Saturday, May 21, 2011

Bear Republic Brewing Co. Racer 5 IPA

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.
Tonight’s featured beer is Bear Republic Brewing Co. Racer 5 IPA. This is one of my “go to” beers and I’ve been drinking Racer 5 for many years. I’ve had the opportunity to visit their brewpub in Healdsburg several times and they’re always fantastic. From the Bear Republic Brewing Co. website: “This hoppy American IPA is a full bodied beer brewed American pale and crystalmalts, and heavily hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. There's a trophy in every glass.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours golden amber.  Nice off-white head with thick lacing.
Aroma: Sweet caramel malt with a nice bouquet of citrus, fruity and floral hops.  Fantastic aroma! 
Taste: Sweeter than the normal IPA with a perfect amount of hop bitterness.  Crisp and clean with an excellent balance of caramel malt and hops.
Overall: As I said, Racer 5 has been a favorite of mine for years.  Balanced, drinkable and one of the best examples of a West Coast IPA.

At 7.0% ABV this is a very drinkable IPA perfect for nearly every occasion.  I like keeping Racer 5 in the beer fridge since you just never know when you’ll need this to compliment…ANYTHING (and everything)!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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