Hop Dog
Papago Brewing

Poured a nice golden-orange color, lots of carbonation and a fluffy white head from the cask. Citrus and hops o the nose. Taste is nice, hoppy and citrousy, finishes off with a slight bitterness that leaves you wanting more. A very good IPA by Papago.

The beer fresh from the tap, pours a slightly hazy golden amber color with a splendiferous creamy white head that lingers long, finally after its demise, the lacing provides a concealing sheet upon the glass. Schnozzle is greeted by sweet malt, then “BLAM”, Hops all flowery and spicy, citrus like in its crispness, clean, a bodement of things to come. Start has a delightful malt presence, the hops big and spicy at the back, top is moderate in feel. Finish has a sturdy acidity, the hops omnipotent, with the sweetness continued to the somewhat dry aftertaste, a fine representative to the style.

Initially I was going to try a selection of Papago's Belgian styles, but when I saw the cask offering I had to shuffle my lineup to include the Hop Dog on cask. The pint came a nice light amber color, a little darker than expected given my experience with Papago's Hopfather. Head was decent, carbonation appeared minimal (somewhat expected for a cask ale). Smell was a balance of hop aromas and sweet toffee and caramel from malt. On an IPA I'd like to tip that balance a little more to the hop side. That was reflected in the taste as well, if I was evaluating this as a pale ale (or maybe even an ESB) I think it would've ranked a little higher.

Mouthfeel and drinkability are both outstanding, I think the cask conditioning really lends a smoothness to this that is rarely seen in IPAs with sufficient character, and makes this a lovable beer.

They had Hop Dog on tap or in the cask and I chose cask. They served it in a big mug, which was cool, because every time I order a beer here, it always comes in a fancy glass. That's not bad, I somehow usually choose beers that either belong in that glass or have a high ABV.
A - Typical IPA. Hazy w/ a bubbly white head.
S - Hops and ripe, summer fruits. Not as hoppy as I expected, which was good. I wasn't craving for a hop bomb.
T - I wanted a crisp but not overly hoppy IPA and Hop Dog covered that. The hops were there to create a nice bitterness but didn't cover or overpower the mouth. A lot of fruitiness, mostly citrus, but a nice pairing with the hops.
M - Clean, crisp. Would have went well with my food if it didn't take 30 minutes for the food to come out.
D - Very drinkable. Perfect temperature out of the cask and a great beer to finish the visit with.

Had lunch with Da Boss yesterday at PBC and had a pint for $3.71.

Beer poured an orange color with a nice white head that left a sticky lacing behind. Nose is heavy of citrusy hops. Taste is a bit malty up front but this finishes with a blast of citrusy hops, Mouthfeel was light to medium bodied but this was very smooth going down. Overall drinkability was near perfect. This was a very good beer that is a must have for IPA fans!

In typical Papago tradition of making beers first as homebrews, Papago took local homebrewer Barry Tingleff's recipe and brewed it up commercially for a Pro-Am competition at the Great American Beer Festival. This beer is a nice light golden color. A nice pleasent cascade aroma. Rock solid IPA bitterness. A slight amount of chill haze. It has a great white head. It is 7% alcohol and they said it was 70 IBU's. It is a very drinkable beer. I think it is similar to a Stone or Sierra Nevada IPA.