The Shape Of Hops To Come
Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

I thought that I had rated this one, but apparently not. Purchased at my local distributor (Goshen Beverage). No date on can.

L- Pours a beautiful clear copper color with a dense creamy head.

S- Considering the hops in this there’s surprisingly very little aroma.

T- This is where this beer kills it! Bitter resiny hop flavor. The malt backbone is just right. Pine and grapefruit. Very earthy flavor.

F- Moderate mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Very tannic finish.

O- A fabulous Imperial WCIPA by a fabulous east coast brewery!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an amazing IPA! Highly impressed by it. I feel really really good when I drink this beer! I highly recommend it to anyone. I would say that people who might not like IPA's, might like this one. This may be my favorite beer of all time! I know I've stated that Menabrea is my personal favorite. However, I'll have to go with this IPA now!

 

 

Very clear gold color with a frothy head that stays and laces. Smells like citrus and pine. Considering the amount of malt and alcohol in this beer, there is no appreciable sweetness or alcohol bite; mouth feel is pleasant (maybe it could use a little more carbonation); taste is hops forward, but with a good base of malt standing behind it. Overall I would say that it earned its outstanding rating and approaches being world class.

 

Great beer. Lucky to live directly next to the brewery. Had it first a week ago and am Impressed. Could kill 4 easy money dude

Excellent West Coaster with full flavor, great look and perfect ALC!

16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $2.99. No canned on date, however there were 4-packs of this in the fridge with stickers on the 4-pack holders that said 33522. That Julian date corresponds to December 1, so this beer is being consumed at 16 days old.

Look: Pours a beautiful copper color with a quickly dissipating khaki-colored head. There is a bit of particulate floating in the bottom of the glass.

Smell: It smells amazing - tons of grapefruit and orange zest, pine resin, spicy pepperiness. Green bell pepper notes on the finish after swirling the glass.

Taste: The drinkability on this beer is pretty unreal - considering that this is an 8.5% ABV West Coast-style Imperial IPA, it is highly drinkable. There's an interesting fruitiness up front that is hard to place, probably because there's just so much hoppiness. It reminds me a bit of peach flavored iced tea. The finish is definitely bitter but not overbearing, with really nice pine resin and citrus rind/pith notes. You really get those essential citrus oils lingering on the palate. There's an underlying maltiness underneath all of these hops that really works here.

Feel: It has an oily, slicky, chewy kind of mouthfeel. It's medium bodied. Appropriately carbonated.

Overall: This is a really solid Imperial IPA. I had this beer a few years ago, before I was reviewing beers and I wasn't the biggest fan of it then. I think that they have changed the recipe since then, and my palate has also evolved to embrace bitterness and really appreciate the West Coast-style IPAs and Imperial IPAs. It's pretty remarkable that this is a locally-brewed beer, it's available year-round and you can always find it in stores, and it is really well-made. Impressive work from Neshaminy Creek - keep up the good work!

From the can/website:
Loud and Proud
Imperial India Pale Ale
Brewed with 2-Row American Barley and jam-packed with as much Citra, Ekuanot, and Simcoe hops we could get our hands on. The Shape of Hops to Come is an 8.5% ABV West Coast-style Imperial IPA that's got a firm bitterness along with juicy, dank, resiny pine-like, and citrus forward hop character that is worthy of its name.

93 IBUs

Poured a dull copper color from a 16 oz. tall boy into a pint glass. Finger high head with good retention, visible carbonation and plenty of lacing. Aroma is dank with notable malt presence. Taste is well balanced, not overpowering in any respect, with bitterness throughout and a nice bite that lingers. Mouth is medium to full bodied and is definitely in the West Coast tradition of IPA's event though using Citra which gives it some juicy characteristics. A very well crafted brew that rates among the highest with the things I've had from Neshaminy. Packs a punch @ 8.5% ABV.

 

 

Absolute best IPA.