- Mike Riedel
Red Rock - Bella Rosa: This new lager from Red Rock features a new hop variety from Jackson Farms in Wilder, Idaho. They've created this new hop that is for now called 'Pink," or ID-158. This hop offers the highly sought after combo of citrus and stone fruit, but sets this hop apart from the herd are the subtle flavors of honey, apple, and vanilla.
It's the Pink hops that give the beer its uniqueness, and that all starts with a fruit filled blend of citrus and stone fruit aromatics. Big cannabis and herbal aromas create an enticing scent that hovers above a clear golden-yellow brew and heady froth that stands tall throughout.
The first sip is cannabis with grapefruit peel and a toasty malt component. As the lager opens up on the middle palate, the hops shine with a blend of grapefruit, lemon and under-ripened oranges before trailing into an apricot, peach and cantaloupe taste. Drying quicker than is usual, the smooth but quick weedy bitterness is decorated with elements of lemon pepper, sun tea and an herbal array of chive, hemp and hay. Medium-bodied at 5.0 percent alcohol, the beer shows an herbal character that gives way to the drying nature of hops for a refreshing finish, but also one of limited culinary adventure, roundness and any extension of fruit. A medium-length aftertaste of botanical bitterness lasts just beyond the fruit peels and herbal nature overall.
Verdict: Interestingly fruity, and dank without so much of the usual citrus. Drinks super easy, and represents some long-overdue progression from Red Rock's Double IPA onslaught.
Grid City - Hazy India Pale Ale #4: So, we have a can that says that this is a "Hazy IPA." The beer inside is clearly a West Coast-style IPA. I'm reviewing this ale as the beer it is, rather than what's on the label.
It pours decently fizzy and fluffy, with a finger of head that fades at a medium pace then slows to a crawl—nice frothy lacing, semi-hazy nectar orange color with a column of streaming bubbles. The nose is quite nice, featuring plenty of citrus—lots of it, including orange rind, grapefruit pith, some juicy citrus fruit like fresh squeezed juice, mild fruit punch notes, a little grapefruit and generic tropical fruit too. There's so much juice, with a touch of a resinous musty note in there, and a faint hint of malt too.
The taste brings more hops, a little resinous note with a touch of sap and pine. Then more big fruit—a little tropical fruit note and some hints of a berry fruit punch, into some decent citrus, orange rind, plenty of pith and some decent grapefruit notes. There's even a hint of fruity bubblegum. The grassy, mild piney resinous flavor starts to surge as it goes, with a bit of a spicy hop note, as the mildly sweet malty note attempts to come through, but barely balances the beer before disappearing. The finish is fairly dry with spicy hop notes, along with a little more resin, pine, grapefruit pith and citrus peel.
Verdict: This is a pretty nice 7.0 percent IPA, but as I stated above this isn't "Hazy," and it doesn't have those fruitier hazy qualities. If that's what you're looking for, you may not love this one. If IPAs are your game and style doesn't matter, you'll find an excellent, well-made hop-forward drinking experience.
It was a lot of fun getting to know these two very different well-hopped beers. Hazy India Pale Ale #4 is a limited release that's only available in cans at Grid City. As Bella Rosa is made with a limited experimental hop, it's quite limited as well, and available at all Red Rock locations (draft and cans). As always, cheers!
