Hopzilla
TableRock BrewPub

Taster at the brewery. Medium amber, thin head, sheets of lacing. Fruity, hoppy aroma. Taste brings in the hops in a big way. Dank and bitter. Tastes like old times.

 

 

 

Realized I haven't been giving Table Rock any love... so I picked up this growler tonight. I heard they've been really reformulating recipes lately... and this is alot better than I remember it from a long while back. Pours with a nice of white head... good lacing and retention... the brew is hazed orange.

Nose is pithy grapefruit zest... lite pine and a bit of floral hops... smells very dry... nice.

Big and bitter from front to back... a minor pale malt pulls out a great wave of citrus flavor hops mid palate and carries them for a long finish... sorta minerally flintstone vitamin at the end.

Body is a solid medium... great small bubble carbonation.. nice and smooth.

I've got to give Table Rock more of my time... this is a very good brew.

4/4/4/4/4.5

Growler and a Ram Mug Club pint glass.

Appearance is a deep amber/orange. An attractive IPA. My careful pour produced the perfect amount of thick creamy head, and throughout the glass there was a little lacing.

Smell is hop bite and citrus. My dad says this is one of his favorite-smelling beers, and I like it too. Very clean and crisp. A little bready malt on the back end.

Taste is on par with the smell, grapefruit and citrus. Nothing too overwhelming here, just strong hops, and the bitterness isn't overwhelming.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, a lighter consistency and it coats your mouth for a few seconds and then fades. Pleasant.

Drinkability is good. I really only enjoy IPA's for about one pint, and Hopzilla was no exception. The growler was shared with my brothers and we enjoyed it.

Also, a pairing note: this IPA faired excellent when sampling some holiday spiced nuts. The sweetness of the nuts cuts the hop citrus bite completely out of the beer, and leaves a crisp fresh floral sweetness.

On tap at the brewery

a- pours a deep amber to almost brown color. Strong head formation at 2 to 3 mm. Eggshell white. Loads of bubbling.

S- very light nose. A hair of floral and sweet hops. Orange like at times. No malt detected.

T- massively bitter. The light grapefruit is completely obliterated by a bitter hop burn. Actual hop flavors are light. Finishes with a more palettable combination of hard hitting hops and some caramel malts.

M- this beer shines here. Very creamy, smooth texture. Coats the tongue with a light bubbly sensation. Very "airy" for all the body. Finishes with a oily bitter bite.

D- low drinkability. Harsh at times with it's overly bitter nature. Flavors are a bit too strong, palette dominating. Abv is well hidden. A one and done for me.

Wow!

Appearance: Unfiltered so its a nice and hazy dark orange. Little head but what little head there is has good retention.

Smell: Very floral and not as citrus as one would expect from a beer called Hopzilla. Very sweet and delicious smelling overall.

Taste: Its big on the hops but isn't overly hoppy. Its balanced for its name and is really a good IIPA.

Mouthfeel: It feels good on the palate but the alcohol in this brew is perhaps too pronounced.

Drinkability: It has good drinkability and I'm working my way through a growler of it, cheers!

I think the name is clever and lives up to its name. Not sure what the ABV is but it must have been about 7-8% because it was a little kick, still very good in my opinion. Poured nice and golden, decent carbonation, nice white head. Tastes of floral, citrus and hops. Very good and the best brew they had. Last time I checked AB was not an IIPA???

If you think this might stand up to something like Arrogant Bastard from the boys at Stone, think again. However, don't let that deter you, this is actually a very good beer.

Apperance: Good amber color with decent head, head decipated after awhile though.

Smell:With all the hops you get the typical floral arrangement.

Taste: Good hop flavor, but not a beast of a beer. Has enough malt to balance it out but you don't really notice the malt.

Drinkability: This has the making of a very good spring/summer brew, good for when your having a BBQ or when it gets hot!

Nice beer.

This is a rich golden ale built on a platform of serious hops. I've designated it as a Double IPA for its uber-hops qualities, not necessarily for its ABV. Table Rock also brews a regular IPA.

Hopzilla has a head like whipped cream with extraordinary retention. The head is a constant companion to this beer from start to clean, bitter finish and leaves a rich tapestry of lace on the glass. The aroma is masterfully floral, immediate, and fresh.

I don’t care for the name especially, as it suggests some sort of beer monster that might destroy Tokyo. Hopzilla is not a monster at all. It is far too balanced and refined; more like a serene and zen-like garden of hops than a fire breathing atomic mutant. It is clean, well crafted, and highly quaffable. Recommended.