Fresh Hop Abominable Winter Ale
Hopworks Brewery

The beer is labeled as an "India Red Ale" . Canned 8/29, with Centennial hops. Pours a dark amber, thick head, good lacing. Aroma has a notable citrus / woody note and you get a good dose of biscuit / yeasty ss well. Taste gets a malty start with the fresh hop 'bite' coming in alongside. The overall effect is quite tasty and a pleasant change from the fresh-hop-IPA which seems by far the dominate style.

 

 

2021-09-12
12oz can served in a stemless wineglass. Bought it at Ridgewood Tap and Bottle a few days ago. Packaged 31 AUG 21.

Pours a dark red-amber with a medium sized creamy head that deflates into a thin, fine, surprisingly uniform sheet across the surface and up the sides of the glass about a centimeter.

Smell is surprisingly fresh hoppy, green and flowery and resinous, with a very nice caramel background.

Taste is more mixed -- it's a nice hoppy red with a kick of fresh hop flavor, more caramel/toffee, moderate to light bitterness in the finish mostly overwhelmed by the sweetness.

Mouthfeel is dry, light, yet creamy. Overall, this is really tasty.

 

 

yet another fresh hop beer from these guys, this time in a winter ale crossover that drinks like a big red ipa, tasty but not overly hoppy to me, less bitter than a lot of their others, thanks to a heaping malt profile and some real grain richness to this. the cans are cool, but they are wraps over can bodies from another ipa, must have bought too many cans, had a hard time getting new ones, something, they still look sharp though. a deep glowing brick red color here, short off white head, aroma of fresh pine, sweet and concentrated orange, caramel and toffee, and even subtle berry character. i cannot even venture a guess what hops are in here, its so balanced and grain forward, even with the fresh hops. not to say it isnt hoppy, surely it is, but that is far from the only thing going on here and from the driving force. spruce and juniper, an oily slick mouthfeel, strawberry essence, a honey sort of sweetness, even a maple note, the hops make it more fall than winter, slight weed character here too, especially as it warms, fuller bodied but plenty drinkable for this sort of thing too. a bit of a different context for fresh hops here, but real tasty overall. this held up to very spicy thai food quite well, and would be versatile in a number of food scenarios. i am appreciating these guys more and more lately with all their wet hop offerings!

12oz canned 9/16, poured into a pint shaker; clear amber pour shows lots of carbonation bubbles but the head does rapidly and leaves no lacing; malty sweet with notes of citrus, rind, and resiny hops; not ‘bright’ but definitely fresh-hop tasting with that hefty amber-malt backbone; present but subdued sweetness in the malt body with a light dryness on the finish; body is slick and medium in the mouthfeel.

This beer almost defies classification. It's certainly not like most IPAs. It's really a hoppy brown or amber ale, more than a conventional IPA.

It looks good: an amber body, fairly clear, with a fluffy white head. The smell is somewhat muted: hops and malt. The taste is not muted: lots of piney hops, some caramel and bready malts. It's got a nice bitterness.

I haven't had the base beer, so I'm not sure what difference the fresh hops are making. Compared to conventional IPAs with fresh hops, the fresh hops here are less prominent, less apparent. That said, it's still a terrific beer.

lovely color. pours a lovely two finger head. Piney, grassy and a nice bready malt note. I think I smell the hops, smell quite like the hops in my garden.

 

 

Look: Semi-clear dark amber almost ruby red in color with a huge billowing off-white head that clings to the glass nicely
Aroma: Flowers, pine, blueberries, freshly cut grass, rich bready malt notes, and some tropical fruit notes as well
Taste: Pine, grass, and huge floral notes hit hard out of the gate, followed by sweet brown breadiness and blueberry notes. Flavors linger some before a nice hop bite rounds out the finish along with a little malt sweetness
Mouthfeel: Medium-high carbonation, full bodied, and somewhat soft too but finishes with some light dryness
Overall: This is some tasty stuff here. I didn’t know they were making this but a fresh-hopped version of probably my favorite beer they do made this purchase a no-brainer. My first fresh hop beer of the season and a great on to kick it off. Lots of floral and pine fresh hop character evident [Centennials] in a base beer that has a great malt profile. Tasty as hell and I will be buying more – highly recommended. 8 days from can-on-date when I tried it.