Hop-A-Feel
Eagle Rock Brewery

 

 

 

Pours with the color of liquid red hots, topped with a clunky, wobbly, poorly structured soft pink head. Not the most technically correct beer I've ever put into a glass, but the color is undeniably fun.

Aroma is generic raw west coast hops -- pine trees and grapefruit. Not one that invites overthinking, although there are a few more tropical whispers hiding in the background (canned lychee and papaya being most notable).

Taste is . . . well, there's not much taste. It registers more as texture than flavor; a drying and prickly wave of bitterness, mildly burnt. No fruit, no sap, just bitterness. If anything, bit malort-like; there is something of a wormwood note that can be picked out. I'm a fan of the old-fashioned, tongue-lashing IPA. That's not what we have here. This is a ghost of a beer, rather than a statement of any kind. Bizarre.

Mouthfeel is generally a positive, if a bit low. The thin body is expected for a session ale, but it's not glaring.

Overall, this is the epitome of a novelty beer; mostly flash, little content. Eagle Rock's Wolf Pup IPA is at a similar ABV, is designed to fall into the same category, and is sold in the same can -- but it's miles better than this. What went wrong over at the ol' beer factory? Kudos all the same for engaging in charitable works with the sale of this ale.