Hogscraper
Columbus Brewing Company

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From:
Columbus Brewing Company
 
Ohio, United States
Style:
American Amber / Red Ale
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
89
Avg:
4.04 | pDev: 9.9%
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
10
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 19, 2014
Added:
Sep 03, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4 by clogger3030 from Ohio

Feb 19, 2014
Photo of Ryan011235
Reviewed by Ryan011235 from Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap in a pint glass on 9/2/11

Rusty in color with tinges of amber, I suppose. In dimmed light it has a bit of a brownish hue. The head poured just shy of a finger and thinned fairly quickly leaving a soapy layer o'er top. Very good lacing on half the glass with a sizable wall about a quarter of the way down. The lace starts to get drippy over time.

Smells quite nice with a pleasant showing of hops and a good amount of malt to round it out. The hops offer a piney hop crackle and are backed by calmer spritzes of zesty citrus; grapefruit and lemon, mostly. Some tropical tones emerge as the beer warms. The aroma seems juicy with a candy-fruit notion. Malts translate as primarily grainy with a penchant for fresh, crumbly bread. Maybe a dollop of caramel in there.

Piney hops hit the taste buds first, awash in oily hoppiness and subtle undertones of blended citrus. Turns slightly juicy leading into the middle. From there a prominent graininess rolls in; very bready, though so much toasted as just dry. Faint caramel adds a touch of half-hearted sweetness. I like the malt profile on this one. On the back end of the mid-sip a surprising amount of bitterness swoops in and carries the finish (and by surprising I mean it surprises me how bitter it is each sip). It's the nice piney bitterness, too. Lingers long.

Hogscraper has a lively, medium body. portions of the feel were mentioned above - the oily hops and rolling, granular feel. Aside from all that, the carbonation is most certainly a defining factor here - it starts out fluffy and billows into a sharp, prickly avalanche at exactly the same time the late-blooming bitterness starts dancing.

At first some of this beer's aspects seem joined in roughish fashion. After a glass and some palate acclimation however, it starts to come together for me. Plus, it seemed right in line with the few PNW amber/reds I've had.
Jan 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by durwood64 from Ohio

Dec 31, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Franz4 from Ohio

Nov 28, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by thearsenal from Ohio

Nov 18, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Spider889 from Ohio

Nov 16, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Adamostella from Washington

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of nrbw23
Reviewed by nrbw23 from Ohio

3.59/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked up by the wife and brought to the season opener of the Browns split with fiveo2270.

A- Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a biege head. Head has pretty solid retention and leaves quite a bit of lacing.

S- Smell is a bit of piney hops with quite a bit of caramel malts.

T- This one reminded me of GLBC Nosferatu. Just not quite as strong or bitter. A good brew though. A great balance of malts and hops.

M- Medium in both body and carbonation.

O- Not too bad at all. If I'd run across this one I'd drink with no problems.
Sep 17, 2011
Photo of prototypic
Reviewed by prototypic from Ohio

3.91/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Hogscraper’s the latest installment of the 2011 Hop Odyssey Series. Interesting name. Not sure what the name means. Perhaps it’s a nod to the band from Cincinnati???

It pours a nice, deep copper color. It’s rather hazy, but is nowhere near opaque. A little light behind it reveals some really nice crimson highlights. An off-white head tops it and rises to about a finger in height. It’s slow to recede and leaves a nice, sticky web of lace trailing down the glass.

The nose is pretty good. It kicks off with a relatively strong sweet caramel scent. No doubt about the base here. Hops jump into the mix quickly. They smell like a mix of strong pine and citric notes. Grapefruit, orange, and pineapple are all noted. It all works pretty well together. The malt/hop balance seems to be pretty even as far as I can tell. I’m hoping the hops come through a little stronger in flavor. Alcohol is blended well. I was told it clocks in at 6.5%, so it’s not too big.

The flavor is definitely a step up from the nose. It does have a nice, solid caramel malt base. It tastes a tad sweet, but not to an offensive degree. Is that a subtle hint of toasted malt, as well? Hops are more aggressive and seem to overtake the malt base. The hop bill tastes mostly piney, but there are some citrus grapefruit and orange flavors that follow. It does fall on the bitter side, but the malts do their damndest to provide some balance. Alcohol is not much of a factor at all. Finishes with a nice piney hop flavor and just a touch of caramel sweetness. Maybe a tad on the dry side, as well.

Hogscraper has a medium body that feels smooth. Carbonation is dialed down nicely. It goes down nice and easy. In terms of size, it’s not too big at 6.5%. I probably won’t finish the growler, but it’s not out of the question.

Columbus Brewing Company has quite the streak going with its Hop Odyssey series. Hogscraper is a solid addition to the series, even though it doesn’t quite compete with the best. It’s a solid Amber/Red Ale, but seems just a tad bit too malty. A little less would be a little more in this instance. Good stuff though. Head out and grab a pint…or a growler.
Sep 03, 2011
Photo of MbpBugeye
Reviewed by MbpBugeye from Ohio

3.71/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I was really excited for this beer so I went down and had a pint at the restaurant. I was told this is a Northwest amber or a red IPA. I was told that beers like Sierra Nevada Celebration were influences for this beer. After drinking it I feel it is best categorized under the Red Ale listing, its basically a hoppy ass red ale with lots of west coast goodness going on.

Appearance
Served in a shitty shaker pint. Still, this beer looks damn good. I can't wait to get it in a real glass, I need to spring for a growler. It laced up my shaker pint like a fiend. The beer is a rusty, fruity red with wonderful color. The haze is thick, giving this beer modulation of hue.

Aroma
Grainy malts come out first. I can already see what is giving this beer its nice color. It has a boisterously piney smell, pinned back with some honey sweetness. There is also a deeply dense thicket of dank, resinous hoppy stuff that is buried in there.

Taste
The taste leans more towards the bitter side of citrus. Lots of bitter citrus rind and zest that is closely followed by pine and more hoppy bite. The finish is quite bitter, but there is never even an inkling of medicinal nonsense. The guys at CBC never let a hop get out of line.

Mouthfeel
Carbonation is fairly tame, especially for being poured from the tap. This beer is a heavy medium in body with lots of long lasting, sticky hop oils. This stuff looks sticky, smells sticky, tastes sticky and feels sticky.

Overall
Another really good one. I haven't fallen in love with it from the first glass, but I'm excited to drink this beer through the month. I'm sure it will continue to grow on me. Hoppy red fans, check this out.
Sep 03, 2011
Hogscraper from Columbus Brewing Company
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 10 ratings