hoppy beer with a good creamy citrus flavor. No sign of the 7%. Nice balance. Ill have to find more.

Mouth- A full medium body with a medium carbonation. A creamy hoppy flavor with only a small malty bitter.

Drink- I really enjoyed this. Especially with a nice grilled ribeye to accompany it. I would like another one.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2012 22:30:10 | More by FosterJM

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.63/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This brew pours a light golden amber with a fluffy white head. It's quite lacking in aromatics from the hops, except for a very subtle pine resin. The taste is no different with resiny, palate coating hops that remind me of sculpin. I don't like sculpin. The mouthfeel is a lingering grapefruit rind bitterness that thoroughly coats the palate. It's sweet, but not sweet enough to cut through the intense hoppiness. This beer just doesn't do it for me, even with the extreme WC hops it provides.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 02:18:02 | More by ThePorterSorter

t420o

California

2.93/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Eagle Rock Populist west coast IPA

A- pour priduces a nice 2 finger off white/light tan head resting on a deep gold colored body that is hazy and has some light brown hues. Great head retention and nice lacing. Looks great but the greatness ends right there.  4.5

S- some floral hops, sweet malt, light alcohol, lightly bitter. Smell is a little faint and doesn't have that juicy citrus hop smell I expect from "west coast IPA's" 3

T- taste is too malty for a west coast ipa. Caramel malt dominates at the beginning allowing some bitter hop taste and floral hops to come tbrough a bit. Again no real citrus or resiny flavor. Too sweet but not bad. Definitely no west coast IPA, that's for sure. 3

M- good carbonation. Body is slightly thick for the style. 3.5   

O- a good beer but a fail for the style and a disappointment for me because I was craving a real hoppy IPA and normally a west coast IPA would do the trick. My first offering from EAgle Rock brewing. Let's hope it gets better from here. Drinkability is ok, but I'm going to detract based on a style comparison.  2

C-

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2012 02:11:24 | More by t420o

mactrail

California

3.35/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The usual orangey amber, but with a very substantial head and well carbonated in the mouth.

Lighter body than some of these 7 percent IPAs. Thoroughly hop-centric with some floral notes and plenty of resins. Settles into a spicy bitterness that holds on like a big-jawed dog. Some fruity notes and a modest sense of malt. Some grapefruit peel in the finish.

A very drinkable IPA. Unpretentious, simple, plenty bitter, and well made. Not much different from many others, though they do a great job on the carbonation. Bottle from Best Damn beer store in San Diego, 22 oz.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2012 04:56:38 | More by mactrail

kojevergas

California

1.9/5  rDev -50.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

22 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into N'Ice Chouffe stemware in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Acquired at Wally's Wine in Westwood, California.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a two finger head of fair cream, decent thickness, and good retention. Colour is a semitransparent copper. No yeast particles are visible.

Sm: A great floral hop aroma. Clean pleasant malts. Hints of pine and citrus. A surprisingly appealing aroma for an IPA. A mild strength aroma.

T: Hops - both bittering and floral. Entirely too bitter. Horribly balanced for an IPA. Awful stale grapefruit notes. Bad cream. Clean malts. Poorly built for an IPA. No yeast or alcohol comes through. I don't like it. Not subtle or complex; it beats you over the head with hops.

Mf: Smooth and wet. The thickness and carbonation are both off.

Dr: Hard to drink due to the badly balanced and executed flavour profile. Hides its ABV well to its credit. This beer represents precisely what I hate about IPAs. The brewers need to learn how to balance.

D-

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 07:15:55 | More by kojevergas

alexgash

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +11%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

32 oz. swing top growler filled 2 days ago.

Beautiful light hazy apricot gold body. Tall, meringue-like, bright beige-white head. Excellent lacing. Sumptuous hop aroma with notes of pineapple, mango, orange, grapefruit, and pine needles. Some sugary malt in there as well.

Toasted malt and intensely herbal bitterness up front. Tongue quickly numbs up a little as the bitterness crescendos and the hop flavors unfurl themselves. Herbal, spicy, piny at first. Citrus shows up near the end. Sugary, candyish malt body provides some balance, but ends up taking a backseat in the finish, which dries out some. Medium-full body with a creamy smooth feel. A very solid California style IPA.

Serving type: growler

03-14-2012 00:29:13 | More by alexgash

Onenote81

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had this one on-tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank.

A full-to-the-brim pint, just like I like it. A thin sheet of white lace caps off this transparent golden-orange brew. The aroma is so sweet and floral, it takes effort to pull my nose out of this one. Big citrus overtones. Love it. The mouthfeel is crisp, yet filling. A really rich velvety finish. The hops on this one don't shy away from bitter, but there is a really nice sweet balance to them as well. Sweet candy-like finish. Lot's of citrus pervades this one - orange, grapefruit, tangerine. Really lush flavorful hops were used in this one, and the brewers did a standout job putting this one together.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2012 16:15:43 | More by Onenote81

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.88/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Ultraman for this one. 32oz. growler into a pint glass. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a 1.5 finger frothy white head with great retention. Beer is a semi-clear orange-gold. Lacing is thick and layered with really good cling. Considering the serving type, the appearance and carbonation are fantastic.

Nose is burnt rubber and grapefruit and citrus hop bitterness. Sweet and moderately aromatic but awkward.

Opens exceptionally sweet. Cane sugar, honey, boozy sugar, and vanilla. Hop bitterness expresses itself towards the middle and end. Malt backbone is very prominent. Finishes citrus and hop bite with a sweet, filmy aftertaste. Delicious!

Light bodied with moderate to high carbonation. Lively and bubbly in the mouth and refreshingly crisp going down. Finishes messy with a slightly lingering aftertaste. Again, considering the serving style, this is exceptional.

A real big surprise here. This is one of the most solid IPAs I've come across in a long time. Good balance that leans toward the malt profile. Very drinkable with robust, full flavor. Could easily finish a growler in one sitting!

Serving type: growler

01-26-2012 23:40:52 | More by SpeedwayJim

RexF

California

4.38/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

California style IPA delivered with everything you could ask for, but could use a little more body, and the one I had at the brewery was a little murky.

I love the smell and the flavor, and i think I may have gotten a bottom of the keg pour, because from reading other reviews, people like the way this looks and I can't say I did.

No question I would order it again. In fact next time i'm at the brewery, this is probably what I'll fill the growler with.

Serving type: on-tap

01-22-2012 03:58:28 | More by RexF