Hops enthusiast, crazy about hops and west coast beers

Ommegang Hennepin

humlefantaster — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:03:00 +0000

First ever beer from Ommegang and also my first ever saison beer, starting to get shaky hand here. This beer was part of a 3-pack from Ommegang + the glass in the picture that i picked up while in NY.

Appearance
Straw to light yellow in colour with a big white foamy head.

Aroma
Typical Belgian beer and had a similar aroma to one of my favourites, La Fin Du Monde from Unibroue. Lots of cloves, spices and yeast on the nose with some citrus tones. Had lots of earthy tones and similar to a sparkling wine in some ways.

Taste
Dry, crisp and bitter as i soon figured out how the saison beer style tastes. Can agree that it would be more suited to a summer day than -10 outside, but the alcohol and bitterness was quite warming. Some citrus tartyness, lite hints of cloves again and bananas.

Alc: 7,7%
RateBeer: 95%

(1-3) Appearance: 2,5
(1-5) Aroma: 5
(1-5) Taste: 4
(1-7) Overall impressions: 6

HantverksbrygOmmegang Hennepin score 17,5/20

Hantverksbryggeriet Bödeln IPA

humlefantaster — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 14:05:00 +0000

Only my 2nd beer from Hantverksbryggeriet and next time i am in Västerås i need to try some more and make a brewery visit. Tasted Narren their extra special bitter and it was ok. This was the second beer of the night for me at Man in the Moon and another ice cold beer to sit and wait untill it tawed out.

Appearance
Bright orange to golden brown in colour with a large off-white head. This beer looked really good and could even pass for a DIPA.

Aroma
Not as much orangy citrus as i was hoping for, some hops but maily hints of caramel and strangely enough, i was getting hazelnuts out of it.

Taste
This is where this beer let me down, it had some IPA characteristics but just not enough. The bitterness was pretty mild but the balance was not there at all and it tasted pretty thin on the body and was lacking the character that the appearance and aroma build up.

Alc: 5,6%
RateBeer: 74%

(1-3) Appearance: 3
(1-5) Aroma: 3.5
(1-5) Taste: 4
(1-7) Overall impressions: 5

Hantverksbryggeriet Bödeln IPA score 15,5/20

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA

humlefantaster — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:19:00 +0000

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA

Was looking for a pub to have a golf meeting in and decided to look at Man in the Moon homepage, it was a while since i was last there and made a good effort to tastes all their decent beer a while back. New webpage and some new beers, Raging Bitch caught my eye right away and decided to go there after work to taste this great Belgian IPA for the 3rd time.

Flying Dog Brewery celebrated its 20th Anniversary a few months early on Friday, September 25th (the brewery turns 20 next year). It’s made from an augmented Snake Dog wort with an exclusive Belgian yeast strain (called Diablo) and dry-hopped with a load of Amarillo hops. It has that hop bite from a big, bad American IPA with the banana and bubblegum from the Belgian yeast.”

As with all beers served at MITM they are serverd very cold, too cold to be honest so knew it would take time before this beer showed it’s true colours so to speak. Paid nearly 170kr per bottle which was extremely overpriced and slightly affected my ratings.

Appearance
Amber to dark orange in colour with a decent tan white head, looked good even in a big wine glass.

Aroma
Even a blind man in my opinion can tell a true belgium beer from another, lots of banana, cloves and ginger on the nose even when the beer was very cold. Had some floral hops and some bread aroma coming from the yeast.

Taste

What first hit me was that this beer was unfiltered and have a light gritty consistancy. Lots of malt, spices and some bitterness and a really good blend of Belgian spices/yeast with some big American hops.

Hops: Warrior, Columbus, Amarillo
Process: El Diablo yeast used to give Raging Bitch a trademark Belgian-style taste, dry hopped with Amarillos

Alc: 8,3%
RateBeer: 95%

(1-3) Appearance: 2.5
(1-5) Aroma: 5
(1-5) Taste: 3.5
(1-7) Overall impressions: 5.5

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA score 16,5/20

Founders part of SB March release

humlefantaster — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:35:00 +0000

On March 15th Founders Centennial IPA and Founders Breakfast Stout will be available. (T6)

Thanks Marc from Brill&Co. for this insider information.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Russian River Blind Pig

humlefantaster — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:04:00 +0000

Russian River Blind Pig
Time to taste the little brother to Pliny The Elder that came in 20/20 To be honest i was not able to remember exactly how Pliny tasted when i drank it a few weeks ago, it would be nice to pair them up with the bottles i have left, but remember Pliny=DIPA and Pig=IPA

Appearance
Golden to light orange in colour with a nice thick white head. How an IPA should look in a glass with a pillow like head.

Aroma
To die for, yes it had a superb aroma of citrus, grapefruits and tropical fruits. Floral hops, lots of pine and resin.

Taste
Not really sure if the taste lived up to the aroma even though it had a great balance to it. This beer has a large malt backbone, giving the beer a good thick mouthfeel without getting too sweet. There is a good balance of sweetness and citrus on the back end that keeps the growing bitterness in check. If you like your IPA with plenty if pine and grapefruit then Blind Pig is your best friend.

Alc: 6,1%
RateBeer: 99%

(1-3) Appearance: 3
(1-5) Aroma: 5
(1-5) Taste: 4
(1-7) Overall impressions: 6

Russian River Blind Pig score 18/20

Oppigårds Amarillo Spring

humlefantaster — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Oppigårds Amarillo Spring
Had this beer at the 2009 SBWF when it was known as 7th Anniversary and it was a great beer back then. Little did we know that it would be making its appearance in the SB. Lots of great blog reviews already for this beer coming from one of the best Swedish breweries.

Appearance
Copper to golden brown with a thick white head.

Aroma
Fresh hops, grapefruits, floral and citrus.

Taste
Hops, grass, some grapefruit and citrus. Little sweetmess but great balance as the bitterness is very suttle.

One of the best Oppigårds beers to date and probably my No.1 Swedish beer to date that is in the SB ordinary selection. Many more will be tasted and just cant wait to try this pale ale when the weather gets warmer.

Alc: 5,9%
RateBeer: 95%

(1-3) Appearance: 3
(1-5) Aroma: 5
(1-5) Taste: 4.5
(1-7) Overall impressions: 6.5

Oppigårds Amarillo Spring score 19/20

Slottskällans Imperial Stout 2009

humlefantaster — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 21:27:00 +0000

Slottskällans Imperial Stout 2009
Second or third bottle of this superb Swedish stout, in my opinion this beer is up there with the top stouts and definately one of my favourites.

Appearance
Black in colour with a beige head.

Aroma
Roasted coffee, chocolate and vanilla with roasted malt.

Taste
Sweet, milky sweet chocolate, roadted coffee beans, sweet malt and very smooth and filling.

Malts: Pilsner, dark caramel, chocolate, black malt
Hops: Northern Brewer, East Kent Golding, Fuggleoveryeast
Alc: 9%
RateBeer: 97%

(1-3) Appearance: 3
(1-5) Aroma: 4.5
(1-5) Taste: 4.5
(1-7) Overall impressions: 6.5

Slottskällans Imperial Stout score 18,5/20

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

humlefantaster — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:57:00 +0000

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout
You got to love the label on this beer and happy to taste another Victory beer. Was not aware of the amount of hops used in this stout, now i know what an extreme hopped stout tasted like.

“With a huge, Pacific Northwest hop aroma & character upfront, Storm King subsides into massive, roast malt complexity. More flavor than mere words can adequately describe. Rich and substantial, it will warm your heart.”

Appearance
Dark brown to black in colour with a large tan head that dampened the hops bomb aroma that was trying to break through.

Aroma
Some classic stout scents, coffee, espresso, dark fruit, and roasted grain, but also an earthy hoppy citrus scent that actually works itself in very well.

Taste
Roasted malt flavor upfront followed by espresso and bitter dark chocolate. The citrus hops make their appearance on the finish with just a slight grassy citrus kick at the end.

Malts: Imported 2 row
Hops: American whole flowers
Alc: 9.1%
100%

(1-3) Appearance: 3
(1-5) Aroma: 4.5
(1-5) Taste: 3.5
(1-7) Overall impressions: 7

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout score 18/20

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout

humlefantaster — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:35:00 +0000

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout
Spotted this beer in a recent Beeradvocate magazine and the ingredients sounded quite interesting, so when i found it in NY i had to buy a bottle. Dogfish Head have yet to let me down as a top class brewery and this beer was worth the effort.

Chicory Stout is a rich, dark beer made with a touch of roasted chicory, organic Mexican coffee, St. John’s Wort, and licorice root. It is brewed with roast barley, crystal malt and oats and hopped just right with Glacier hops.

Appearance
Dark brown with a small latte tan head that did not last that long.

Aroma
Coffee and roasted coffee beans, did not get any licorice but the barley malt was nice.

Taste
A very gentle stout coming in at just over 5% which is nice for a change. As with the aroma, roasted coffee beans were the main flavors here and it had a bitter finish. More used to drinking stout that has some sweetness in them, this one had not a grain of sweetness to it. Had a lot of dark roasted malt in the body and the hops were not present but probably the main reason behing the bitter finish.

Alc: 5.2%
91%

(1-3) Appearance: 2
(1-5) Aroma: 4.5
(1-5) Taste: 4
(1-7) Overall impressions: 4.5

Dogfish Head Chicory Stout score 15/20

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

humlefantaster — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:55:00 +0000

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA
Had a 90 minute as my last beer in NY before i headed back to Sweden and it tasted good but as i had a previous quite bitter IPA and food with it, i did not get it’s full character. Was very happy that i brough home a bottle and will definately be knocking down the door at Monks to try this great sweet malty IPA again very soon.

It’s called a 90 minute IPA because the boil time of the wort in which the hops are added is 90 minutes. More boil time on the hops means more bitterness so lots of malt is also needed to balance out this monster.

Appearance
Some carbonated with a reddish to ligh brown colour, off-white head.

Aroma
It reminded me of a beer somewhere between a barleywine and a double bock. Lots of caramel and spices and of course a lot of hop aromas – citrus, floral, grass, herb and pine. Had a very appealing aroma and one could smell the sweetness of the malt already.

Taste
The first flavors were slightly sweet followed by some heavy bitterness that was just ahead of the sweetness. There was no alcohol in the taste, but the alcohol does hit you – it was very strong and potent like a barleywine. Due to the extra dry hopping stage, this is one hoppy beer. After you manage to get to the liquid through the foam, you get the malt hit with a sweet hops finish.

Alc: 9%
100%

(1-3) Appearance: 2.5
(1-5) Aroma: 5
(1-5) Taste: 5
(1-7) Overall impressions: 6.5

Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA score 19/20