Ahtanum Hops (Single Hop Series)
Hermitage Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have a really god relationship with Hermitage: they tend to brew the low-distribution, low-quality beers that get a limited release at the BevMos in my area of California. But Ahtanum is a hop I'm not all that familiar with, so I thought it was worth giving it a shot.

Pours a clear burnished copper colour, with a full, heady crown of off-white, pocked with larger bubbles. Solid sheeting, slightly frothy lacing. Not bad.

Nose is prickly and sharp, with a vegetative, spicy, herbal greenness. A touch of powdery sweetness comes though, leaving some odd lavender fragrance. Not bad at all.

Taste is disappointingly weak, in fact pointlessly so given this is meant to showcase a hop. Either Ahtanum is weak as piss or this has a pointlessly small amount of it used early in the boil. Light bready grain notes, with just an uptilt of citrus and a flaky hint of something green in the background. Feel is smooth, but lacking bite.

Overall, unimpressive, given it's meant to showcase a hop. It does a decent job on the aroma, but it's really weak on the finish—hopefully this just means it's a low-alpha hop in general. Otherwise, this is an extremely disappointing brew.

Pours cloudy golden orange with a huge thick tan head, creating tons of lace from the fluffy bubbles, which lasted forever.

Smells of extreme floral hops, almost a lavender like smell, with some light malts underneath the literal bouquet.

Taste only has the floral on the finish/aftertaste, as well as a lasting pithy stickiness, but before that, it's loaded with a very earthy bitterness, which flashes some sweet malt before the the finish arrives.

Texture is lighter bodied, and very smooth. A bit of a dry finish makes for a very drinkable beer.

Next to arrive in the single hop series, the beer isn't bad, but the Ahtanum hops are very floral, and the flavor is really bitter. I liked it, but it's not my kind of hoppy beer.

DOA