No Hop Limit
Hopfanatic Brewery

 

"Hop orgy in one bottle. 5 types of high quality hops give the outstanding aroma of this beer. The high alcohol content remains well-hidden. It is not pushing at all. It is the characteristics of biscuit, honey, orange and elderberry that make this IPA special" - says the label. Claims to be a Double West Coast IPA and it's not bad at all but as I love West Coast IPAs I can say with confidence that it takes ingredients grown and harvested there along with Californian water and sunshine. Everything else will just be a wannabe.
Don't get me wrong - I like this beer for what it is: a good Hungarian IPA, made in the American tradition. However, after having had so many Hungarian craft beers, I am still unable to pinpoint what makes our beers much more subtle than the great Americans...
Craftmanship? Ingredients? Locale? All of the above? We should really enjoy our products for what they are, drink without seeing the label and without any preconceptions or prejudice. We would perhaps still recognize that this is OURS, and we could still be proud that after so many years of Euro-Lagerdom we can make such beers. For now, forget the West Coast, this is Hungary!

 

 

 

 

 

2015-05-01
330ml green bottle poured into a tulip. Traveled here in a suitcase with mr-jj. Best before 30 June 2015. Lots of sediment visible in the bottom, about a quarter of the beer left in the bottlefor now.

Pours ruby, cloudy, with a huge head. Strong lacing. Smell is surprisingly yeasty. Lemony. Other vague citrus notes.

Taste is bitter, citrusy, a little sweetness. Mouthfeel is super effervescent. Overall, not a bad beer.

On tap in Budapest.

Color is dark gold with a thick white head. Smell is citrus and piney hops. Taste is citrus and honey with a lot of hop resins. Body is medium/full with lots of carbonation. Overall, it's a really nice IPA, especially in the central Europe land of lagers.

 

 

330ML bottle at Hopfanatic Brewery (the keg had just kicked, would love to try it on draft). Overall a decent IIPA, especially for the price (under $2.50USD for a bottle at the bar).

Admittedly, I think it tasted better being there is not many West Coast IIPA beers available in Budapest. I don't think it stands up to many in the US, but while I am here I will be drinking the hell out of it. I would recommend seeking it out if you find yourself in Budapest.

 

"No Hop Limit"/"NOHOPLIMIT." 330ml brown glass bottle with branded pry-off pressure cap acquired and served at Good Beer Only! in Budapest. Vessel is a Brewdog pilsner glass. 100 IBU. Best Before: 2014 Dec 18. 8.5% ABV. 14 SRM. Serve at 10 degrees Centigrade. Reviewed live as a "Double West Coast India Pale Ale."

HEAD: Two fingers wide. Off-white colour. Leaves even coating lacing as the head recedes. Head retention is pretty good - ~5-6 minutes. Nice complexion and consistency. Decent thickness and creaminess.

BODY: Transparent translucent dark copper with faint amber hues. Clean; no yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible. Average vibrance.

Appears adequately carbonated. It's a pretty standard Imperial IPA appearance, and isn't unique or special in any way. I notice no egregious flaws.

AROMA: Heavy pine and resinous hop character. Bready malts and pale malts help balance out the bitterness. Cream. Sweetbread. A dab of grapefruit and orange citrus. I'm not finding the honey or elderberry mentioned on the label, but to be honest I don't have a good idea of what elderberries actually taste like. I do pick up on some biscuit malt after I'm prompted, but doubt I'd find it blind. There's also a bit of spice - maybe clove? Otherwise, I pick up on no yeasty notes.

There's also no overt alcohol - or any other off-notes.

Overall, it's a pleasant aroma of above average strength, but I do worry about the sweetness/bitterness balance.

TASTE: Pale malts, biscuit malts, and some bready/sweetbready malts provide the foundation here, with plenty of resinous and piney hop notes sitting uncomfortably beside them. Its too sweet on the open and too bitter towards the finish; the balance is definitely off here. Overbearing and overly aggressive, lacking sufficient depth and diversity of flavour. An Imperial IPA is about more than just dumping hops into the boil and overloading on sugars; the fundamental lack of balance really hurts this beer.

No yeast character comes through - aside from some brief clove. I do get a bit of grapefruit and orange citrus character, but it's far from fresh or juicy and doesn't register enough.

Average duration and intensity of flavour (for the style). It's far from subtle or intricate, and lacks the nuance observed in superior beers in the style. Fairly cohesive, but not gestalt.

TEXTURE: Smooth, wet, filling, full-bodied, and heavy on the plate. Too thick, weighty, and hefty considering the shallowness of the flavours. A bit overcarbonated as well. Could be softer.

Overall, this texture suits the taste decently but fails to feel custom-tailored specifically to it. Decent execution.

OVERALL: This is a swing and a miss inasmuch as replicating the best Imperial IPAs goes - "West Coast" or otherwise. While drinkable, it fails to really hides its ABV well and falls far short of world-class. I wouldn't even call it a good Imperial IPA. Seems like an attempt to cash in on the growing popularity of the style abroad. But at this price point, you could certainly do worse. Future (and undoubtedly American) reviewers will likely love this just because it's an Imperial IPA available in Hungary, but the truly discerning drinker will find it imbalanced, if promising.

Elderberry, my ass...

C+