El Lupulo Libre
The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse / Production Works

El Lupulo LibreEl Lupulo Libre
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From:
The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse / Production Works
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #142
ABV:
8.8%
Score:
96
Ranked #1,183
Avg:
4.32 | pDev: 8.33%
Reviews:
39
Ratings:
278
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 24, 2023
Added:
Mar 18, 2014
Wants:
  31
Gots:
  45
Light amber-hued hop monster brewed with Mosaic and other American hop varieties. Brewed Vienna malt and flaked corn for smooth malt flavor but a lighter body in this hop WAY forward brew.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Jpinoniemi:
Photo of Jpinoniemi
Rated by Jpinoniemi from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Mar 20, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.85 by Beergod420 from Michigan

Mar 24, 2023
 
Rated: 4.34 by RichRubes610 from Pennsylvania

Sep 24, 2021
Photo of Tucquan
Reviewed by Tucquan from Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Had this on 2019-12-21 on-tap at the brewery. Ratings and comments are from tasting notes, which I just found in my desk drawer!

Dank, good malt and earthy spice.
Jul 07, 2021
 
Rated: 4.17 by Blogjackets from Ohio

Mar 16, 2020
 
Rated: 4.18 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

Dec 08, 2019
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

4.34/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Canned on 10-30-19.

A - Deep copper orange color (amber) with beautiful clarity and a dense creamy lacing ring.

S - Juicy and dank tropical fruit that's very sticky and aromatic on the nose. Mango, sticky pine, and citrus.

T - Very juicy and resiny from start to finish. Dank tropical fruit, sticky pine, mango from start to finish with some herbal character surfacing towards the back end.

M - Very thick and viscous with some lip smacking stickiness on the lips. Wet finish with some residual dryness.

O - HIGHLY recommended and seek out.
Dec 03, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by zotzot from Vermont

Nov 29, 2019
Photo of jrc1093
Reviewed by jrc1093 from Connecticut

4.17/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Canned on 10/30/19

Pours a deep, translucent honeyed bronze body topped with multiple fingers of off-white/light tan head; solid retention leaves a few rocky islands of cap, a moderate foamy collar, and varied spatter of soapy lacing throughout the glass. An unconventional appearance, but well-structured and appealing nonetheless.

Aromas are pungent, dank, but with an unwavering underlying tropical nature; resinous hops and herbal tones bolstered by flaky caramel malt open, and seamlessly make way for grapefruit zest, dank pineapple, earthy pine, mango peel, and touches of strawberry/cranberry compote grazing the finish with a tinge of sweetness.

Taste brings out incredibly earthy grapefruit peel intertwined with toasted caramel malt upfront, with underlying touches of pine, pineapple, mango, and passionfruit contributing to an increasingly (but not overwhelmingly) fruity build; a biting herbal bittering lingers consistently in the background, but with limited persistence.

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a moderate, balanced carbonation, and plenty of prickly hop grit showing across the palate; a smooth, charry bitterness is consistent and crisp through the mid-palate, peaking with an almost oily texture on the finish.

Rich and expressive, yet still at times understated, this is an incredibly well-balanced and fairly unique DIPA; the malt and hops saturate this one equally for a product both fulfilling and belying the weight of its ABV.
Nov 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.06 by BarrelAgedG from California

Feb 02, 2019
Photo of Nephilium
Reviewed by Nephilium from Ohio

4.28/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Big pine hop presence to start this beer off. It pours a clear dark amber with a thin cap of off-white head. This is a big blast of hops, starts with a hint of sweetness, then pine, citrus and bitterness roll in, leaving a long lingering bitter finish. Full mouthfeel, and well hidden alcohol help round this great beer out.
Nov 06, 2018
 
Rated: 4.49 by gardner254 from Ohio

Oct 24, 2018
 
Rated: 3.53 by acurtis from New Jersey

Oct 23, 2018
 
Rated: 3.79 by Bum4ever from California

Oct 15, 2018
Photo of SHDoyle
Reviewed by SHDoyle from Ohio

4.21/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Description: Caramel color with a hint of ruby, kind of like apple cider. A little hazy with no real head or lacing. Smell is pineapple, mango, melon and a malty backbone although this doesn't overwhelm the beer. Taste is more dank and bitter than the smell indicates and the finish is bitter; sort of like overripe fruit and mango. For a beer with this 88 IBUs, it's not very bitter and lacks that hop "punch" you sometimes get but that doesn't detract from it. Feel is smooth and medium-bodied with a medium to high level of carbonation.

Overall: 4.25 (This beer is good and I would likely drink it again) This is well balanced and has some complexity to the flavor. The feel and body are both nice although it wasn't quite as big and hoppy as I anticipated. I'm not a huge fan of Mosaic hops - just a personal preference - which kind of keeps me from rating it higher.
Jul 28, 2018
Photo of grover37
Reviewed by grover37 from District of Columbia

3.52/5  rDev -18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
5oz pour at Brew Kettle Hudson. Better fresh but still not very good.

~~~

Originally rated 3.2.

12oz into two Tekus. Assumed it's fresh, but I have no idea as it has no bottling date. Take tsk.

Clear dark orange. Why is it so dark?

Nose is a caramel bomb. Smells terrible, like an Amber Ale from 2007.

Taste isn't much of an improvement.

This beer is terrible, more crappy American batleywine than DIPA. Perhaps the most over rated beer I've seen on BA, but I've also noticed this with Brew Kettle.

Maybe it was an old bottle - maybe they should put dates on them.

AVOID
Jun 30, 2018
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.74/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
I got this out of a mixed 12pck. It poured a clear amber with thin white head that is not leaving any lace. The scent had hints of citrus. The taste was boozy with citrus through. The mouthfeel is medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it's a decent beer.
May 25, 2018
 
Rated: 4.04 by West_Chester_Ale_Tester from Ohio

Apr 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.27 by ItsBeer4Me from Pennsylvania

Apr 29, 2018
 
Rated: 4.49 by MeIquiades from Illinois

Apr 21, 2018
El Lupulo Libre from The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse / Production Works
Beer rating: 96 out of 100 with 278 ratings