Hop Monster
Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.

Hop MonsterHop Monster
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From:
Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.
 
Massachusetts, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
9.5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.78 | pDev: 13.76%
Reviews:
138
Ratings:
160
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 25, 2015
Added:
Oct 30, 2002
Wants:
  14
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Rastacouere:
Photo of Rastacouere
Reviewed by Rastacouere from Canada (QC)

2.48/5  rDev -34.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Clear gold hue wearing an off-white film. Strong oil and chalk aroma, poorly balanced with food coloring notes together with aggressive medicinal tones. Initially not very tasty, but a sticky bitterness grows on the palate together with an uneasy alcoholic tang that fails to be complemented by a perceivable source of malt. At the same time, it mysteriously feels pretty sweet, in a cough drops kind of way. Lemony mandarine Amarillo flavours procures a tart profile. Medium body, light carbonation, quaffable mouthfeel, but hard flavours.
Mar 31, 2005
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.62 by swierczt from Connecticut

Jan 25, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by jpd7374 from Pennsylvania

Oct 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.44 by xxxxxx from Oregon

Oct 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by athomasPSU from Massachusetts

Jun 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Fettpopps from Massachusetts

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Kmlund from Massachusetts

Mar 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Davepoolesque from Massachusetts

Feb 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by rorjets from Connecticut

Jan 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jeff1973 from California

Dec 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Bjlps from Massachusetts

Dec 06, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by Stignacious from New York

Jul 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by ejimhof from Pennsylvania

May 05, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by BGsWo22 from Texas

Mar 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by Ecxeeder616 from Massachusetts

Jan 08, 2013
Photo of RyanLigeia
Reviewed by RyanLigeia from North Carolina

3.86/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours a hazy, dark golden color. Decent sized head for a 9.5% ABV beer and leaves some nice lacing too.

A blast of tropical/citrus/juicy hops and a caramel/candied belgian sugar aroma. A slight wheat scent is in there as well as a slight maltyness and touch of alcohol.

The taste is pretty unique. Mostly follows the scents (juicy hop blast, caramel/candied belgian sugar, a hint of wheat maybe, nice malt backbone) but theres a sort of gumball-like flavor in there somewhere too. Also, the abv is MUCH more present here than in the smell but I like that in my double/imperial versions of just about any style.

Leaves the mouth feeling almost bitter/dry like real grapefruit juice (not a bad thing). Moderate carbonation, right around enough body to match the huge flavors, alcohol warmth as it goes down. A good sipper.

One of the best local offerings available anywhere around here in Western MA (in my opinion). Probably my favorite Paper City beer, despite IPAs being one of my least preferred styles these days. My opinion could be biased though, due to a bit of nostalgia, as this was one of my gateway beers into the craft community when I was younger.
Nov 13, 2012
Photo of ludachris
Reviewed by ludachris from Canada (ON)

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Coming right from Boston.

The "blonde" descriptor written on the label is somewhat decieving seeing as the body is a rich peachy, marmalade orange hue. A finger's worth of creamy white head floats on top, leaving horizontal legs of lace as it recedes.

The nose is fairly tamed for a 9.5% DIPA. Ripe pineapple, fresh mandarin oranges, and a brush of pine sap are layered over a juicy resinous core. Sweet, rich bread comes through as well but like nearly all DIPA's of this strength, it plays more of a secondary role.

A big woop of sticky pine and semi-sweet grapefruit hits the back of the palate with a bang. Sweet pineapple, orange and lemon come at the tail end of this hop wallop, seeming as though they're trying to cover its tracks but the bitterness lingers long past the finish.

This high alcohol ridiculously hopped beer demands a big body and that's exactly what it has. Creamy and smooth through and through with any hint of alcohol being lost amongst the hop assault.

This is a very well rounded and flavourful DIPA that I'd love to try on tap. The aromatics could be a tad more pronounced but this is still a great beer nonetheless.
Aug 16, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by redfox405 from Virginia

Aug 09, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by DonFrap from Massachusetts

Jul 13, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by luvbier from Vermont

Apr 27, 2012
Hop Monster from Paper City Brewery Co., Inc.
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 160 ratings