HXL
Arbor Brewing Company - Plymouth Taproom

 

 

HXL is what happens when you high-gravity a classic English bitter, and it almost works. The nose is fragrant with hops and mouthfeel is very much DIPA. I'm surprised that the Centennial don't contribute more to the aroma, but the finish is very much characteristic of a bitter. Not a bad beer, especially on a bracing winter day after some fish 'n chips, but only in small doses.

 

 

 

 

 

on tap at the brewery, served in a small mug - limit 3 per visit

no idea how this is an ESB - its clearly labeled a DIPA

cellphone notes

appearance: odd serving apparatus, but whatever...light caramel body, wavy beige head with decent retention

smell: pungently hopped - green and fresh, nice caramel biscuit malt compliments

taste: another very nice hoppy beer from Arbor - pungent grapefruit, juicy citrus fruit, toasted grain and caramel malt, smooth toffee

mouthfeel: medium

drinkability: fine - a 3 serving minimum is not necessary

This this is a whopper of a hopper! Pours a bright golden with a solid, white head. Smell? Citrus hops all around (and around and around...) The taste is of course hoppy hoppy hoppy. I'm a hophead, but the finishing bite is so hard that this thing was even hard for me to drink, which was the only downside of this brew. It tasted so good but the bitter was almost too much. It had a solid medium-heavy body. It's a good brew, but the drinkability takes a hit with so much bitter. Less body than the sacred cow, but thrice the bitter. Still, a brew worthy of trying.

MBG Winter Fest 2008.

Poured hazy copper color with an average fizzy white head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy sour citrus aroma. Medium body with a slick texture. Medium to heavy bitter flavor with a medium to heavy bitter finish of moderate duration.

My expectations where met with a Double IPA

Appearance: Arrives at the bar with a hazy light amber color and a modest head that still leaves plenty of lace

Smell: Caramel and pine

Taste: Biscuity up front, with an aggressively piney herbal bitterness by mid-palate; after the swallow, the herbal bitterness merges with a rather boozy alcoholic finish

Mouthfeel: Full bodied and sticky, with moderate carbonation and some warmth from the alcohol

Drinkability: A bit too much in too many directions; doesn't come together well to my palate

Served on tap at the ABC.

A great beer, near a DIPA style. This was much more than I expected.
A: Light caramel with a nice lacing.
S: Nice light citrus fruits with caramel. Pretty average.
T: Wow. Balanced like a circus animal. Wow, this is awesome.
M: Lightly carbonated and light on the palate.
D: I gave the drinkability a 5.0. Extremely drinkable for over 8% ABV.
If you're at the Brewpub, try it out. Excellent.

I had this on tap at the Oak Cafe in Wyandotte, MI. This beer was so much more than I expected, a very deep and completive IPA with a frothy blond appearance. There was a robust hops presence in the aroma and taste, also a nice bitter after-bite. The physical presence was large as well, very thick for the style. I whole-heartedly recommend you try this if you see it, it's intensely good.

An amped upped version of their Huxell Best Bitter,poured into an impy pint glass a medium shade of copper with a thin head atop.Nice mix of biscuity sweet malt and leafy hop in the nose,hops are more pronounced on the palate with a big herbal/leafy presence over top of a firm toffee sweet malt base they intertwine very nicely.I like the big toffee malt base the leafy "green" hop really balances well with the malt,very nice job on this one.