Happy Hoppy Viking
Hornbeer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Half a pint on tap. First drink of the afternoon. I suspect that for some the high ABV is the initially selling point, while for the others it will be the prospect of something exceptionally hoppy.

The body is a nice, deep, amber with a thick, inch of head. The aroma lacks the overt hoppiness one might expect, and is instead a boozy fruit. However, the booziness and fruitness is largely absent from the flavour which is overwhelmingly bitter. One could be forgiven for thinking this is only 6-7% - the focal point is the bitterness rather than a high ABV. My main complaint would be a lack of depth in the flavour. The bitterness overrules any grassy or fruity notes from the hops that I would hope to find in an IPA. Still, it's very enjoyable, maybe not a beer to seek out but one to try if its on offer and strong, bitter IPA is your thing.

 

 

Bottle: Poured a deep amber color ale with a relatively large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with medium citrusy hops nose. Taste is also a mix between some caramel malt with light citrus hoppy notes. Body is quite full with good carbonation with some solid bitter notes. Good but not really breaking any barriers. I should stick to local IPA which are as good but not as pricey.

 

500mL bottle

I never mention bitterness in my reviews, my bitterness taste buds are ridiculously under-sensitive.

APPEARANCE : Reddish orange with some haziness, generous head with above-average density that drops into a relatively compact mass, leaving some pretty good lacing. Doesn't seem like this head is planning on leaving any time soon.

SMELL : First nose is herbal oranges with caramel malts. Second nose brings out some flowers and gives more kick to the malt. Third nose has a certain strawberry and tropical fruit quality to it, with tons of flowers, oranges and malts. (swirling the beer in the glass for the third nose didn't even manage to get off all the lacing from the side of the glass - as I said, this head is definitely making itself comfortable in there)

TASTE : Faithfully follows the nose, exactly what I expected as far as the flavours are concerned. There seems to be some sweetness, though not much, it's rather well balanced. Some booze, but surprisingly not much for 9,2%.

MOUTHFEEL : I expected something with much more body than this - this seems thin, almost watery. Keep in mind, it only seems **in comparison** with what I had expected. It's in no way thin to a fault. Carbonation is good.

OVERALL : In my opinion, the mouthfeel is definitely this beer's weak point. It's still a very, very good double IPA, one on the orange side of the aroma spectrum. Worth trying, and if you're a double IPA addict as I am, definitely worth going to some trouble to put your hand on it - even though it might not be the first product on your hunting list.

on-tap, monks porter house - stockholm

130 IBU

from notes

appearance: 33cl chalice serving, murky medium orange body, frothy white foam with moderate lacing

smell: sweet sugary malts, ruby red grapefruit, very hoppy and very citrusy

taste: couldnt pass this one up due to the name and IBU level - this is a thick citrus bomb, grapefruit, steady alcohol, citrus zest, caramel, pine, sugary sweet. Enjoyed this one, along with every other IPA I had at Monks

mouthfeel: bigtime body on this one, sweet and potent

overall: quite good

From 5/21/10 notes. Had at a local DC tasting. Poured from a 50 cl bottle.

a - Pours a mahogany-amber color with a little bit of off white head.

s - Smells mainly of citrus hops. Smells a little faded and not much else here.

t - Taste is also citrus hops, but more enjoyable than the smell. Also some pine hops and bitterness.

m - Medium body and low carbonation.

d - A decent IPA. Smell was fades hops so perhaps it wasn't as fresh as could be. Would give it another shot.