Bear Republic Crazy Ivan

Tap at Mugs Ale House: Pours a hazy copper/brown with a small but dense off white head. Has a nice toasted aroma- nutty with notes of fig, brown sugar, toasted almond and a vanilla hint. Has a velvety smooth body. Toasted soft malts in the flavor without being sweet. Has some mild Belgian yeasty phenols, some nutty notes, toasted brown sugar, later prune skin notes and a mildly bitter toasted finish. Nice and easy going. Well done Belgian Ale.

On draft at the Bear Republic Brewpub in Healdsburg, CA this pour came a cloudy brown color with a small white head typical for a pub pour that left good lacing rings. Nose is of caramel malts and floral hops. Nice rich mouthfeel. Flavor is a nice blend of malts and hops, and the finish is lightly bitter. A interesting brew, and very easy to drink.

Draught. Perhaps a little too cold. Slight yeasy aroma, not unpleasant. Poured brown with thin white head. Some lacing. Malty flavour, caramel and a bit of fruit. Hoppy all over the tongue finish.

Bottle. Hazy brown coloured with a medium sized off white ehad. Roasted aroma of caramel, chocolate and dried fruits. Roasted flavour of caramel, chocolate and dried fruits with notes of hops. Hoppy finish.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep amber beer topped by a thick white head. Aroma is quite spicy with some fairly smoky phenolics. Palate comes across a little bit thin with a soft earthy bitterness complementing the light amber malt sweetness. Minerally and clovey flavour. Moderate bitterness. It’s okay, but not great.

I love the concept of brewers experimenting like this. Blending two of their different werts and then throwing a different yeast in the fermentor - shear brilliance! This was a tasty fellow, mostly hops, but also some delicious syrupy malt goodness to balance that out. Darker than most of their other beers, I’d have a hard time calling this one a belgian ale because of the high hop notes that I detected. Fascinating, but maybe not a beer I’d return often to.

On tap at O’brien’s. Pours with a deep amber body topped by a thin to medium thick head with some lacing. It’s slightly sweet and spicy wtih a malty note and a nice hoppiness. Medium bodied, dry and tingly.

Pours hazy amber with a thick off-white head. Hoppy and sweet aroma with caramel and Belgian yeast. More hops in the taste. Grapefruit, mango, and resin mix well with the earthy malt. The yeast brings a sweet funkiness that makes this more than the typical Belgian IPA. Very nice.