Hop-a-Tronic Lupulositor IPA
River North Brewery

2020-09-13
12oz can served in a wine glass. Dated 08/07/20, though I'm not 100% confident in my ability to read the stamp. Gift from @mr-jj.

Pours moderately hazy, light amber. Head is medium sized, fades slowly, leaves a sheet of lacing (at least early on). Smell is bright and fruity, though I can't pinpoint the fruit, it might be somewhere between orange and pineapple.

Taste is tropical juice, mango and pineapple. Light bitterness. Approaches but does not cross the border of too sweet (for me, right now).

Mouthfeel is medium-light, dry. Overall, pretty good.

 

Mostly hazy yellow with a finger of white foam. Lime, melon, grapefruit, papaya, and light hops in the nose. Taste opens the papaya and melon a lot, adding guava, pineapple, and lemon to the lime and grapefruit. Very juicy with the hops stepping up to moderate now. Feel is juicy up front but dries out by the finish with a hop kick, all the while being very bright. Nice balance, but pop is short lived

A: The beer is very hazy yellow in color. It poured with a short white head that died down, leaving a patch of bubbles on the surface, a narrow collar around the edge, and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of limes and grapefruit are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of limes and stone fruit along with hints of grapefruit.
M: It feels medium-bodied, very juicy, and slightly crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This New England style IPA is very juicy and has nice citrusy flavors of limes.

Serving type: can

 

APPEARANCE: Orange-yellow haze with a chunky, white foam on top. There are a few bubbles that can be seem rising from the etching on the bottom of the glass, but overall the cloudiness makes it look fairly still. Some lacing from the initial pour remains on the upper ring of the glass while more rings, consistent with each sip, appear as the beer goes down.

SMELL: I can smell peaches as the beer is poured a foot and a half from my face. As I stick my nose into the glass I get grapefruit, orange, guava, and a touch of pine. It smells like fresh, tropical fruit juice and it’s pretty intense.

TASTE: The bitterness level is higher than I would have expected, and mostly due to the grapefruit flavors, but it’s still really juicy. Some sweetness helps to balance the grapefruit with a touch of bitter orange as well.

MOUTHFEEL: Balanced on multiple levels. The sweetness balances the drier, bitter flavors while the pleasant sparkle of carbonation prevents this beer from being too much trouble and going down way too easy. The body is medium, but I can see how some might say it’s a little bigger. Refreshing.

OVERALL: Doesn’t taste like 8.3%. Well balanced. Extremely tasty. I’d grab this one anytime they have it in the taproom. Cheers to yet another awesome River North beer!