Ephraim
Hill Farmstead Brewery

750 mL growler poured into a goblet. Massive thanks to Ernesto987/Kirchhoff for hooking me up with this.

Appearance - Hazy golden orange body with a slightly dark tint to it. Reminds of Lunch and canned Heady Topper in this regard. Something about NE IPAs that have a slight darkness to their otherwise bright look. Not a huge head, but what's there is a sticky and lacey and all that is wondeful.

Smell - Gobs of citrus hops. Man I wish I could bottle that smell. I don't wear cologne, but I'd wear citrus hop cologne every day just to smell myself. Amazingly, the sweetness is there, but even at 10.5% it doesn't dominate in the aroma.

Taste - The sweetness does come through in the taste, but it's secondary to the hops and it even incorporates itself pretty well. Once the waves of citrus hops die down, the sweetness comes about in mango and pineapple flavors. It's as if the malt is an appendage of the hops. It finishes ever-so-slightly bitter.

Mouthfeel - Low carbonation. I wonder if that's a growler thing or if that's just how it is. I didn't notice any leakage, but airtight is a different animal from liquid tight (is that even a valid phrase?). The body comes off a bit heavy from the lack of carbonation, but the flavors bring you back for more and more.

Overall - I'm moving to Vermont. And I need more Hill Farmstead IPAs. I suppose the numbers I choose to rate this beer say it's not as good as Heady Topper and Pliny, but to decide that one is better than the other is an insult to the ability of the individual brewers. Bravo and give me more.

Edit: Numbers changed based on futher growlers. This shit is incredible. Edward is delicate. Ephraim stuffs Edward's delicacy in a locker and steals his lunch money.

Pours a hazy orange-gold with a white head. Aromas of citrus, tropical fruit, pine, and yeast. Taste is orange, grapefruit, tropical fruit, and resin with firm bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall, it is a flavorful double IPA with layered hop character, balanced bitterness. It's a stout ipa lol

 

 

 

 

On tap at Monks in Philly.

 

 

Old school hops meet old school heritage at the Hill Farmstead brewery. Strong, resinous and dangerously drinkable, the double IPA doubles down on all things hoppy.

Hazy and slightly burnish in golden straw hues, Epheraim floats a creamy white froth and a billowing scent of herbal citrus, dry tropical fruit, and peppery grasses ahead of a moderately sweet maltiness of subtle honey, biscuit and bread. Hops abound on the middle palate as slightly under ripened versions of orange, white grapefruit and citrus zest with a followup of dried pineapple ahead of a bitter and semi-dry finish of pine needle, peppery greens, citrus peel and hints of hemp.

Medium bodied and daringly refreshing, the imperial IPA shows that the older hops still carry a ton of relevancy in today's beer recipe formulation and technical execution.

 

 

 

 

Canned on: 6-17-25
Many thx to PhineasMcClintock for this can!Q

A - Hazy opaque dark orange with dense, creamy lacing.

S - Dank tropical fruit and citrus, pineapple, mango, and spicy fruit rind.

T - Slightly sweet malt base, spicy fruit rind, juicy grapefruit, resiny pine, apricot, and a slight bit of earthiness. Ends with a resiny piney fruitiness on the palate that lingers long after the sip.

M - Medium body with gentle carbonation.

O - This beer is fantastic and highly recommended.

 

 

Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a 1F foamy head and a lot of lacing.

Smells of slightly piney hops, sweet fruit and citrus,

Tastes of malt, resinous hops, mango, grapefruit, leeche and orange with a lightly bitter , boozy warm finish.

Medium body with light carbonation. Lightly lush, syrupy and dry mouthfeel.

This can, dated 6/17/25 , was rated at 10% ABV.

This is a strong , balanced juicy/bitter and complex brew that evolves as your glass warms.

Delicious!