Hophorn
Hornbeer

Copenhagen 6/8 2018. 50 cl bottle from Best of Beers Webshop. Drawing of a Grasshopper on the label.

Pours opaque dark brown with a light beige head. Bubbly. Settles as a thin but creamy layer of foam obscuring the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is sweet and medium intense. Solid Malt backbone with caramel, brown sugar, roasted malts with very light notes of smoke. More subdued bitter, citric notes.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, soft, lightly prickly texture.

Flavor is intense with a fairly strong sweetness followed by an even stronger bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter. Lingering. Finish is semi-dry.

Very nice Black IPA with a strong bitterness and a solid malty base.

 

500ml bottle - don't really understand the garden pest imagery on the label.

This beer pours a clear (I believe) very dark orange-brick brown colour, with three fat-ass fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and bubbly beige head, which leaves some natural land bridge profile lace around the glass as it lazily recedes.

It smells of bittersweet cocoa, watery cafe-au-lait, muddled dark orchard fruit, some mild free-range char, a subtle generic citrus rind acerbity, and some laid-back bready caramel malt sweetness. The taste is an emboldened grainy and doughy caramel malt, medium dark chocolate, zingy Italian coffee, some complex red berry, citrus, and Mediterranean (figs and dates) fruitiness, a still tame ashiness, and a growing leafy, piney, and perfumed floral green hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly pleasant in its easy-going frothiness, the body a decent medium-heavy weight, and actually quite smooth, as the bitterness of both hop and ash seem to lay off of the gas right about here, which is a neat trick if you can pull it off! It finishes well off-dry, the lightly roasted caramel, cocoa, and big fruitiness carrying the day.

Overall, I'm rather impressed by this version of the style, as they've kept the acrid blackened nature to a minimum, while at the same time ramping up the hoppy fruitiness, which makes for a duly enjoyable quaff. Not to mention the almost perfectly obfuscated 18+ proof wowee sauce contingent, which will help keep this sports fan warm on a surprisingly cold late summer day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On-tap. Tumbler glass. Enjoyed on feb´13. Deep black in color. Beige froth & creamy crown. Copious collars & rings. Cocoa & fresh hop aromas rounded by roasted malt & floral fragrances. Sweet burnt coffee & sharp bitterness defines the flavor profile. Ligth to medium body. Soft carbonation. Bitterness lingers into a long finish. Coffee & fudge chocolate on the aftertaste. ABV well hidden.

 

500ml Bottle - Thanks to Phyl21ca for this

Appearance - Brown colour with a huge size dark beige coloured head. I can't see much carbonation due the darkness of the beer and there is some really nice lacing. The head lasted for over 5 minutes.

Smell - Chocolate, malts, hops, grains

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation and I can taste chocolate mixed with malts and hops. There is also a touch of grapefruit and some pine. It ends with a chocolate and bitter hop aftertaste.

Overall – A very drinkable and interesting tasting beer. The alcohol is well hidden and it has a fantastic appearance in the glass. I'd like a little more of a citrus flavour but the beer does deliver a nice dose of hops regardless. Worth trying.