Hop Monster
Titletown Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

Served on tap at Titletown on 02/13/2012 in a pint glass. I wonder if the beer would have been better with another choice of serving glass. The appearance was a handsome copper color with healthy half inch off-white head. In the beginning, the aroma was very pleasant with strong notes of citrus fruits. The aroma was so pleasant, it would be hard to meet further expectations. The initial taste was that of pineapple and sour grapefruit. The flavors melted on the tongue like sour candy but without causing fear of tooth deacy. The hops produced a warming flavor that continued fluidly into the aftertaste.

This is a solid DIPA, producing complex citrus flavors and producing warming sensations in the aftertaste. Though not an elite DIPA, it is certainly better than some with higher scores.

This dipa iis 9.8% abv so it has quite a kick.

I have heard of garlicky ipas and have never had one until now. I love the flavor of garlic and this has a hint of sweetness to it.

The nose is of a bouquet of hops and yet the flavor stands out as garlicky.

I recommend a buffalo burger or the titletown burger with this and some potato sweet fries.

I enjoyed this beer from the comfort of my own living room while watching my NCAA bracket go up in flames. Poured from a growler filled 12 days earlier to a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a dark orange color with very little head. Whatever head is there, doesn't last long.

Smell: Aroma is pretty bold and really good. Grassy hops and grapefruit dominate.

Taste: Grassy hops and a hint of malt for balance against the alcohol. Pretty tasty.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, smooth and finished nice and dry.

Drinkability: Very drinkable brew. The alcohol was present but not overpowering. Would definitely recommend and seek out again.

I just wrote a bad review of Titletown's Johnny Blood Red Ale, which was the first beer I ever had from Titletown. If that beer dampened my enthusiasm for that particular establishment, than this beer revived it. It was at least as good as Johnny Blood was bad, probably even more so. Hop Moster stands toe-to-toe with other really good super-hoppy DIPAs I can name, Moylan's Hopsickle being the first that comes to mind.

Appearance was....it's a DIPA; does appearance really matter? Bitterness, that's what matters, so let's get on it with it! Aroma was good; extremely hoppy with a nice blend of the different flavors of hoppiness I'll amateurishly describe here all represented - there was the sweet citrus hop aroma (pineapple), the "sweet sweat" smell which is far better than it sounds, and even distantly the "grassy" smell. Flavor was similar, with the sweet hop flavor up front and the "sweet sweat" smell at the finish (I didn't get grassy in the flavor; sorry). Unlike many DIPAs, mouthfeel wasn't a sticky slickness; instead this beer was quite dry in the mouth, which I prefer.

This beer was really quite good, and warrants a visit to Green Bay.