As I mentioned in my last post, I’m on a “mini-micro” tour, visiting 3-4 microbreweries in St. Louis with my friend Joe. We stopped at The Stable, a craft beer bar and nanobrewery, because I had a gift certificate from my sister. Since I’d already had a couple of Double IPAs this afternoon, including the STLIPA at Urban Chestnut, and the Double IPA at Six Row, I thought I’d try this Belgian style double IPA with Rye from Bear Republic.
Location: On tap at The Stable in St. Louis, MO.
Numbers: 8.2% ABV, 70 IBUs, ~ 146 Calories
Ingredients: Hops: Northern Brewer, Cascade; Yeast: American Ale
Appearance & Aroma: It was clear and a golden-straw color with a soapy white head on it. There was a slightly spicy and fruity Belgian-like aroma to it.
Taste & Feel: It was medium bodied and had a smooth mouthfeel. There was a fairly sweet flavor up front, followed by a sweet caramel maltiness in the middle. In the finish, there was a slight Belgian spiciness/peppery flavor with a very little bit of citrusy hop flavor.
Food Pairing: Because of the Belgian spiciness and peppery flavors, and the fact that it is a pretty solid beer (in terms of ABV and malty flavors), I think this would go nicely with a steak. In particular, a nice, thick, seasoned and aged piece of beer would go best with this beer.
Overall Impression: When it’s just right, I like the complexity of spicy Belgian flavors and the hoppiness of an IPA. Therefore, I was really looking forward to this Belgian double IPA. While it had a big malty backbone, and plenty of caramel maltiness and Belgian spiciness, it lacked the solid hop flavor I was expecting. Perhaps it had been on tap a little too long, but I was surprised at the lack of hoppiness in this beer. Overall, it was a good beer on its own, but I felt like it really needed to have a bigger dose of hops to be a double IPA.
My Rating: 
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