Hop Whompus
Oggi's Pizza & Brewing Co.

Originally reviewed on February 23, 2005. Handbottle. Pours a clear ruby sienna with a nice even head of super creamy ivory tan. Pungent sticky aroma of what seem to be strong Cascade and Centennial hops, including a backing of strawberry candy, fresh orange juice, pine, more citrus and all the inclusive flavors of a severly hopped up beer, excluding any grassy harshness. A wicked sweet caramel and brown sugar glow from the background, drifting down from the hop mountain. Flavor is a saccharin hop candy, like freshly boiled pine tea and squeezed droplets of grapefruit juice rolled into melted sugars. Hoppy, but in my opinion not destructively so. There are some almost gentle floral and citrus movements, melding with the current of malt. Honey-sweetened blood oranges with glowing resins. A little flat from the ride. The alcohol glows in the nose, bringing with it the aromatics of the hop cones, as it should. The sweet candy characterisitcs and gentle alcohols are good vessels from the hop abuse; almost a sweet salve. Yet, it bites in the end. The smack is a strong kick in the ass, almost spicy awakening as it leaves. Again, forgetting the parching grassiness. A deft use of hops, in reality. If this beer didn’t get total raves from me, it’s because it didn’t seem entirely balanced, the malt was overpowered, and the alcohol at tinge hot at times. Also, I’m not an avid fan of double reds.

On tap @ the San Diego Strong Ale Fest Day 2. I tried to order this on Day 1 and it wasn’t there. I was worried I would miss my 1 chance of sampling this beer. Luckily, I was able to attend Day 2 for a short period of time and this was 1st on my list. Poured a dark and hazy amber color with an averaged sized white head. Stronger piney aroma with some floral touches. Hops and more hops (which is not a bad thing for me!). Even with the all the hops, there is a nice malt balance present. Very good!

First poured, this beer has a very healthy nose full of fresh hoppy citrus scents. It has a decent golden head on it that lingers as if it were topping on a dessert. I was amazed at the amount of hoppiness that was in this "double red ale." On close inspection one notices there are actually flakes of fresh green hops that are suspended within this thick opaque golden/green amber liquid. I was so excited about the color of this beer that I had to snap a picture of it. The density and color came together to form a hugely copper colored, green speckled, inviting beer. I wanted to taste it primarily for the color, to be honest.

At first taste, one has an emense rush of fresh hops. My throat was hit with that burn feeling one gets with a mega-hoppy beer but it quickly tapered off to a nice aftertaste. I was very pleased with the whole mouthfeel which was thick and very piney. This beer has one of the freshest hoppy tastes that I've encountered so far. I can't wait to try it again.

Holy crap. Dark ruby body with a huge tan head. The aroma brings tears to my eyes, as much from the beauty of it as the fact the hops actually sting my sinuses. Beautiful aroma full of grapefruit and gardenias. They should make an air freshener out of this beer. The flavor is a lot milder than the aroma with the malt actually making an appearance. Nice caramel body, but low sweetness. Very little bitterness. Great beer.

Sampled at a Friday night Dr. Bill tasting during the week of the GABF. I remember Dr. Bill saying that it was either a well aged bottle or possibly an original homebrew. But anyway, it was really tasty. I guess the style is a Double Red and it did fit the bell with a nice underlying hop flavor with probably centennial. Since it was a well aged bottle, the malt did shine through most and was very pleasant. This was tasty.