Hopzilla
Terrapin Beer Company

From notes 5/25/13: Pours an opaque deep gold producing 2 fingers of foamy, white head that leaves motes and streaks of lacing. Aroma is abundant citrusy orange and subdued grapefruit hops backed by sweet caramel malts. Taste is hugely hoppy as implied by the name! Oily orange zest with tropical fruits and a hint of pine needles. Malts provide sugar cane syrup and caramel tones. Alcohol spice is prominent. Huge hop bite and bitterness from start through aftertaste. Floral tones and hints of leafy dark tea in the finish. Taste seems fairly simple at first but is actually complex for IPAs (even a double) of this time period. Complex almost in a Belgian ale sort of way. Mouthfeel is moderately heavy bodied, slightly chewy and mildly astringent with low moderate carbonation. Alcohol is overly apparent even in a 10.3 ABV and really steps forward as the brew progresses toward room temperature.

 

 

 

Presentation: 12 oz. brown bottle served in a pint glass.

Appearance: Dark, clear, gold color. Very tiny head that goes away quickly and leaves a thin ring. Lacing is decent, clinging to the glass in small patches and sliding away quickly.

Scent: The dominant smells are of sweet malt and alcohol. There's also some hop notes as well but they are subdued, which is atypical for a DIPA.

Taste: Spices, grapefruit, pine and malt notes. There's also a very strong alcohol presence just like in the nose.

Mouthfeel: It's smooth and creamy. Medium bodied, with medium carbonation.

Overall: A bit underwhelming for a Double IPA. No big scents or flavors are present, as one would expect from the style. Instead, you get a well balanced beer with a distinct alcohol character that while aromatic and tasty, is not particularly special or noteworthy.

This was poured into a snifter and a tulip. The appearance was a nice looking hazy pale orange color with some light brown tinges running lightly around the sides of the glass. The head was about a light one fingered white foaminess sticking for a good minute before it died in a lumpy sort of way. There’s a good amount of lacing clinging all over the place (nice show!). The smell had a bitter/dank/citrusy and somewhat resinous grapefruitiness running all over my nose and pummeling it into submission as to confusing it with bitter hops. The taste had a nice citrusy sweetness running over my tastebuds. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a sessionability closing in on perhaps one or two beers of this in a night. Overall, very good DIPA that I would love to have again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side Project #12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fantastic hoppy beer. Great smell and taste. Very easy to drink.

 

 

I was supposed to be going over to York tonight, but the local bus was running so late that I missed my ride. Instead, I am going to spend the evening with some beer and listening to music. For this one, it is B.O.C.'s "Godzilla".

From the bottle: "This monster beer terrorizes your taste buds with an earth shattering amount of hops while the 100% Maris Otter Malt obliterates all inferior beers in its path."; "'Destroying Palates From Athens to Tokyo' Cheers! [undersigned] Spike & John".

I Pop!ped the cap and began a gentle pour since this Vintage 2014 bottle was beginning to get some age and I didn't want to stir it up too mightily. I still got a brief finger of dense, tawny head that quickly fell away to wisps. Color was a hazy Amber to Deep Amber/Light Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13). Nose was big and boozy with a caramel sweetness and a spearmint hoppiness. Mouthfeel was big and thick and felt like a dollop of syrup had been placed on my tongue! Right after that, I got a shock of heat and a wash of hops and things were off and running. My exhalation felt like a blast out of Hopzilla's burning maw and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Phew! This was another no playin' around beer. The finish burnt all of the way down my esophagus and I felt like I could trace its length into my stomach. I gave an inadvertent, unexpected belch and it felt like something was aflame somewhere. It was! My breath had set my kitchen cabinetry ablaze and I abandoned my seat to extinguish the fire. Once order had been restored, I sat back down to finish what I had started. Phew. Let's do this again real soon, like in 2015.

 

 

Delicious! Not the most hoppy but smooth, easy drinking.