Double Aught - Bear Republic Brewing Co.

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.28/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on-tap at the brewery in Healdsburg.

Pours a clear golden colour, with a very light body. Head is a fluffy, but loose-bubbled white. Patchy, bubbly lace and streaming carbonation rounds out the picture. Not bad.

Aroma is grainy and pleasantly crisp. Some German noble hop characters come through and a light touch of honey. Again, it's not bad. Not exciting, mind, but not bad.

Taste progresses in a similar vein. Mild grain characters, moderate sweetness on the front, with a bready mid-palate that retains its sweetness and omits any fragrance or hop characters. Finish is empty, and crying out for some crispness or true hop bitterness. Pretty average stuff.

Feel is light, which is suitable enough, but it doesn't have much to work with here.

It's not bad. It's drinkable, it's light, but it should be better. This is like Bear Republic saying "Oh, a pils? Yeah, that's that really dull style of beer: we can do that with our eyes closed." But pilseners are a much better style than this very ordinary example would have you believe.

Serving type: on-tap

07-24-2012 00:48:46 | More by lacqueredmouse

UCLABrewN84

California

3.45/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Eagle Rock Brewing in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a clear light yellow with a foamy off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thin foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain/malt and some grassy aromas. Taste is of grain/malt and some grassy and herbal flavors. There is a very slight bitterness with each sip. This beer has a pretty thin mouthfeel with a light level of carbonation. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but nothing too great.

Serving type: on-tap

02-13-2012 05:35:09 | More by UCLABrewN84

mactrail

California

3.45/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Clean, crisp and very light Pilsener. Nice subtle flavors with just a kiss of hops. Head dissipates leaving a barely spritzy golden brew. Just a hint of malt. Not much aftertaste. Starts out promising but the flavors are so subtle they get lost before long. Rather anemic with food.

On tap at the Salted Pig in Riverside, Calif.

Serving type: on-tap

11-22-2011 04:03:41 | More by mactrail

HopHead84

California

4.25/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

11/8/2011

On tap at URGE.

A: Transparent straw colored with an in inch of white foam.

S: Lightly sweet cereal grains accompany spicy herbal hop notes. I get a little honey. Smells great.

T: Crackery malt with a dash of biscuit and sweetness. Hope are grassy and bitterness is at a moderate level. The beer is very clean, and it finishes crisp.

M: Light in body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is dry and crisp.

Overall: I don't think it's quite bitter enough for the style, but it's still damn drinkable and really enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2011 18:54:29 | More by HopHead84

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Growler from Bierkraft. Pours medium yellow coloured body with creamy white head, leaving 3/8 inch of retention. Good creamy mouthfeel, and combined with the sessionable alcohol, this is very drinkable. A nice bitterness, well balanced. Brewery continues to grind out good beers, hitting the style.

Serving type: growler

10-28-2011 00:07:09 | More by northyorksammy

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.65/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Sampled at 1702, Tucson November 2009
This beer arrives from the tap with a pale gold, almost brilliantly clear color. There is a wisp of white head that rings the glass. The aroma smells of honey-like malt and a light cracker-like grain note. Some light dried grass aromatics and a touch of lemon zest can also be found in the nose. As the beer warms up the malt becomes more noticeable; this actually has a fairly nice grain character to it in the aroma.

As the beer first hits my palate it comes off as crisp with a clean bitterness to it up front. Pale grain notes are noticeable in the middle and there is a touch of grassiness in the finish as well as a lightly firm bitterness. Lemon like hop notes lightly spice this light tasting beer. Really this is nice, light and refreshing; it is quite clean except for a lingering bitterness that can seem a touch sharp.

This actually seems like a good example of a Helles; it is perhaps missing the malt depth that is found in a good German example. I could drink a lot of this in the warmer months.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2010 16:22:17 | More by Gueuzedude

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Guest tap @ the Bullfrog Brewery (Williamsport, PA) on 1/31/10. Served in a pint glass.

Pours a clear gold with a finger of bright-white smooth looking head. Retains mostly around the edges, leaving some strong foamy swathes of lacing back. Classic Pils aroma here. The aroma smells of eggs and bread, along with a good bit of floral hops and spice as well. This just has the feel of a nice and fresh aggressive bloom of flavors in the nose. Well done.

The taste is sweet breadiness across the tongue, with some light fruity citric flavors mixed in, and the spiciness of the hops coating the mouth towards the back of the swallow. Plenty of dryness and lingering spice has you ready for that next refreshing sip almost immediately. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a very crisp feel up front but then gets much more smooth and creamy feeling across the back of the throat. Just a spot on feel here.

This all around probably could have used a bit more on the hop side for better balance but for the most part, this was tasty, crisp, and refreshing as heck. I could have easily drank a few more of these.

Serving type: on-tap

01-31-2010 18:56:12 | More by Kegatron

indiapaleale

Massachusetts

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Of all places, this was on tap at a Mexican restaurant here in Northampton, MA.

I had no idea what it was and neither did the woman pouring it. I was surprise when it came out looking a bit like Bud or Coors. Very pale yellow and macro-esque.

Aroma was very subtle, some malt sweetness and a little metallic.

Flavor was very crisp, dry and slightly sweet. No major flaws but nothing spectacular. This is not a style I go crazy over but as far as Czech Pilseners go this was spot on and very well done.

Overall, decent with a burrito but not something I'd get again.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2009 03:33:14 | More by indiapaleale

plaid75

New York

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On draft at The Blind Tiger, NYC.

Poured a medium straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell featured a light, round cereal malts with a subtle hop spice.

The taste was well balanced and leaned toward the maltier side of the style.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style.

Overall a tasty and quite quaffable pils.

Serving type: on-tap

10-14-2009 18:56:08 | More by plaid75

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Double aught? Hmmm. Interesting. I asked the server what it was and I was told "It's Bear Republic's light beer". Really?

Not.

It displays a clear golden body beneath a frothy white head that settles to become creamy and holds surprisingly well. The lacing about the glass is average.

The aroma is straightforward malt and hop, but it's fairly non-descript. A bit more hops in the nose would be nice.

The flavor is fairly straight-forward as well, delivering grainy malt and spicy, mildly herbal, floral, and almost leafy hops. A solid bitterness backs it. It finishes with a lingering combination of grainy and lightly sweet malt; hops; and a drying bitterness.

It's well-rounded and balanced, and to be honest, very drinkable. Nicely done!

Serving type: on-tap

09-11-2009 00:50:48 | More by NeroFiddled

Nickls

District of Columbia

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

(From notes)

A - Slightly hazy, but mostly clear yellowy color; poured with a very thin white head

S - Minerally and earthy hoppiness; solid maltiness as well. Nice

T - Nicely hoppy and very much within the style range (this is certainly no Prima Pils); balanced well with the malts

M - Medium MF; very muted carbonation; would have liked a crisper MF

D - Really nice drinking; sessionable is the key here

Overall, nice tasting Pils and puts a load of others too shame. However, I was looking for something a little crisper.

Serving type: on-tap

09-05-2009 21:01:25 | More by Nickls

ToasterChef

Maine

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Reviewed from my notes. I had this on tap at the Thirsty Monk in Asheville; it's the first beer I ordered there. It was served in a standard pint glass. It has a golden straw color with a thin skim of white bubbles. I can see streams of bubbles rising in the glass. It's a good example of how a pilsner should look. It has a slightly grassy aroma. It tastes a bit sweet but also has some dryness to it. There is some earthy yeast present, as well as a good malt character. It is quite refreshing and drinkable. ORder a glass of this if you get the chance.

Serving type: on-tap

08-20-2009 16:35:53 | More by ToasterChef

atsprings

North Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Woody's City Market served in a standard pint-glass a crisp straw yellow with a decent off-whit head. Aroma is a slight amount of sweet malts and crisp hops. Taste was a subtle but present blend of pale malts againts subdued citrus hops. The beer is quite light and crisp, and would be great on a scorching summer day like we had this past weekend. This is likely the best beer I've had of the style so far.

Serving type: on-tap

08-13-2009 21:37:21 | More by atsprings

SurlyDuff

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Did a 10oz pour of this at the pub in Healdsburg during one of my two trips there. Pours a great clean golden color. Slight diacetyl butteriness in the aroma, but otherwise a good crisp noble hop twang and a light cereal malt presence.

Taste was clean enough for a pils, a great drinker for the scorching summer day I spent out on their thankfully shaded deck. Maybe the slightest cooked veggie in there, but otherwise true to style.

It's not something I'd expect them to ever bottle, but just a great tasty lager.

Serving type: on-tap

08-06-2009 03:01:39 | More by SurlyDuff

MisterClean

California

4.55/5  rDev +21%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Bear Republic tasting at the Rubicon tonight.

A - Light golden in color, little head, appears ver clear. Good example of a pilsener.

S - Honey, and lots of it. Some malts and I am getting some banana.

T - Honey and malts. The malts really jump out and say hellll-oo. Kind of a nice grassy taste at the end too.

M - Wow. Perfect for a pilsener.

D - Impressed. Wished they would bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

09-26-2008 05:22:58 | More by MisterClean