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2014's beer reviews begin with an American classic: Hop Rod Rye from Bear Republic in northern California, recently arrived on these shores with its stablemates Racer 5 and Red Rocket. I'm a new covert to hop-forward rye beers, with Kinnegar Rustbucket and Dungarvan's Mahon Falls showing how its done. And now it turns out the Americans are making them as well. Well done them.

Hop Rod Rye is 8% ABV and made with a whole 18% of rye. Fancy! No, I don't know if that's good either. Can't argue with the aroma: super fresh mandarins laced with acidic pine. The flavour blends the elements beautifully: mouthwatering bitterness, the juicy fruitiness -- and the less subtle toffee elements of the amber malts are offset by the grassiness of the rye.

All of these bits, by themselves, can unbalance a beer badly but they really work well together here. It's not an easy drinker, and makes one very aware of everything that's in it, but as heavy hoppy American beers go, it's definitely up there.

Ursa major

We don't see a whole lot from California's Bear Republic brewery in these parts, so when I spotted their Red Rocket on sale last time I was in England I couldn't just walk past. They claim a Scottish ancestry for this 6.8% ABV red ale, but let's just leave that aside and spare them any blushes.

A hard one-two of big malt and big hops smacks the nose on first sniff: warm toffee infused with lemony citrus. It's a little bit sickly on tasting with the hops taking a back seat and a heavy barleywineish candy flavour at the front. The bitterness -- firm without being harsh -- kicks in shortly afterwards, and there's a concentrated floral tang, like accidentally-tasted perfume. It's a little bit more balanced in the aftertaste, presenting a twin track of caramel and bitter beeswax.

Complex though it is, I'm a little concerned that some of the finer points of this beer have been lost to time. I don't know how long it is since it left the brewery and it just didn't sing with the fresh succulent hop flavours I would have expected from a brewery of this calibre. Still, this kind of hoppy red-amber ale is fast becoming one of my favourite styles and there's plenty here for a more local brewer to learn from and steal.

And speaking of local brewers, the second Irish Craft Beer Festival at the RDS in Dublin kicks off tomorrow. I'll be knocking around all three days with the Beoir delegation. Come and say hello.