Hopscursion #1
Uinta Brewing Company

 

Bringing two popular brewing worlds together, the team at Uinta Brewing Company fuses the ever popular IPA with the taste of wild ale for a hop heavy beer but with a serious twang.

Hopscursion #1 kicks off the series with a blend of Calypso, El Dorado and Lemon Drop hops for a radiant aroma that shines with citrus, melon and tea, but with also the wild scent of cork, cellar and leather. Hazy straw and crowned with a creamy and arid foam structure, the lacy session creeps onto the tastebuds with the modest sweetness of bread, cracker and faint caramel.

But then the hops unfold on the drying middle palate just as the sweetness dissolves effortlessly on the tongue, leaving way for the dry and weathered fruit character of lemon, lime and grapefruit to pronounce. Followed by a taste of honeydew, apricot, apple and pear, the beer exits the palate with an oaken green tea type of bitterness.

Scant malts provide a creamy support for the medium bodied beer. But its stern alcohol, drying hop resins and fleeting sweetness suggests a beer of lighter, drier and a more palatable demeanor. A medium long aftertaste of verbena and sassafras bring a spicy hop bitterness that once again registers like lemon, leather and green tea.

 

 

 

Purchased at Green Jug in West Hills today, 750ml bottle with champagne style cork. Bottle date: Dec 19, 2016

The pressure was intense when releasing the cork. A very cautious pour into a snifter still resulted in 2 fingers of beer, and 4 fingers of foam. That ratio should be reversed usually, no?

Nice floral/banana aroma, more noticeable due to the dense high layer of foam.

Has the yeasty/funk taste of beers with the Brett, quite nice. A nice finish that isn't overly bitter.

The feel is super, creamy and appropriately carbonated,

While initially annoyed by the foamy pour, this was really tasty, and I would get it again sometime.

 

 

On-tap 3/24/2017 at Doherty’s Ale House in Warwick, RI, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a dark gold color, with a large foamy white head that fades slowly and leaves a very thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains wild yeast, floral hops, caramelized malts and some citrus.

T: The taste starts out with a quick bite of spice followed quickly by some breadiness from wild Belgian yeast and a hearty malt character. The hops presence is floral but a bit subdued and there is a decent balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly hoppy.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, decent kick, good variation of style, this is a decent beer to drink for a while if you want something a little bit different.