Red Rocket Ale - Bear Republic Brewing Co.

BamfBacon

Ohio

4/5  rDev -2%

02-11-2013 21:28:07 | More by BamfBacon

midnitesun11

California

4/5  rDev -2%

06-17-2013 01:53:18 | More by midnitesun11

GuitarIPA

Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-16-2013 23:26:57 | More by GuitarIPA

IPAdams

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

06-16-2013 19:41:34 | More by IPAdams

mattparsons

New Hampshire

3.25/5  rDev -20.3%

06-15-2013 23:44:31 | More by mattparsons

MPSTARR

Florida

4/5  rDev -2%

06-15-2013 18:05:41 | More by MPSTARR

Eazy28

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-15-2013 05:46:45 | More by Eazy28

kojevergas

California

3.14/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

6.8% ABV. Expectations are extremely high; the more I try from this brewery the more impressed I get with it. 12 fl oz brown glass bottle with interesting fun label art and a branded silver pressure/pry-off cap acquired at a local SoCal beer store and served into an Oskar Blues pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Bottled 01/18/13; 6 months of age on this one, but it's been refrigerated constantly and it's a "bastardized Scottish style red ale." Reviewed as such (not as an American amber as currently listed). I trust the brewery over whatever clod added the beer.

*Note: I emailed Bear Republic on the day of this review and received a response on 06.18.13. According to Clay: "Red Rocket has a shelf life of 6 months. If refrigerated you should get up to 9 months, but I have tasted darn good bottles past that." So there you have it.

http://bearrepublic.com/beer/red-rocket-ale/#.UbvW8OcXLK0

Served cold, straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a 1.5 finger khaki colour head. Decent cream and nice thickness. Lovely frothiness; quite attractive in that sense. Seems to have no cling on the outer edges; lacing is nonexistent here and the head thins towards the edges. Retention is well above average; about 4 minutes I'd say. Maybe a bit longer. No "legs" on this one.

Body colour is a rather dark amber. Definitely appears unfiltered, but it isn't quite hazy. Certainly nontransparent, though. Some glowing semitranslucence. Floating yeast particles are plainly visible, varying in size. She definitely looks alive. Understated and somewhat rich, but I wouldn't call it vibrant.

No bubble show.

Overall, it's looking pretty good for the style it identifies as. I'm intrigued, but not quite impressed. Certainly has the character of a Scottish ale.

Sm: Lovely toffee notes with accompanying grainy malts. Distinct malty sweetness outs it as a Scottish ale - albeit with a higher hop content than most examples of the style. The label describes it as "aggressive hop character"; I'd agree with that sentiment based on the aroma. Caramelized malt is evident. Mild intensity floral and herbal hops. Malty character is the focus here, quite typical of a Scottish ale. Some bready malts; maybe some biscuit malt. I dig the malt profile here and the hops seem well married to the malts. Not detecting any yeast or alcohol. Solid for the style. Mild in strength. Appealing.

T: Scottish influenced malty sweetness provides the full grainy and bready body, with toffee lending some added character. It does clash somewhat with the perhaps overzealous floral, herbal, and lightly piney hop character. I don't know that the hop choices here were ideal, but then this bottle is a biteen old (though I do want to emphasize that a Scottish ale - at least a traditional one - should last 6 months without issue). But make no mistake, this is not a traditional Scottish ale, though I'm sure it'd make a fine one without the unique hop addition. Caramelized, but not as much so as traditional examples of the style. A biteen of cream comes through.

Not getting any yeast character or alcohol from the taste. I want far more toasted malt than it delivers; I think its emphasis on the hops is misplaced and far from ideal. It's an interesting experiment with the style, but I don't know that it's better for it.

Problematic balance, but interesting complexity. Not much subtlety, unfortunately. Overall I do like it, but I did expect more from Bear Republic. Flavour intensity is average; flavour duration is typical.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Wouldn't call it oily. Good full body. Nice presence on the palate. A bit creamy. Somewhat soft. Perhaps a bit too thick for the lack of flavour depth. Quite filling, a characteristic amplified by the bready notes. Suits the flavour profile generally well, but doesn't feel custom-tailored to it. Facilitates delivery of the flavours pretty well.

Dr: I plan on revisiting this one as fresh as possible; I have a feeling I'm not getting the best experience of it in spite of the core style. Perhaps the aggressive hopping is more naturally integrated and carefully balanced when the beer is a bit newer. It seems like it could be a solid brew from Bear Republic, but based on this experience I can't quite make that claim. Has some interesting elements and it's certainly drinkable. The alcohol does poke through a bit as it warms, especially on the finish. I'll plan to get another and report back if results are different. As it stands, it's a decent effort but ultimately there are far better offerings in the style at around the same price range.

C+

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 03:12:01 | More by kojevergas

archyquaffer

Montana

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22 ounce bomber into a Shaker pint glass. A moderate to aggressive pour produces about 3/4 inch of tan colored head that puffs up over the rim of the glass and quickly recedes. The beer leaves lots of attractive lacing, with little islands of foam hugging the sides and frosted over pools in the center. The beer is a fairly dark reddish-brown. Against an unlit background, you can see perhaps half way through the glass.

I have a poor sense of smell, but even I can detect a rather strong aroma of leafy hops and caramel malt. I still get nice whiffs even as my nose and tongue get accustomed to it. The flavor is a taste sensation- I think this will be my benchmark for caramel malt taste. The label on the bottle claims an "aggressive hop character rivaled by none" but it doesn't taste excessively hoppy to me (good!), and there's plenty of balance and complexity, including tones of caramel, toffee, hazel nut (?) and maybe a touch of fine tobacco, with piney and citrusy highlights from the hops.

This beer is quite flavorful, with a nice balance of malt and hops. The hops don't overpower, as can be the case with some west coast brews. I recall many a beer where I dwelled longingly on the rich malty goodness that I could see and feel but could not taste, due to excessive hop happiness. This beer doesn't do that.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 01:58:03 | More by archyquaffer

mikedevilsfan

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

06-14-2013 04:57:09 | More by mikedevilsfan

doremite

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%

06-13-2013 22:44:13 | More by doremite

OldhouseRecs

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-13-2013 00:02:15 | More by OldhouseRecs

Musineer

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +10.3%

06-12-2013 21:47:32 | More by Musineer

goblin7704

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-11-2013 16:26:07 | More by goblin7704

Evoforen

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -2%

06-09-2013 15:24:43 | More by Evoforen

RangnaR

California

4/5  rDev -2%

06-04-2013 20:08:25 | More by RangnaR

RBassSFHOPit2ME

California

3.25/5  rDev -20.3%

06-04-2013 01:00:17 | More by RBassSFHOPit2ME

TKEbeerman

Florida

4/5  rDev -2%

06-04-2013 00:09:13 | More by TKEbeerman

Bustersuess

New York

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%

06-03-2013 23:53:15 | More by Bustersuess

mcaulifww

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

06-03-2013 17:42:09 | More by mcaulifww

drinkAK

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +16.4%

06-02-2013 18:26:42 | More by drinkAK

Harlock

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%

06-02-2013 01:35:19 | More by Harlock

mmilyko

Nevada

3.5/5  rDev -14.2%

06-01-2013 01:26:31 | More by mmilyko

Tacoboomerang

Virginia

4/5  rDev -2%

05-31-2013 22:54:20 | More by Tacoboomerang

hockeyfighter19

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2%

05-31-2013 21:13:49 | More by hockeyfighter19