Hop Head Ale
Mishawaka Brewing Company

Hop Head AleHop Head Ale
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From:
Mishawaka Brewing Company
 
Indiana, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
73
Avg:
3.04 | pDev: 22.04%
Reviews:
51
Ratings:
54
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 12, 2012
Added:
Sep 03, 2006
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by RblWthACoz:
Photo of RblWthACoz
Reviewed by RblWthACoz from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Man. That is one high lookin' hop on the label here.

Pours a clouded brown with a creme head that falls fast. Nose is pretty unusual with caramel and plastic tones. Flavor is just as odd too. I get more leafy and wood (twigs, branches) than anything else. Not really a hop character to speak of. Very earthy, but not undrinkable. Low carbonation. Slick liquid feel. This is by far the earthiest IPA I've ever had to date. Maybe a bit too much so as it seems like it needs a different style classification. Thanks to brewandbbq for a beer from a new brewery for me.
Aug 30, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by zonker17 from Texas

Jan 12, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by raveskdr from Virginia

Dec 08, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by Another6Pack from Michigan

Nov 26, 2011
Photo of jrallen34
Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

2.62/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
12oz bottle poured into a New Belgium tulip... Pours an ugly murky dark gold. The is white, rises about two fingers and has great retention and lacing... The aroma is super sweet, malts are way off and off the chart strong. Musky with notes cardboard... The taste is also off malt flavors, musky hops, toffee, chemical finish.

Skip this.
Mar 22, 2011
Photo of gdc2506
Reviewed by gdc2506 from Indiana

3.06/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I picked this up while planning a "taste tour of Indiana" this past weekend. Purchased 2 12oz bottles and have had both. The pour into an Irish pint glass was good to above average with a decent head, about 2 fingers but is dissipated quickly. With a name like "hop head" I was expecting more but was not disappointed. I'd purchase this again.
Mar 11, 2011
Photo of tapman
Reviewed by tapman from Illinois

2.72/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Pours a medium sepia-orange with a really small head that goes away very quickly. Moderate amount of carbonation. Filtered and clear as crystal.

Aroma is pine, bubblegum and a little mint. A subdued sugar cookie in there as well. I could have used some brighter aromas as these are a little tough to pick out for me as with exceptional offerings in this style category.

Biscuits with honey in the taste while the hops are not as sweet as in the aroma. Hops are, for lack of a better descriptor, beery tasting, like an Imperial BMC. There is a pleasant spiciness in there at the beginning of the sip, but after that the bitterness is flat and cloying.

Mouth is good. Bubbly and sharp with a little chew to balance things a little.

I guess this is above average, though the taste is right in the middle for me. I taste good malts and good hops, just in wrong amounts to satisfy my palate. Usually for IPAs I get bad or good ones, but this beer, and others from this brewery, are some of the most average beers I have ever had, which doesn't make them bad, but...
Jan 21, 2011
Photo of Thorpe429
Reviewed by Thorpe429 from Illinois

1.12/5  rDev -63.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
"Thanks" to my Dad for offering Amyliz4 and I a bottle of this. I was glad to find out that he was just being mean to us and didn't enjoy this either. Reviewed from notes.

Pour brings an orange-copper body with a slight white head and just a very minor touch of lacing. Then all things go wrong. The nose is wet cardboard with some oxidation and a disgusting malt character...it's hard to even begin to describe. Other than the cardboard, there's something musty and off. There is a tiny, tiny bit of citrus still sitting in the background.

The flavor is just bad. Bad. Cardboard plus some really strange, astringent malt characteristics. Slight sourness. It just seems like everything went wrong with this brew. Stay clear of it.
Nov 14, 2010
Photo of ThaBobfather
Reviewed by ThaBobfather from Ohio

3.21/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a very dark almost orange copper color with a huge cloudy white head.
Smell is light- a little citrusy with some hops on the back end.
Taste is smooth for a "Hop Head" though the flowery earth of hops is present.
Finish is quick and bitey with a bitter after-taste.
Drinks almost poorly- sort of bitey with an ok ABV- not something I'd want more than one of.
Aug 04, 2010
Photo of TMoney2591
Reviewed by TMoney2591 from Illinois

2.8/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Served in a Devil's Backbone willibecher.

Yet another war trophy from the post-DLD death march. A semi-aggressive pour results in a clear orange straw topped by a decently tall and thick frothy head that eventually dies down to a minimal presence. The nose comprises pine and grapefruit against a meek toffee backdrop. A very straightforward and plain IPA smell. The taste holds notes of pine, orange peel, some very light caramel, and a harsh, biting aftertaste of chalky bitterness. Ugh, that is quite the haymaker! The body is a heavy light, with moderate carbonation and a fairly dry finish. Overall, what could have been a decent IPA is marred by a strident aftertaste.
Jun 25, 2010
Photo of ridglens
Reviewed by ridglens from Indiana

3/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Poured into Portsmouth snifter, wanted to give this local a try. probably drank it a hair to cold, but i was kind of in a hurry.

A: pretty beer, great smokey yellow-orange color, with a really thick , nice head. I poured so the head stopped at the top of the glass, and in several minutes it had dissapated to a thick little island in the middle. great looking beer

S: after the smell i was pretty excited for it. super hoppy, the resiny/pine smells are everywhere, maybe a little sweetness? great smelling beer, too

T: a little disappointing after the above. very bitter, but not the fresh cleansing kind. again, it might have been a little cold, but it was very bitter at the beginning and end of each drink, with a little sweetness in the middle. it had both sweet and bitter, but not what i would call balanced.

M: not terrible, good carb. feels good but doesn't coat the mouth

D: ok, but the unbalanced bitterness would leave me fine after 1
Jun 22, 2010
Photo of kalkavekkian
Reviewed by kalkavekkian from Michigan

3.16/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
A- Poured out a nice tannish orange color with a small head.

S- Had a dampish musty smell with an earthy tone.

T- Taste was sharp and hoppy with a certain flat quality to it and seems to be lacking something. I was a little disappointed after having just put away a hopslam.

M- Felt pretty good in the mouth. Not too thick but lacking in carbonation as far as i was concerned.

D- Drinkability was ok for me but nothing to write home about. This is a decent ipa but pretty much average in all aspects.
Feb 07, 2010
Photo of alleykatking
Reviewed by alleykatking from Indiana

3.5/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Had on tap today at "The Pub"

A- Came to me a nice coppery burnt orange color. One finger off white head comes and goes leaving some light lacing on the sides of the glass.

S- Sweet caramel malts popped up first in the aroma which threw me off. There was a dirty earthy hop boom in the front of the nose as well. Some light citrus in the back end of this. nothing really going on in this beer other than those 3 things.

T- Nice citrusy bite in the front end of this. It's very calm and not very in your face. This quickly gets washed out with a strong sweet malt middle. Almost a homebrew extract IPA taste to it. Nice bitter hop bite in the back that was pleasant and not at all over the top. Everything is pretty well balanced in this beer.

M- Medium mouthgfeel. Carbonation is like usual a little lacking but doesn't kill the beer. Semi-sweet malt and bitter hops on the palate and in the aftertaste. Kind of creamy or full feeling in the mouth.

D- This was a session IPA that I had a couple of glasses of. Nothing special at all but I have had a lot worse IPA's. Would buy this again if I could have it on tap.
Feb 05, 2010
Photo of SupaCelt
Reviewed by SupaCelt from Michigan

2.94/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Nice dusty orange colour with heavy carbonation and a fluffy dense head.

Smells like caramel malt and dirt and pine. Smells like fall in the woods.

Taste is bitter and again has an earthy, leafy brown feeling. The hops make for a mild dryness.

The mouthfeel is medium. It seems substantial.

The flavor is not inspiring enough to cause me to want more of this beer, but it is not bad. There is nothing offensive here. This reminds me very much of a beer I once brewed in my kitchen.
Jan 05, 2010
Photo of yourefragile
Reviewed by yourefragile from District of Columbia

2.66/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
12 oz bottle

Cleaning out my fridge, came across this guy with a lazy looking hop on the label. Has a nice appearance, hazy copper with a thick, dense uneven head. Half the surface area of the beer retains a thin head and the rest is a thin film. Plenty thick clumpy lacing. Nose is grainy and sweet, lots of malt, not all that much of a hop presence, not so great for an IPA. Flavor is deceptive as it starts off with an earthy, piney hop flavor and you assume it's going to be an acceptable, average IPA, but then the body takes over a strong grainy, caramel malt flavor and sweetness continues to assert itself into the finish as the hops quickly fade and it no longer tastes so much like an IPA. Medium-full thickness with minimal carbonation, as this warms up it gets much sweeter and cloying, and finish is not very clean. Flavors are sort of a mess here, really detracting from the drinkability.
Dec 05, 2009
Photo of claminat420
Reviewed by claminat420 from Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A- poured a dark golden almost copper color. nice thick lacing. solid off white two finger head.

S- a light caramel malt scent backed up with a nice citrus hop scent. i bet cascade???

T- from the smell i was hoping for alot more hop action going on but still not to bad. the first sip tasted like nothing but malt but now i keep drinking you can pick up the hops hidden or blended in with the malt.

M- light to medium bodied. nice carbonation.

D- could prolly drink 4 or 5 out of a 6 pack then i'm good.

Overall- to me this wasn't to shabby of a brew. i love the haggard label on the bottle like it was made in someone's basement. i picked up a single to give it a try and down the road it's worthy of a six.
Nov 04, 2009
Photo of zeff80
Reviewed by zeff80 from Missouri

3.4/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - Poured out a clear, golden-yellow color with a small, fizzy, white head. It left little to no lace.

S - It smelled very earthy with a touch of citrus. Not much going on here.

T - It had a spicy hop bite with a grassy flavor. It had a strong, rich malty flavor, too.

M - It was crisp and sharp. A medium-bodied ale.

D - This IPA is malt heavy without any real hop kick.
Aug 11, 2009
Photo of JamesS
Reviewed by JamesS from Indiana

4.1/5  rDev +34.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours a nice dark copper color, with just a bit of initial head and almost no lacing. Nice deep, strong, hoppy aroma, fills the nose with bitter pine scents. Strong bitter taste, very American pine hop, with a big hop finish that stays on the tongue; a bit unbalanced, a slightly more malty tinge would have helped just a bit. Goes down fine, fairly smooth for such a hoppy beer.
Apr 08, 2009
Photo of ArrogantB
Reviewed by ArrogantB from Colorado

3.14/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
I'm going to start this off real honest and say that this is not a beer for hop-heads. This looks great, orange decent lacing on the head but the smell? Something funny like butter..the taste was not really hoppy at all, buttery malts and I'm sure I sound like a jerk but this just wasn't hoppy by any stretch of the imagination.
Feb 21, 2009
Photo of BillyX
Reviewed by BillyX from Washington

1.46/5  rDev -52%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1
Was given this ale and while I'd not heard of it before had no expectations, good or bad. First detected musty basement in the nose. Initial taste was neither that of hoppiness nor maltiness. I recall nothing quite like it and it was not pleasant. Frankly, it tasted more like a chemical concoction than a brewed product; a combination of spoiled food and a metallic taste. Could this have been a spoiled bottle? If not, God help us, a Bud would be preferable...
Feb 06, 2009
Hop Head Ale from Mishawaka Brewing Company
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 54 ratings