Hoppy Dog
Pub Dog Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Session IPA?" At 5.6%, I wildly disagree. Anyhoo, 12 oz bottle into a teku.

Appearance: Pours a chill-hazed amber color. The head is two fingers high and white in shade. Retention is quite good, and the texture leaves behind nice streaks of lacing on the glass. (3.75)

Smell: Very caramel-forward. I pick up tons of caramel, along with some biscuit and toffee. There are hoppy touches, but they only seem to balance the malt. Mainly, I get flowers, grass, and pine. All in all, it doesn't seem very special in terms of aroma. (3)

Taste: Yep. This is malt-heavy yet bitter. I get lots of caramel and toffee at first. After the maltiness does it thing, it finishes very bitter, with lots of pine, grass, and flowers. It's SNPA-like (perhaps unsurprisingly), only sharper and harsher. Call me crazy, but a sharper, harsher SNPA doesn't sound like a good thing. And no, it isn't. This is the kind of pale ale the craft beer world (and quite a few Maryland brewers, I might add) have left behind. The bitterness tanks it, basically. (2.25)

Mouthfeel: Despite the heft coming from the malt, it does finish somewhat dry. It should, considering how damn bitter it is. This isn't the good kind of bitter (it isn't resinous or any of that stuff), it's just an aspirin-esque bitterness that lingers and lingers and lingers. Carbonation is middling. (2.25)

Overall: This is an old-school pale ale in the worst way. It's all bitterness and all malt heft. No citrus, no refreshment, no lightness, no nothin'. This state has far better pale ales, and I'll stick with those in the future. (2.5)

2.57/5: Yeah...I got rabies from this hoppy dog

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz. bottle

I bought this on a limb, just to say I tried new MD brewery. The Hoppy Dog brews really gorgeous. Looks like a golden sunset, gold body with blonde hues. Big frothy white head. The aroma is above par with heavy citric rind with a floral undertone. Nice pale malts sweeten the hops. Taste time! The flavor is hints of citric rind with hints of leafy hops. The malts are sweet, not cloying. The beer has a dry-bitter finish. The feel on the beer is light with tight fizzy carbonation.

Overall: This brew is pretty ok. I don't know the age of this brew, so I got what I got. The hops might have faded, but it used to taste like a well balanced brew...(unless this is fresh..?) the only disappointing part on this brew is the bitter assault. It's almost a synthetic/medicinal bitter. It's not like Mikkeller's 1000 IBU brew. Yet it's still lingering after I'm writing this review. All in all, this brew is worth a shot.

Well the nose on this is very promising. Heavy on the citrus character. I am apprehensive considering the other scores. And...I am going against the grain on this one. Nice citrus tone with what seems like an equal amount of pine. Interesting. Consistent flavor. I like it. Not sure what everyone else got, but mine is nice! Hopefully yours is the same if you choose to buy it.