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Tonight’s beer review is #3 from Bear Republic - Red Rocket Ale:

I really don’t know how to classify this one. The bottle claims it is a “bastardized Scottish style red ale packed with distinctive flavors and an aggressive hop character rivaled by none. This unfiltered, bottle-conditioned, amber colored ale, breaks all style molds.” How does it rate?

The beer smells very hoppy off the crack of the cap. Nose to bottle reveals some ripe grapefruit scents. However, poured into a glass, I get mostly sweet malt scents.

The beer pours a dark reddish brown color. I got a very small tan head, but decent lacing down my glass. It is bottle conditioned, so be careful not to wake the little yeasties at the bottom of the bottle.

The taste is less malty than I was expecting. Don’t get me wrong, it is a nice flavorful maltiness, especially as the beer warms a bit. After smelling in the glass though, I thought I was in for maximum sweetness. That said, the hops are so strong in this one, that the malt is probably masked to some extent. This is a very hoppy brew, with Cascade grapefruit tastes ruling the day. The beer finishes with a bit of a piney flavor and a touch of alcohol joining forces with the grapefruit. For the record, my burps are pure grapefruit. Just thought you should know.

The mouthfeel is medium and somewhat creamy, owing mostly to the hefty carbonation I think.

Overall, I enjoyed this one the more of it I drank. It sort of grew on me. At first, I think I let my expectations get the better of me. I thought I was going to get more malt, or probably more of a malt flavor in the malt/hops ratio, so when I didn’t I sort of thought something was wrong. However, when I stopped thinking and started drinking and tasting what I did get, I really enjoyed it to the point I wish I had more. I love hops and this has plenty of that, that’s for sure. It really is good. I still don’t know how to classify this beer though. Beer Advocate calls is t Wee Heavy, so I guess I will too. They are smarter about these things than I, so I’ll leave it there. The huge hops infusion seems to break it out of that category. To me it seems like an American Amber/IPA cross, but whatever. It tastes good, so why should it matter?

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