Russian River IPA
3.7
290 reviews
Santa Rosa, United States
Community reviews
Tap. Nice head with good duration. Color is golden. Aroma and taste are rich hops,flowers, fruits and malt. Oily finish.
Shared by drabmuh at my tasting on May 29, 2010. Thanks Matt!
This beer is mostly clear, with a slight haziness. Nice head, lacing, and effervescence. Aromas of hops and pine. No malt to be found in these scents. As it should be. The taste was surprisingly simple as compared to either Pliny or Blind Pig. The mouthfeel was nice, if you like IPAs that are very hop forward and bitter, which I do. A tasty beverage I’d be happy to drink again.
From a growler & reviewed fall 2011. Pours a clear golden color with a 1 finger head. Smells of sharp piney hops, a bit of grass, and grapefruit rind--love it. Taste is a bit more mellowed than the nose, but the grapefruit rind continues through. Doesn’t seem to be much malt, but the refreshing hoppy bitterness and dryness make it super easy to drink. Thin moughtfeel and medium carbonation. Enjoyed this more than any Pliny the Elder or Blind Pig to date.
On tap at Russian river. Pours a orangish yellow like all RR IPAs. Nice sticky head leaves great lacing. Lots of citrus and pine with earthy resin like scents. This was a pine bomb. Lots of bitter earthy resin pine hops. Faint citrus and floral. More malty than other IPAs from RR. Flavors really stay solid and the same through out. Very sticky with a moderate carbonation. This was good but my least favorite IPA from RR. More bitter centered but still quite good. Reviewed on: 08-16-2010
Tap at RR. Massive floral and citrus hop nose, like smelling fresh hop flowers. Golden pour, good clarity, white head with good retention and plenty of lacing. This is basically a vessel for hops, fairly high bitterness but no astringent aftertaste, grapefruit and orange, pine sap, a light dose of toasty malts. Medium body and carbonation, dry finish. Very nice.
Craft Brewers Conference 2012
Amber in color, clear with a thin head. IPA hops forward brew and very tasty. This was a excellent brew was not expecting this and just for a plan named brew by a big company. Very good citrus IPA.
Tap at Russian River. Clear golden pour with a sticky white head. Sharp pine hop on the nose and taste. Very good IPA.
Tasted as one of a flight of 17 with Kaetchen at RR. Just a nice, simple, grapefruity ipa.
Pint at Brewpub. Good aroma. Citrus, herbal, piney. Grapefruit, little pine, rosemary. Clean reddish orange. Ok head that faded quick, spotty lace. Bitter flavor. Medium body, creamy oily mouthfeel. Bitter finish. Good, solid ipa, not. Wow beer, but good. Aroma more interesting than flavor. Flavor straight gf.
Half pint draft at the brew up in Santa Rosa, California. The pour is a lightly hazed golden copper with a small off white head. The aroma is bright hop, an interesting mix of floral, citrus fruit, pine and light resin. Much more subdued and delicate versus the Row 2 Hill 56 (I tried them side by side) but crazy fresh as well. The taste veers more towards the pineapple citrus fruit of the hops, along with a hint of pine, and light resin character. The toasted malt provides a nice backbone to the experience. The palate is medium to light bodied, gentle cleansing carbonation and a nice resinous dry finish. Also a great IPA, these folks know how to use hops.
Draught @ Stone Brewing Co. Golden pour with white head. Some citrus, fresh hops but overall really lacking in profile. Bitter, dry finish. Medium body, medium-strong carb.
On tap at Tustin Brewing Company. Pours a golden orange with light head. Aroma is really lacking here. Some pineapple but little to no hop essence coming through here. Taste is again, lacking. Understandably an IPA and thus subdued compared to Pliny etc but just not coming through. Overall, I don’t need to worry about this not being bottled.
Another great beer at RR. Man this is one helluva brewery! Gold pour, white head. This one is all hops and nice and floral hops. The flavor is delicate and complex hops without a harsh bitterness. Light on the malt bill here. Hop heaven.
Tap at RR Brewpub. It pours orange-amber, with a thin white head. The nose is leaf, grass, pine, resin and some citrus. The taste is grass, hay, pine, resin, astringency, leaf, leather and raw hop, with a long bitter-dry finish. Medium body and moderate, prickly carbonation. Nice, but I would prefer some fruit to balance out the flavour.
Draft at brewery. Pour is gold with a small white head, little retention/lace. Aroma of big pine/citrus hops, caramel malt. Taste is fantastic: balanced citrus bitterness with caramel/bready malts. Palate is soft, oily, crisp, bitter finish. Better than Bling Pig IMO.
A - Pours a clear golden-orange with a finger of frothy white head. Head fades down at a medium pace leaving behind some good lacing.
S - Aroma is a mix of pine and citrus hops with some grapefruit, slight caramel malt, and a touch of bread.
T - Starts off with a mix of pine hops and bitterness. Through the middle the sweet caramel malt backbone comes through with some citrus hops and some more bitterness. The finish is a mix of bitter grassy hops, sweet caramel malts, and a touch of bready flavor.
M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a dry and bitter finish.
D - Very drinkable. Nice fresh hop profile from start to end with a very nice hop and malt balance.
Tap at RR, gold pour, white head, nose is citrus, taste is hoppy, grassy, citrus, awesome
I would say its a less intense version of the blind pig. Its a great ipa. Could drink it all day
Served from a growler. Russian River IPA pours a light amber color with a small head. Great lacing throughout the glass.
This beer is straight up West Coast IPA. A ton of hops but just enough malt backbone to tether on balanced. Fruity. Pineapple and grapefruit explode in the aroma with a small amount of pine. Small bready malt backbone.
In the taste, once again hops rule. The grapefruit comes though mostly and the pine makes more of appearance then it did in the aroma. Nice bitterness that lingers on the tongue.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied and dry. Goes down very nicely.
Notes from RR brew pub
I was really suprised with this IPA, i liked it more then blind pig and almost as much as pliny! Just a nice easy drinking IPA that is packed full of flavor. I could drink it all day!
Draught @ City Beer, San Francisco, CA
Pours light orange with a smooth white head. Aroma has notes of fruity hops, malts and citrus. Taste is quite fruity with citrusy hops, pine and grass notes. Finish is slightly bitter and tingly. Well balanced, tasty IPA. Not as overly hoppy as Blind Pig, but more balanced.
on tap at Stone World Bistro & Gardens. Orange colour, great looks. Orange taste, a palate erase, a sipper. Well crafted IPA.
On tap at City Beer. Pours lightly hazed golden amber with white head. Aromas of pine, grapefruit, tropical fruit, and some caramel malts. Flavors of grapefruit, pine, bit of tropical fruit, and some caramel malts. Nice amount of bitterness and really balanced. Nice IPA.
Draft @ brewpub. Pours a lovely copper gold, with a very tight lasting cap. Subtle aroma is very much of the forest floor. Fallen pine needles. Very dry beer that lacks brightness but is very drinkable. Leafy and dryly herbal like bay leaf. Along with all that douglas fir. Not my favorite type of IPA but solid oh and the lacing is spectacular.
Poured from a draft into a pint glass at Toronado in San Diego, Calif. Color was orange amber. Minimal head. Minimal lacing. Minimal film.
Smelled of citrus and floral hops. Fairly sweet.
Tasted of lemon and grapefruit hops. Also some other citrus flavors in there and some floral flavors as well.
Medium body. Average carbonation. Very smooth.
Another good beer from Russian River. I would like to try this again sober as I was four or five good beers deep when I tried this.
On tap at the brewery. From a sampler next to the other RR ipa’s -- so tough contest. Overall - maltier, less bitter. Well balanced mix of pine, grapefruit, tropical vibe, caramel. Definitely great - tough to place without being able to drink a sixer of it on it’s own. I plan to do that some day.
Draft at Toronado. Pours a deep, but clear amber. Flavor is very bitter without a good balance of malt. Bitterness is highly pine. Nice all around, but i think there are better representatives of the style.
Draught at Russian River Brewery.
Copper with a bit of lace. Earthy caramel flavor, big bitterness, not much hop aroma though, less than the Blind Pig. Clean, old school IPA nose, very fruity. Good stuff, though not too special.
Draft at toronado with dallas and Andrew. Pours a hazy amber with no head, thin white lacing. Aroma is fresh, bitter pine and spice. Mouthfeel is a bit dry lightly bitter, notes of spice, pine and hops.
On tap.
Golden amber pour with some eggshell head. Aromas of pine, tropical fruit, and caramel malt. Flavor is heavy on the orange and is quite bitter. Their Blind Pig IPA is much better than this.