Stormcloud IPA - Rahr & Sons Brewing Company

MuenchenerKindl

Germany

3.7/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz bottle to a pint glass, the liquid is yellow hazy and thick with good carbonation. The head is big thick white and leaves very good lace.

The smell is ok not real hoppy, malt makes a nice showing.

The taste is ok again not real hoppy, but I do like the malt profile. Beady and nutty like a good Hellas. Kinda chewy as well.

The mouthfeel is nice, good better then medium body and a ok carbonation.

The drinkability in good this beer was a nice extra provided by Jason Lewis, Thanks Bro!.

Prosit Mk

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2008 23:02:45 | More by MuenchenerKindl

cartdan

Alabama

3.1/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This one poured a crystal clear medium straw color into a tulip glass. The head was thin and left some light lacing as it dissipated. The aroma was of citrusy hops, not as pronounced as I expected for an IPA. Body is medium light. Overall it's a good beer, but I find it to be more of a pale ale than an IPA. I want more aroma and bitterness from the hops.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2008 16:36:30 | More by cartdan

beerdiablo

Texas

4.13/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled at the brewery during their Saturday tasting/tours at the unveiling weekend for Stormcloud, a.k.a. Stürmwölke.

This pours a deep gold with a small head and minimal lacing. A slight nose of hops and malt accompany a solid, IPA taste with a thicker mouthfeel than most IPAs. Not a hop bomb, just a solid beer with a nice malt backbone to support the hops.

They've termed this a German IPA, since it was brewed using all German ingredients. No such style is listed on BA but perhaps a new entry can be made. Most interesting is that they used Kölsch yeast, which gives this a unique flavor and finish.

I recommend that those trying this not judge it compared to American IPAs, especially beers from the West coast. This is a different beer.

This is one of Rahr's best beers to date and I see it being a hit.

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2008 02:47:59 | More by beerdiablo

hiikeeba

Texas

3.45/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours up straw with gold highlights and a thin white head.

S - Smells slightly floral with a hint of malt.

T - Taste and hop bitterness are well balanced, but the hops have an odd finish. Maybe because this is a German IPA. (?)

M - High carbonation. Good mouthfeel.

D - A nice beer. A few of these wouldn't be too much work. Overall, It's a good beer. Nothing to write home about, but nothing to send back, either.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2007 23:07:23 | More by hiikeeba

pwoods

Ohio

2.38/5  rDev -30%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Thanks to jasonjlewis for this extra.

12oz. brown bottle poured into a pint. No dating.

Bottle says German style IPA, not American IPA

A: Certainly doesn't pour like an American IPA. Pours a dark shade of yellow with lots of visibility. 1 finger of head forms and dies within 30 seconds to some chunks on the surface. Some lacing. Millions of bubbles running all around and some even clinking to the sides on the way up.

S: Smells like a European IPA. Big floral notes dominate instead of mostly citrus and it has plenty of yeastiness. Malts don't let off any sweetness, instead a dull bread/grain.

T/M: Very very yeasty. Malts taste a bit like banana bread. Hops have an earthy, floral taste. No bitterness, nothing that I'd call juicy. Body is pretty light and carbonation is extremely high.

D: Just pretty bland and uninspiring.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2007 02:37:14 | More by pwoods

bboven

Texas

3.15/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Screw top- bottle

Light gold slightly hazy body with a small but lasting head, decent lacing.

Lots of malt for the style but the hops are there. Just a little out of balance on the malt side. Touch of alcohol, which for such a low ABV is odd.

Big peppery taste from the hops saves it from malt mediocrity.

Quiet, smooth mouthfeel that really good considering it's from a bottle.

It's alright, but not what I look for in an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2007 02:24:37 | More by bboven

jasonjlewis

Texas

3.05/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Very pale yellow color with a decent head to start, but it fades very very fast and retention is minimal.

Smell is of german hops. Saaz hops? I don't know. I know mainly american hop styles. Pale malts come out. I am used to a a little caramel malt presence. It's really hard to smell anything though because the smell is faint. I got whiffs of beer in my nose a few times trying to get a smell. The smell that I get is decent, but faint.

Taste is of weak pale malts and german saaz hops. I'll be honest I don't reall know what hop variety this is. I'm just putting it up to check later. I just can detect that it's german.
Very weak flavor profile. Crystal malts are weak and sweet. Little to no caramel malting and the hopping is weak. The hopping is slightly perfumy and a little citrusy and mildly earthy, but nothing out of the ordinary. A pretty lackluster IPA.

Crisp mouthfeel with a lingering pineyness from the aftertaste. Not bad, but not that great either.

Judging for the style, I wouldn't bother if there were any other ipa available.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2007 04:10:33 | More by jasonjlewis

Pegasus

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Slightly hazy, deep golden color with a medium-sized white head, which retains quite well. The carbonation is moderate.

Aroma: Pale malt and quite prominent pine tar hop notes. The hops utterly dominate the aroma.

Taste: A burst of sweet pale malt opens the taste, which is soon vanquished by metallic and medicinal hop notes. The hop notes linger on well past the end of the taste.

Mouth feel: Smooth and fairly full, with lively carbonation.

Drinkability/notes: Generally well-made, but I found the use of the bittering hops to be a trifle heavy-handed, even in the context of the style. The use of more citrus hops would provide balance. Still, this is an interesting offering from a brewery that has previously tended to emphasize German-style beers.

Presentation: Packaged in a twelve-ounce brown glass long neck bottle, served in a standard pint tap glass.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2007 14:08:44 | More by Pegasus

BeerBelcher

Ohio

2.53/5  rDev -25.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

There are a ton of IPAs available in the US market, and this is not among the best. In fact, it is in the bottom half. Very mild and lackluster flavor make it both inoffensive and uninteresting.

Poured a very light amber color. Aroma was decidedly not hoppy, and was rather malty and faint. There was some light-struck aroma and flavor (this beer is in a brown bottle and bought from a cooler). Flavor was a bit cardboard-y and offered some maltiness, but the hop that was present was very mild and not enough to hold my interest nor really balance the significant malt presence in the beer. It wasn't undrinkable, but I won't be having it again.

Not recommended.

I bought this as a single from the Grapevine Market wine shop in Austin, Texas.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2007 13:55:49 | More by BeerBelcher

sweethome

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a light golden color. Decent white head, provided nice lacing.

Nose is floral, noble hops. I smell the german style with the hops, but bigger than most german styles with the floral hops. Still a bit understated.

Smooth entry, decent mouthfeel. Not quite full, but smooth and somewhat silky. Lots of hops hanging around out there - but certainly not what our american palates are trained to. It does not provide huge bittering - but plenty here. Plenty of hop flavor, and really like the noble european hop flavor. Just enough malts. The finish has an almost metal bite...is it the water or the hops? Grassy hop bitterness builds as this beer opens.

Another example of an american brewer creating a style. Don't expect an american ipa with this - let the flavor go and judge it on it's strenghts - not what it lacks compared to a huge american ipa.

Nice job by an improving brewery.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2007 20:39:09 | More by sweethome

EPICAC

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this on tap at Cricket's in Waco.

Appearance: Pours a lightly hazy copper. Topped by a foamy, beige head that thins to a film.

Smell: Herbal and grassy hops, with undertones of toasty malts.

Taste: Toasty, lightly sweet malts upfront, moving into a citric, herbal and grassy hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Moderate carbonation, medium-bodied, a little oily.

Drinkability: Nicely balanced, not too sweet.

Overall: A nice IPA.

Serving type: on-tap

08-08-2007 19:35:26 | More by EPICAC

HardTarget

Texas

3.53/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle Inspection: Great label showing the ship “Storm Cloud” that brought the first Rahr family member to the New World.

Aroma: Hops! Nice blend of citric and earthy and grassy hoppy goodness. Faint clean malt base.

Appearance: Steely gold glass holds a frothy white head that leaves finger drags of lace as the level quickly drops from thirsty pulls.

Flavor: Full load of bitter, but enough malt to keep it on the rez. Earthy noble hops carry the day but as a personal preference I prefer the West Coast citric flavors more.

Mouthfeel: Oily, medium heavy body nears a chew.

Overall Impression: Hit what they aimed at, but I would choose another target. This is the best German IPA I’ve ever had.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2007 02:11:01 | More by HardTarget

briman

Texas

3.65/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served from bottle into standard pint glass.

Pours a slightly hazy golden color. Huge, fluffy white head. Excellent retention, and tons of lacing.

Aroma is hoppy, notes of floral, citrus, and spice.

Flavor has some grainy malt upfront, followed by a dose of
hops. Bitterness is moderate in the dry finish and lingers nicely into the aftertaste.

Medium body, moderate carbonation. Good balance, nice clean flavor & finish. Not your standard IPA since it's made with all German ingredients, so makes it tough to judge against what you're used to. Kind of a style all it's own. I, like other reviewers, occasionally get a buttery note in the aftertaste. It's not prominent, and not always there....but may be indicate some tweaking is needed. Full flavored, but easy to drink. Session material.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2007 00:34:09 | More by briman

HotterThanHell

Arizona

2.28/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Stormcloud IPA is a German Style IPA? Alright, I'll give them some creativity points.

The beer however, is below average from the thin light golden color to the mild hoppy aroma to the almost not existent IPA taste.

I didn't get it. Not a bad tasting beer but not an IPA and not really worth your time. The beer was named after the stormclouds on a sea voyage....perhaps as they wallowed...in a Sea of Sorrow.

See ya in Munich, October 2007. Prosit!

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2007 05:24:27 | More by HotterThanHell

BeerZack

North Carolina

3.3/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Light amber-orange color with delicate head and nice lacing.

Roasted malt scents with slight caramel and hop spiciness.

Spicy grain flavor with a dusty hop bitterness.

Light crisp mouthfeel reminiscent more of a pale ale (reminds me of Sierra Nevada a bit; not the flavor specifically, but the overall impression).

Easy to drink, but I think I would have to rate it higher if it was labeled as a Pale Ale instead of an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2007 23:53:10 | More by BeerZack

lonestar4lunch

Texas

2.25/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I was excited to see an IPA from Rahr but….it was a little let down. Pours very light with a decent head that disapates quickly. Very light aroma of citrus and hops. Has promise then the first sip comes… interesting. At first the hops come at you then you get something like butter? Yeah, odd. The website calls this a "German IPA" whatever that maybe but this is an off attempt at the style. Draft is better from what I remember. I like the hops but finishes just a bit diff. Maybe it will get better with time since this is their first shot at the style. Also hoping it was a bad bottle.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2007 03:04:55 | More by lonestar4lunch

ttu94

Texas

3.15/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looks good coming out of the bottle. Golden color with a decent head. Smell is light and slightly citrus. Upon first taste it has a little hop to it then the sweet and sour taste hits me. I find it a bit too much. Its better than some but a lot of better beers are out there to choose from.
I thought IPA's were an english not german style but whatever.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2007 04:43:32 | More by ttu94

randal

Texas

1.93/5  rDev -43.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I am trying to get into this beer but I keep getting a large red flashing sign that does not read "Don't Panic" - instead it insists:

DIACETYL

I just start to enjoy some interesting herbacious or citrus notes when that buttery demon stomps on everything. The malt bill seems pretty straightforward and the hops are doing their best to lend an interesting counterpoint but ... Agh. I just cannot get past this butter-bomb of a beer. Someone else notes butterscotch - that's the diacetyl for sure and to me it is overwhelming. A flawed execution of an interesting idea.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2007 03:16:08 | More by randal

goochpunch

Texas

3.7/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3 fingers of head with a rocky top and tons of carbonation in the body. Light honey color. Smell is almost nonexistent in terms of the malt, but the hops give off a nice earthy and herbal aroma. I pick up some grain too. A weird gummy worm taste is prevalent in the foreground of the beer, along with some weak light malts. Herbal hops flavors are great in this, but there's some harsh aspirin that comes along with it. Mouthfeel is moderate in weight and has a great, smooth carbonation. This is odd enough to interest me into continuing to drink it.

An interesting experiment that doesn't perform as well as I'd hoped, but it's pretty intriguing, nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2007 02:46:42 | More by goochpunch

Melchizedek

Texas

3.6/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Pours just a bit to the amber side of golden, clear, with a big fizzy head that subsides into a nicely formed cap supported by streaming carbonation.

Aroma is very floral, with some grain and zest in there. In the mouth, very light with prominent carbonation, with a bite of grain kicked aside by a big hop bitterness. Plenty of spicy, peppery stuff, a little toast, a little fresh grass... Finishes very dry.

Interesting. Hard to review this as an IPA, but it's nice to see Rahr & Sons continue to be adventurous with their seasonal brews. A very drinkable spring beer, and one that would pair especially well, I think, with some nice smoky Texas barbecued brisket.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2007 18:49:38 | More by Melchizedek

skillerified

Illinois

4.13/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Crystal clear with a sort of strange combo of colors. It's sort of a darker version of your average Pils. Gold on top, yellow on the bottom. Fluffy white head on top that seems to want to stick around awhile. Lots of carbonation clearly visible, very fast moving. The combo of colors and the big bubbly head let you know this is something different.

Pineapple, grasses, straw and a little lemon round out the first sniff. Stepping back a little, it's definitely on the fruity side, non-citrus, with some herbal and floral notes in the mix. Doesn't seem to want to go much deeper than that. Not bad though.

Sweet caramel followed by toffee and distinct bread flavors make up the backbone of this brew. There is an almost delicate bitterness that sort of floats on top of it all. Grapefruity bitterness that is. Seems to get a little more bitter with each sip, but that malty backbone comes right back in as soon as the grapefruit starts to get a little wild. As it warms, you can get a little sweet candy sort of flavor at the sides of the tongue.

I don't know that I could call this well balanced, but it's uniquely balanced. There's a wonderful play of flavors going on above the bed of sweet vs bitter mouthfeel. It's not over the top or exotic even. It somehow feels familiar, yet very unusual at the same time. Honestly, it's a little hard to say if I like it or not, but I do think it's pretty tasty and certainly interesting.

I love the idea, unique character and creativity of this beer and the execution is pretty spot on. Worth a pour for IPA fans who are looking for something a little more subtle and definitely different.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2007 02:27:19 | More by skillerified

Atlas1

Texas

2.98/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

The label calls this a traditional IPA with "German influence." I have no idea what that means, but I'm willing to give it a try.

Pours a pale, clear straw color. Decent head retention but little to no lace. Heavy carbonation with lots of bubbles. In fact, I wouldn't call this an attractive beer at all, but it does save some face with sturdy foam retention. Aroma leaves a lot to be desired. Malty, with some fruity, citrus esthers. Some lemon, some strawberry, but it's all very weak. Faint alcohol scent in there. Another faint yeasty straw scent as well. But on the whole, it's a weak aroma. The taste is unique. Malty but with a sharp tangy hop flavor to it. What the hell kind of IPA is this?!? Apparently, it's a German IPA. Rubbish. This is just a weird beer. Finishes bitter, but not necessarily a pleasant bitter. The malt and hop combination here, in my opinion, just doesn't work. It's not that they're disproportionately applied, but rather they just don't mix well here. Perhaps there's a reason the Germans aren't known for their IPAs. The mouthfeel is surprisingly solid, but this beer walks a fine line between unique and undrinkable. I can see myself trying this beer again, mostly because it confuses me, and coming up with the same conclusion again next time. No more German IPAs for me, thank you.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2007 02:50:57 | More by Atlas1

sinistermadman

Oregon

3.83/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Medium straw color with only a slight head presence. Aroma is somewhat subdued for an IPA.

The label touts this as a "German-Style IPA". Taste has a rind like hop bite with a sufficient malt backing. Some graininess evident in the otherwise slick mouthfeel. Overall a pretty one dimensional IPA. This is okay, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2007 00:53:21 | More by sinistermadman

BeerSox

Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into pint glass.

Honey amber hue with a fuzzy thick off-white head that lasts forever. Solid lacing along the glass.

Herbal hop aromas replace the normal citrus aromas that is common in American IPAs. Earthy yeast aromas mix with the bready malt scents. Some butterscotch is present.

Lightly toasted malts set up the leafy hop flavor. The hop variety used doesn't create a lot of bitterness. Medium bodied with good carbonation. The finish is mostly the hops with a very herb-like lingering flavor.

This one wasn't bad for what it is. I've had better American IPAs, but this one isn't also your typical AIPA. The use of German hops removes some of the bitter citrus flavors of the Northwestern hops. Recommended.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2007 07:15:49 | More by BeerSox

allengarvin

Texas

4.22/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This is a golden straw-colored beer with a modest white head. Aroma is disappointing, with almost no hop presence, just a grainy malt. Good flavor though: crackery, crisp malt taste with a solid but not heavy bitterness and a lot of floral hop taste. Clean yeast character make it a nice dance between malt and hops. Finish is pleasantly dry. Ordinary carbonation, neutral texture.

By no means is this an "extreme" beer. But it is a very quaffable IPA. One might reasonably compare it to Sierra Nevada PA, but with a different hop quality.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2007 20:33:18 | More by allengarvin