Barely A Beginner
Hoof Hearted Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Wade! These sold out fast!

Pours out a hazy, cloudy orange juice look with minimal white head.

Aroma is big time citrus with herbal, dank and pine. Bit of citrus zest and peach notes.

Taste is also huge on the citrus, orange, nectarine, lemon, lime, grapefruit and a peachy finish too. Definitely has undertones of dank and piney notes too.

Medium bodied and crisp mouthfeel with a very long, linger bitterness that's surprising.

Very tasty beer, but the bitterness detracts from the whole thing. Not my favorite from Hoof.

 

 

Dry, tangy, and decidedly fruit, the taste of IPA can often polarize the senses, especially for the hop uninitiated. So a hop showcase of a beer in the IPA can be quite the education for the uncultured. But one that's lax on bitterness but high on aroma and taste might provide the crossover criteria that beginners need.

Underneath its hazy and light amber austere, the firmly headed ale blooms with a bright citrus perfume, exotic tropical fruit, and a pleasant bouquet of muddled grasses and herbs. To taste, its light honey and caramel play delicately on the palate with a light creamy texture of shortcake.

As the hop character blooms through the middle of the taste, the sweetness and creaminess subsides. The ale takes a hop-centric tone with pink grapefruit juice, lime and the tang of slightly under-ripened orange. As the medley of pineapple, mango and passionfruit layer upon the taste, the flavors dry and develop into a smooth but slightly acidic bittering quality of citrus peel, pine and grassy herbs.

Finishing medium-dry and with mild remaining creaminess, the bitterness stands tall, but is also smooth and fruity. Crisp, clean and highly refreshing, the taste is shy of the throat-gripping bitterness that's boldly displayed in common IPA but lingers with citrus, muddled herb and freshly shaven pine.

 

This is sort of the definition of a one-note IPA. For those of us that prefer a beginning, middle and end to our hoppy beer, this is not that beer. This is a New England style IPA, no doubt influenced by lord hobo's neck of the woods, but interestingly enough not anything like lord hobo's lineup (perhaps their Brewer would like to make more beers like this one, and I would certainly take this over steal this can in a second). In any case, some might refer to this as dirty hop water, which it basically is, but for me it is well-executed dirty hop water. It is hazy and as others have said it has more carbonation than it necessarily needs, but the body is nice and it feels good going down, nothing like a saison in terms of its carbonation/body balance - the carbonation isn't distracting. Aroma is pretty underwhelming; I assume they slacked a bit on the dry hop, bc with a bit more they could have had a great aromatic compliment to the hop flavor, which is quite nice... Can't find any info at all on the beer but it's clearly brewed with something along the lines of simcoe, Amarillo, citra or some other fancy hops. It's good. It's drinkable. It contains zeroish crystal malts. It likely has some unmalted grains in the grist. This is how I like my hoppy beers these days! It's not one of the better examples of the northeast style that I've had, it's not tactful, and it isn't for those of you that can't drink a beer unless it has a discernible yeast/malt profile. It is hops in a glass, and it is certainly a beer that, at 7%, I could drink 3 or 4 of, and not be satiated. Sort of like substance from bissell, or one of other half's single hop offerings. That's all. Don't wait on line for it or trade anything special for it. But if you come across it and enjoy clean-drinking, full bodied Pale ales that don't drink like candied fruit, then buy this shit!

 

 

 

Enjoyed November 15 at the brewery on tap in a tulip/snifter.

Look -Bright cloudy yellow. White head. Lacing. Ring left after a while.

Smell - Lemon. Fruit. Bitter Hop. Grass.

Taste - Not as fruity as taste. Bitter hop. Juicy fruit after 30 minutes.

Feel - Very carbonated. Doesn't sit as well as a normal pale ale.

Overall - I heard rumors of juicy fruit and I was hoping it was juicy fruit before it tasted like rubber. Not what I hoped for but not bad for a pale ale.

 

 

Aroma is piney, catty, dank, savory, with big grapefruit, mango, and tangerine notes. Very grassy, yet very fruity.

Flavor is less intense, with an underlying grassy backbone, light malt breadiness, and a moderately bitter, piney finish. As it warms, mango and grapefruit become more prevalent, but pale in comparison to the aroma. Eventually, all that's left is a minerally character.