Belt’s Beer Garden: Hear Me RaR!

In Cambridge, Maryland, sitting in an old pool hall and bowling alley, isRaR Brewing- which is short for ReAle Revival or Real Ale Revival. They’ve been brewing up treats for those on the Chesapeake Bay since 2013. And, while they distribute all across Maryland, it is quite difficult to find their beers in most of the other 49 states.

Their sour series,Out of Order, has become a nationwide hit as many people, myself included, have continued to search for it. The sour ales usually have crazy adjuncts, with some examples being grape cotton candy, strawberry funfetti, and evenBlue Milk from Star Wars.

遗憾的是,我无法找到任何他们的年代our ales. However, I was able to snag a can of theirLumber Sexual- a Double IPA series with a rotating hop bill. The newest version of Lumber Sexual featured El Dorado and Mosaic Cryo hops and had a very solid 8.4% ABV.

This DIPA poured a slightly murky golden straw color with minimal head. No more than half a finger of thin, off-white foam built up and quickly faded down to a razor thin line around the edge of the glass.

The aroma was dank hops with loads of tropical fruits and some floral notes. Grapefruit, passion fruit, tangerine, and a bit of melon led the charge. Underneath was a light grist backing of sweet, cereal-like grain that really made this an inviting Double.

Each swig begins with a small rush of carbonation and a little hoppy bite. The hops then swarmed my taste buds with a nice combination of fruits and floral elements.

Passion fruit and tangerine stood out up front with some light hibiscus characteristics peeking through early on as well. It was a rather sweet beginning. However, that slowly began to fade as the hops kept surging forward.

As the flavors progressed the bitterness levels increased. The beer introduced a pithy grapefruit flavor and some citrus rind notes that featured more of that tangerine and an additional dash of lemon.

The melon flavor holds out until the end of the sip. A light honeydew flavor appears as the beer begins to fade out, joining those floral notes as the last flavors standing.

Lumber Sexual ends mostly clean but there is a lingering bitterness and just the tiniest dry feeling.

Overall, it’s a very juicy and tasty beer with some late hitting hoppy bitterness. I found it to be a very crushable DIPA, with the 8.4% ABV being hidden very well.

RaR has a winner here. If you’re a hophead, this is one you’ll love.