Blitzen Hoppy
Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co.
- From:
- Austin Beer Garden Brewing Co.
- Texas, United States
- Style:
- Winter Warmer
- ABV:
- 10%
- Score:
- +4 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.52 | pDev: 14.2%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Feb 24, 2015
- Added:
- Dec 29, 2013
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
2.43/5 rDev -31%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
2.43/5 rDev -31%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
64oz brown glass swingtop GROWLER filled at ABGB yesterday for all of $26.00 USD. Ouch. Served cold into a pilsner glass at low altitude in Austin, Texas. Expectations are above average given the brewery.
10% ABV. 80 IBU. 20 OG. They alternate between calling this a "holiday ale" and an "imperial Belgo red" on their beer board.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Soapy, weak, and thin, with no creaminess, fullness, or thickness whatsoever. Average (~2 minute) retention. Though in fairness, 2 minutes ain't half bad for a 10% ABV beer poured from a growler. Leaves no lacing as it recedes.
BODY: Clear copper with brown and amber hues. Average vibrance. No yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible.
Appears adequately carbonated. Not unique or special, but generally appealing, sure.
AROMA: The hop profile isn't great: bubblegum, pine resins, pine needles, maybe some herb. Not sure what they're going for here. Has a caramalt and amber malt base. I think I find a bit of spruce as well? There's also a bit of spice - clove, and maybe allspice. The spice coupled with some faint almost Belgian yeast characteristics makes this a scattered beer; it's too hoppy for a proper Belgian and too malty for a proper imperial red.
Some drinkers may find hints of artificial cleaning product-esque aromatics (e.g. urinal cake).
It's a pleasant enough aroma of average aromatic intensity. I can't say this suggests a particularly balanced or interesting brew, but I'm curious.
TASTE/TEXTURE: The mouthfeel is a catastrophe; on one hand it's weak and thin with a flat almost stale presence on the palate, but on the other hand it feels coating and sticky - which brings out more of the dreaded bubblegum hop flavour. Smooth and wet otherwise, with obvious undercarbonation. Surprisingly light-bodied, lacking the heft and weight needed to support its bigger malt flavours. This mouthfeel fails to elevate the beer; in fact, it drags it down and distracts. At least it's not watery.
The taste is a hodgepodge of scattered malts and questionable hops; I question even the basic ingredient selections here as there is no marriage of malts to hops nor is there a balance of sweetness and bitterness. Amber malts, caramalts, and some toffee round out the almost cloying malt backbone. The clashing hop profile is comprised of dominant bubblegum (ugh), faint pine, and some more generic grassy and floral characteristics. This lacks basic cohesion, and never feels even equal to the sum of its parts. Not a gestalt build by any means. As it warms, its faintly Belgian candied sugar character emerges more and more, lending still more unwelcome teeth-dissolving sweetness to an already troubled brew.
There's zero subtlety or nuance here at all. It's a mess, and lacks deliberate layering of flavour, depth of flavour, and meaningful intricacy. Almost like a homebrewer just threw a bunch of ingredients together with no real intention or guidance. Flavour duration and intensity are average. Did Redhook brew this?
OVERALL: Shockingly bad for its $26/64oz pricetag. I can't say I'll be chancing it on any ABGB beers going forward. While its 10% ABV is disguised pretty well and it'll get you drunk, I can't recommend it to friends or trade partners. There's nothing here for the discerning drinker and it's far from good - let alone world-class. Perhaps the worst work I've yet had from ABGB, but to be fair it could be less drinkable.
D+
Feb 24, 201510% ABV. 80 IBU. 20 OG. They alternate between calling this a "holiday ale" and an "imperial Belgo red" on their beer board.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Soapy, weak, and thin, with no creaminess, fullness, or thickness whatsoever. Average (~2 minute) retention. Though in fairness, 2 minutes ain't half bad for a 10% ABV beer poured from a growler. Leaves no lacing as it recedes.
BODY: Clear copper with brown and amber hues. Average vibrance. No yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible.
Appears adequately carbonated. Not unique or special, but generally appealing, sure.
AROMA: The hop profile isn't great: bubblegum, pine resins, pine needles, maybe some herb. Not sure what they're going for here. Has a caramalt and amber malt base. I think I find a bit of spruce as well? There's also a bit of spice - clove, and maybe allspice. The spice coupled with some faint almost Belgian yeast characteristics makes this a scattered beer; it's too hoppy for a proper Belgian and too malty for a proper imperial red.
Some drinkers may find hints of artificial cleaning product-esque aromatics (e.g. urinal cake).
It's a pleasant enough aroma of average aromatic intensity. I can't say this suggests a particularly balanced or interesting brew, but I'm curious.
TASTE/TEXTURE: The mouthfeel is a catastrophe; on one hand it's weak and thin with a flat almost stale presence on the palate, but on the other hand it feels coating and sticky - which brings out more of the dreaded bubblegum hop flavour. Smooth and wet otherwise, with obvious undercarbonation. Surprisingly light-bodied, lacking the heft and weight needed to support its bigger malt flavours. This mouthfeel fails to elevate the beer; in fact, it drags it down and distracts. At least it's not watery.
The taste is a hodgepodge of scattered malts and questionable hops; I question even the basic ingredient selections here as there is no marriage of malts to hops nor is there a balance of sweetness and bitterness. Amber malts, caramalts, and some toffee round out the almost cloying malt backbone. The clashing hop profile is comprised of dominant bubblegum (ugh), faint pine, and some more generic grassy and floral characteristics. This lacks basic cohesion, and never feels even equal to the sum of its parts. Not a gestalt build by any means. As it warms, its faintly Belgian candied sugar character emerges more and more, lending still more unwelcome teeth-dissolving sweetness to an already troubled brew.
There's zero subtlety or nuance here at all. It's a mess, and lacks deliberate layering of flavour, depth of flavour, and meaningful intricacy. Almost like a homebrewer just threw a bunch of ingredients together with no real intention or guidance. Flavour duration and intensity are average. Did Redhook brew this?
OVERALL: Shockingly bad for its $26/64oz pricetag. I can't say I'll be chancing it on any ABGB beers going forward. While its 10% ABV is disguised pretty well and it'll get you drunk, I can't recommend it to friends or trade partners. There's nothing here for the discerning drinker and it's far from good - let alone world-class. Perhaps the worst work I've yet had from ABGB, but to be fair it could be less drinkable.
D+
Reviewed by Durge from Connecticut
3.91/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
3.91/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
A deep dark ruby mahogany color with a modest smattering of blotchy off white head and very strong lacing. The aroma is relatively calm with pleasant bubble gum toffee. The flavor follows up with definitive but tasteful bubble gum clove over heavy pine hops with plenty of caramel malt base. Alcohol presence is quite nicely reserved considering the high ABV and you get a bit of a grassy bite at the back of the mouth. The bubblegum breaks down a little and loses definition in the overall sweetness but overall I think it's a great hop brew with a Belgian touch that drinks pretty easily for a heavy hitter. Body is pretty close to full with a near perfect delicate but effective carbonation and vivacious feel that still keeps a serious beer feel.
Jan 23, 2014
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