Rivertown Brewing Co.
Cincinnati, OH
Available: IN, KY, OH
An American pale ale named after the famous B-24 Liberator bomber. This beer has a wonderful malt backbone from the use of dark English crystal malt and spicy fresh rye malt. It is dry hopped with two varieties of American hops for a crisp, refreshing flavor.
ABV: 5.5
ABW: 4.38
Color: 9
Bitterness: 60
Original gravity: 1053
The addition of rye is evident right up front in the Hop Bomber, with an assertively spicy nose and enough hops to live up to its name as the earthy, grassy notes play well with the dry spiciness. At first sip, Hop Bomber starts out with the rye taking center stage and hops playing a supportive role. But the spiciness continues into the middle of the taste as the hops recede, only to make a comeback, though, at the finish—along with that rye dryness and a cameo appearance of malty, caramel-toffee sweetness. A fun sipper that's worth seeking out.
Although rye malt is the distinctive ingredient, and indeed brings a neat nutty/wafer character, what is particularly pleasing about this pale ale is that, despite being firmly hoppy, it is not drenched in citrus. Instead we have a mixture of cedar-like hop resins and floral-peachy notes, all floating on a base of creamy malt and offset by a pleasant dryness and delicate sharpness. Perhaps the finish is just a little too dry, as the tangy resins bounce all around the palate, but this is a solid and tasty beer that deserves praise for daring to be different.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide and one of Britain's best-known beer writers.
