Bear Republic Crazy Ivan
This copper colored American IPA took a wild left turn when we fermented it with our favorite Trappist ale yeast. Charged with hops, followed closely by a clove and pepper Belgian yeast character.
3.5
155 reviews
Cloverdale, United States
Community reviews
Pours brownish gold with off white head and lots of lacing. Aroma caught me off guard. Not what I was expecting. Kind of smells like a dirty shoe. Taste was also surprising. Tons of hops, with a spicy/yeasty finish. Unique.
Sample @ GABF 13. Pours a clear amber beer with a small white head on top. Aroma of citrus, lemon, grassy hops. Flavour is fairly bitter, long lasting. Decent brew.
On tap at Cole’s in Buffalo.. Pours orange-amber colour with good white head. Aroma is fruity and strong. Taste is smooth with a bit of yeasty notes with the spice.
On tap @ The Stagshead, New York. Pours hazy dark golden with a finger thick creamy head. Aroma is tropical hops with apricot, physalis and bittering orange peel and pine, as well as malts with toffee and grain. Creamy body with average carbonation. Flavour is nice and bitter with orange peel and tropical fruits.
Tap. Pours clear amber orange, small off white head, creamy, nice lacing. Aroma is light citrus, lime, yeast, lime zest, pepper. Flavor is medium sweet and medium bitter. Light body.
Poured minimal head on a clearer dark straw colored body.
The aroma is great. Bright citrus, pear and Valencia orange.
The taste is complex with mandarin, moderate bitterness and finishes with black peppercorns.
The texture is smooth with moderate carbonation.
An outstanding beer that hits all the notes perfectly.
From gravity cask @ Rattle N’ Hum. This one is really cloudy and deep brown - almost muddy looking in the glass and it has a medium sized really bubbly off-white top. It has quite an interesting aroma with something really spicy. In a strange way it actually reminds me a lot of root vegetable like peppery rutabaga. It also has some soft yeasty hints, a good amount of red amber malts in the taste and a nice sweetness that rounds it off. Really different and a really present taste on this crazy Ivan guy, but I quite enjoy it. The cask condition has really transformed this. 13.06.2013
On tap, golden amber pour with medium sized off white head. Aroma of yeast, caramel, fruit, spice and hops. Taste of caramel, yeast, clove, sight pepper and dry hop finish. Full bodied and great carbonation, good beer.
4oz at Max’s. POurs light amber. Good lacing, little head. Aroma is largely hoppy. Flavor is same, but with added yeast. Not a lot of complexity, but still good.
Tap at the brewpub. Clear rich orange pour with a clingy white head. Sweet, yeast, caramel malt, potent aroma. Strong on the yeast. Nice.
4oz sample at Max’s Hop Fest 2013. Pours a dark orange with some cloudy, white head. Candy sweet nose, honey, lemon, orange, grapefruit, soap. Flavor is sweet, honey comb, orange, pine, soap. Full, sweet finish.
On draft at Hungry Monk, amber/copper pour, malty aroma and flavor dominate, there is some Belgian IPA flavor present, but not enough Hoppiness for my liking. Still ok.
Tap at stags head, really enjoyed this one. Pours caramel colored with nice head. Nose of Belgian yeasted and light tropical fruits. Tastes of bananas, Belgian yeast and spice, floral, peach, and grapefruit. Nice lingering finish.
I really don’t have a clue what this brew has to do with submarine maneuvers, but whatever. =) Dark amber pour (really dark for an IPA of any sort!) -- with a mid-size head. The yeasty esters actually come forward more aggressively than the hops in this one -- I’m actually astonished it clocks in at 70 IBUs -- green and black pepper and a bready note are followed by the caramel and then just a faded remnant of the citrus typical of Bear Republic’s other IPAs. This really is a wild left turn (got it). Reminds me a little of the recent trend to make black saisons -- it’s definitely got a Belgian yeast strain, but is a little more aggressive/forceful than most Belgian ales. Like if Greg Koch was a guest brewer at Chimay. That’s actually exactly it -- it’s a Belgian Arrogant Bastard. In that sense? It’s a pretty great. Definitely different!
Draft at sb. Pours a cloudy dark amber with a dense and creamy tan head that sticks around. Mild floral sweet mango nose. Creamy medium body with soft carb. Caramel and some mild tangy esters on the mid palate, maybe a little bit of sweet cream.
Copper colored beer with a tall off-white head. Nose is floral hops, lots of yeast, spice, and some citrus. Clove, pine, and sweet bready malt. Decent sweetness on the palate, good hops, too. Caramel, bread, and banana. Citrus, pine, and yeast. Clove and pepper spiciness. Moderate bitterness on the finish.
Halfway hazy dark red pour with a fluffy off-white head. Aroma is marked by pine and citrus hops, with a light berry sweetness on the back end. Taste is almost candy sweet at first, but the fruitiness fades into a lingering bitter finish. Hop profile seems more floral in the taste than in the aroma. The Belgian yeast is evident in the sweet, but slightly funky flavor. Palate was a solid medium body, maybe a little under carbonated. Good, not as great as other Bear Republic beers.
On tap at Capones. Pours a murky brown color with an orange tint and a white foam head. Taste of citrus and pine with some clove and belgian spice mixed in well. Unique. Impressed with how the clove mixes well with the hops.
On tap. Poured a medium and clear amber color with a small sized off white head. Lacing left on the glass. Aromas of floralness, citrus, yeast, and some fruitiness. Tastes of light breadiness, yeast, citrus, and spicy with some fruitiness.
Draft at double windsor. Poirs copper color. Smells of spices pepper and yeast (same goes for the yaste). Tasye is hoPpuy with a malty backbone. Id cvategorize this as more of an ipa then a belgian like rate beer says. Overall$ pretty...pretty good.
Crystal malt bomb of underattenuation, and junky, sugary mess that completely covered up all the hops. Bleh.
On tap at Churchkey.
Pours a moderate yellow gold color with a bit of haze and a few fingers of white foamy head. Lacing follows the brew down the glass. Nose brings some excellent Belgian yeast characteristics, but doesn’t really integrate the hops at this point. Taste melds the two quite well, with some nice clove and spice banging against some citrus and herbal hops. Very nice touch. Feel is splendid with a good bit of bitterness matched up against a moderately carbonated medium body. One of the better examples of the style that I’ve come across in some time.
Serving type: on-tap
Reviewed on: 10-13-2010
On tap at the fort worth saucer. Poured into standard pint glass.
Was very intrigued when I heard about this one. I like both the racer 5 and red rocket, and I almost always love a belgian yeast.
This did not disappoint. Totally unique-cloudiness of an IPA and nice amber colour. Smell is the only disappointment I have-a bit subdued. Flavor is great-extremely smooth. Sweet and bitter. Like I said above, completely unique. Enjoyable mouthfeel and excellent carbonation.
Pours a clear copper color. Aroma of yeast, spice, light fruit and hops. Flavor is slightly sweet followed by the hop bitterness. Interesting brew.
on tap at papago 6/30/10.
orange-y amber color with a white head.
aromas of belgo yeast, sweet malt, spice/pepper/clove, florals and some citrus.
the flavor is pretty much the same except pine and pepper show up near the finish. as it sits to warm it becomes almost overwhelmingly sweet... odd. 7/3/7/3/14/3.4
On tap @ Lure’s, Crownsville Md- Pours clear dark amber with a moderate off white head. Floral hop aroma w/a touch of malt. NIce balanced IPA, not an over the top hop bomb. Has some caramel & toffee on the finish to balance it out. Solid Brew.
Belgian yeast infused Ale seem to still be all the West Coast rage. Medium bitterness and Belgian flavors produce a unique amber bodied ale. Explaining to customers that the beer is a "West Coast Belgian style Ale with a Russian sounding name" is sure a mouthful.
On tap at Pap. Pours clear dark amber with a one finger beige head. The nose is light spice, malt and citrus. The taste is caramel, citrus, spice and pine. Medium prickly mouthfeel. Different brew.
On tap at R&H NY
Aromastrong hoppy feel , sweet caramel matts , clean finish. Easy going aroma.7+
Appearance amber with light haze , medium top.
Flavor and Palate : medium bodied , leafy hops. All this package is smooth easy going and drinkable. Solid bitter ale.
My first beer to warm up before the great Three Floyds event at the Brickskeller earlier this summer. Slight clove aroma with medium hop taste. I like Bear Republic’s beers a lot.