Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA

__Aroma:__ “Lemon, orange, tangerine, touch of biscuit, and light vanilla with some pine dankness that hits up front. As it warms, the citrus notes really pop and come through as a dominating factor. Low light malt background.” __Flavor:__ “Intense citrus character with plenty of lingering bitterness. This is the first beer tonight that I would say pushes the ‘big’ end of the style. The malt is slightly bready and medium sweet, and the juicy hops flavor is huge; they play off each other well. Somewhat of a pine character is there in the back that coats the back of the throat.” __Overall:__ “This beer is huge! Big flavor and aroma all the way though. It showcases a great hops profile with a subdued but balanced malt bill. It finishes a touch sweet, but I think that is what they were going for. Yum!”

**Aroma:** “Citrus and piney hop notes dominate with little-to-no malt aroma. Dank, citrus rind, tea, orange marmalade-like with light peppery spice and slight cattiness. As it warms, some graham cracker-like maltiness. Malt is subtle but shows up in the background as toasty.” **Flavor:** “Complex hop flavor without any singular flavors dominating—citrus rind, some floral, and citrus juice character, subtle pine. Balanced well with light sweet malt character. Citrus up front with juicy grapefruit and some pine, earthy hop flavors add complexity. Bitterness prominent and lingers only long enough to beg for more.” **Overall:** “Very enjoyable with good balance of piney notes and citrus/grapefruit. The hops are definitely in the front of the beer. Very nice IPA that has great, complex hop profile that is rounded perfectly with a nice, lingering bitterness. Very tasty.”

**Aroma:** “Evergreen forest, grapefruit, crayons, and Play-Doh. Slightly briny? Very nice juicy hops character with orange, grapefruit, and slight lemon.” **Flavor:** “Medium bitterness with a rather light body. Slight new-shoe-like taste with a growing bitterness that extended well into the aftertaste and continued to grow. As it warms the rubber goes away, and we are left with a dank hops note with a touch of garlic. This beer has a nice body with a smooth character. The pine is showcased in the hops, and the grapefruit citrus notes help round out the hops profile. The beer is nicely balanced between the hops bitterness and flavor.” **Overall:** “Dank hops notes with slight pine. Moderate bitterness that didn’t come out until it warmed slightly. An IPA that leans toward the resiny and dank side of the spectrum. Some citrus brightness keeps it from being too sticky. Perhaps better suited to contemplative stormy evenings than daytime revelry. This beer came together very well with pleasant hops and not too much bitterness.”