Fresh Hopwired
8 Wired Brewing Co.

Fresh HopwiredFresh Hopwired
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From:
8 Wired Brewing Co.
 
New Zealand
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #1,631
ABV:
7.3%
Score:
88
Ranked #14,242
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 9.67%
Reviews:
31
Ratings:
73
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 18, 2022
Added:
Jun 26, 2012
Wants:
  6
Gots:
  6
A fresh (wet hopped) version of our flagship IPA, HopWired. Brewed to the same recipe but with fresh hop cones straight from the vine. Needless to say this is a very limited release.

70 IBU
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Ratings by biboergosum:
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.84/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
500ml bottle. A blend of fresh hops - Motueka and Nelson Sauvin, specifically, and pointedly.

This beer pours a very slightly hazy, more glassy, really, medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of puffy, lumpy, and sticky off-white head, which leaves some layered cumulus cloud lace around the glass as it slowly sinks away.

It smells of musty pineapple, underripe honeydew, aged lemon, zippy lime, and a bit of tropical papaya - ok, it's pleasantly Down Under in its fruitiness, sure, but the wee white pepper, understated bready caramel malt, and hovering pine tips need love too. The taste is more rather fruity hops - a bit of grapefruit pith, murky passion fruit, acrid lime - grainy, almost crackery pale malt, one barely touched by the sugary hand of caramel, some swirling, ethereal white and black pepper dust, a hint of mint leaves, and dewy pine forest floor.

The carbonation is generally quite understated, yet duly supportive all the same, the body a decent medium weight, and actually pretty smooth, given all that hop activity mulling about. It finishes on the sweet side, all the fruitiness and battered pale/caramel malt only tempered so much by the inherent bitterness of it all (life not necessarily included).

A pleasant enough wet hopped version of the base DIPA, one whose provenance I question, given recent experience schlepping both it and the equally classified Super Conductor. Anyway, here the hops are certainly still big and out there, but seem to gain a certain low-key meaty mustiness, one that builds over time, and wasn't there in the original Hopwired. Drinkable, for reals, but maybe fresh ain't all that it's cracked up to be.
Jul 04, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Snowcrash000
Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

3.36/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a cloudy, golden amber coloration with a medium, fluffy head. Smells of biscuity, slightly caramelly malt and vague tropical/berry hops, with indistinct notes of passion fruit and white grape. Taste is a good balance of biscuity, slightly caramelly malt and fruity, slightly grassy and spicy hops, with vague citrus, tropical and berry notes of tangerine, passion fruit and white grape, whit hints of white pepper. Finishes with a light bitterness and some tangerine and white grape lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

While this is still pretty okay for a ~6 months old IPA, the hops do feel pretty vague and washed out here, just not very well-defined, while the white grape still stands out the most, with a pretty lacking bitterness in the finish as well. You know, in the past I used to cut brewers some slack and adjust my scores slightly upward if I "stupidly" bought an old IPA but is it really my fault if the brewer sets an abstract best-by date where I have no idea how long it is? No more, if you want people to enjoy your beer at its best, don't set a 6 months best-by date for it. Or even better just set a fucking canning date. I had hoped for a 4 month best-by date here until I realized that since this is wet-hopped, it has to be at least 6 months old at this point.
Mar 18, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by delgotit99 from Indiana

Nov 24, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by wethorseblanket from California

Nov 15, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by fredmugs from Indiana

Oct 05, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by jpuetz from South Dakota

Aug 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by boudeysbigbrew from California

Jul 27, 2015
 
Rated: 3.88 by SocalKicks from California

Jun 01, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by kdown from California

May 31, 2015
 
Rated: 3.74 by Boone757 from Virginia

May 16, 2015
 
Rated: 3.96 by artemh from Canada (AB)

Apr 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.23 by cuvtcuv from Florida

Feb 27, 2015
 
Rated: 4.4 by Durfewur from Canada (BC)

Dec 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Dec 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by BeerTruck from Portugal

Oct 12, 2014
 
 
Rated: 4 by mjstacker from New Hampshire

Sep 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.4 by Mstahl22

Sep 03, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by Adamostella from Washington

Aug 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by metsfan1 from California

Aug 02, 2014
Fresh Hopwired from 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 73 ratings