Sacred Hop
Der Blokken Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium to dark coppery orange amber. Somewhat overcarbonated, poured out of the bottle upon opening. A gentle pour produced a half a glass of off-white head with decent retention and massive lacing. Aromatic with swett malt, pineapple and light herbal hops, smells good. Taste is dominated by sweet caramel and bready malt transitioning into light fruit and hops. Finishes with a nice hop kick, somewhat dry and astringent. The hops are not very herbal nor aromatic, but fit well with the malt. Light to medium bodied, but the active carbonation gave this a pleasant mouth feel. This is an unusually malty IPA, but I really enjoyed this take on the style. I hope to try a slightly less lively one next time.

Thanks to a generous BA for providing this IPA from a brewery I hadn't heard of.

Pours between burnt red and copper, with a nice frothy two finger head that refuses to go away.

Nose is on the maltier side. Some floral and tropical fruit hop bitterness alongside a citrus (lime?). After a few minutes, it's very sweet and citrusy/tropical.

Caramel malts, a muddled bitter note [i.e., muted resinous pine, then some tropical fruit, then lots of earthy bitterness], lots of bready malt backbone, and a sweet and citrusy finish accompanying a miscellaneous dulled bitterness. Very different from most IPAs I've been keeping company with the past few months and not very cohesive.

Medium bodied, with medium, medium-high carbonation. Pretty full, with a decent dry finish.

More malty than I gravitate towards now and the hop profile seems scattershot and muddled. Not terrible by any means, just average. Still, this is a young brewery, so I'd give them another shot.

Appearance: Dark golden with a clean white head that leaves a gentle lacing throughout the glass. 

Smell: Mildly floral with hints of caramel malt. 

Taste/Mouthfeel: Has a pleasant malty opening followed by a full mouth and an understated but decidedly hoppy finish.

Overall: Reminiscent of Pliny the Elder and other fine off centered IPAs, Der Blokken's Sacred Hop Double IPA is truly one of the distinctive Micro Brewed India Pale Ales to be found in the Pacific Northwest. If you get a chance don't miss this one, you won't regret spending a little time getting to know this exceptional beer.

Served at Der Blokken on nitro push.

On draught at the Collins Pub, Sacred Hop is burnt gold with a olive tinged off-white head that is pretty creamy, leaving heavy lace.

Smell is pretty restrained, a little floral, some lime and malt sweetness.

Taste is pretty hoppy, aggressively bitter, a sharp resiny bite. Sweet bready malt and a touch of booze add to the mix.

Mouthfeel is on the dry side, medium bodied.

Drinkability is pretty average. Not really my style of DIPA, more brash and earthy, and not nearly aromatic enough. Maybe all noble hops, not the west coast variety I prefer in the style. I thought by the name it was a Belgian IPA, but no esters to be found, and the malty body certainly doesn't fit either.

A: Poured a golden color with good carbonation and a nice white cap

S: Pretty tame and average

T: Started out with fruit, juicy fruit/tropical flavor up front then it transitions into caramel and a big, dry hop bitterness like Simcoe or Warrior was used for bittering

M: Has feel of caramel malt, bready, lighter booze, nice dry hop finish

D: Pretty good and easily drinkable but not a beer for a West Coast IIPA hophead.