Hop Deluge
Other Half Brewing - Center Street

Vibrant orange with a thin, white head that doesn't stick around very long.

Big tropical fruit on the nose. Mango and pineapple with a slightly smoky backdrop.

Taste is quite sweet and sticky. This one is all about the tropical fruit punch flavors. But while the smell gave me more mango/pineapple, the taste is more citrusy with orange and grapefruit notes. There's quite a few IPA's out there that are brewed with orange/tangerine flavoring and this one tastes like what you want those to taste like. It's really pretty great. It tastes like if you give just a little squeeze of fresh orange juice on top of an already really good IPA. There's just a little tartness that teases you in the finish. The booziness is somewhat noticeable, but it mostly just enhances the sweetness of the flavor.

Mouthfeel is fairly thick and quite sticky. Not really much carbonation to speak of.

I typically like my NE IPAs with a little more dry flavors to balance out the sweet but this one makes a really good case for how good a "sweet" IPA can be. I don't mind the sweetness just because of how fresh and bright the citrus notes are. And the tartness is perfect. I'll definitely watch for this one in the future.

 

 

 

Decanted from a 16 oz (473 ml) can into a conical pint glass; no production information (honestly, I expect better from OH).
A: Pours an opaque, golden amber color with a one to two finger, off-white head, a bit more than rim retention, and broad albeit foamy lacing.
S: Aromas of caramel, lemon/orange, and barley predominate. Definitely a honeysuckle, sweet tea, and pine notes. Complex and enjoyable.
T: Semisweet. Complex with flavors are a melange of the nose. Light to moderate bitterness, but exceptionally well balanced.
M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Creamy, but finishes with a touch of tannic dryness.
O: This is a gorgeous American Imperial IPA. Am I correct that Other Half is moving toward drier brews, certainly seems so. Not everything needs lactose. Perfect for game day: Go Blue!!

Picked this up at Other Half a few weeks back, as this beer was a must-try for me. Hop Showers was the first brew that I had from these guys and I was hoping that this would improve on that timeless favorite. To be fair, that's a tall order to ask for as this was just as enjoyable, easy to drink, and full of everything that I've come to expect from Other Half over the years!

This had a fairly typical Other Half pour to it as it was a tropical, turbid orange with plenty of haze and cloudiness to it, while having a nice luminosity at the same time. A nice, fluffy head topped it off as the lacing left behind was thick, voluminous, and quite layered with a few rings discernible among the suds. Lots of orange blossom, dank mango and papaya, overripe peach, and sweet floral hops in the nose as the taste was just as smooth, varied, and slightly mysterious. Quite a bit of heft to it but you're enjoying something of this sort, who's to even notice?

Indeed, there was a lot of booze to this and the malt was in the background with just a hint of cracker and crystalline nectar to round out the body. Not a lot of carbonation as the aftertaste was slick, smooth, and left hints of a nice pine forest on the palate. Canned on 7/15, this was just like it's description as it was the original taken up to an Imperial level. Lots of hops here and plenty of strength but I'd reach for another if it was here, just to enjoy the deluge again!

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz can into a Teku glass.

Pours a hazy golden straw color with 2 fingers of effervescent white head. The head leaves a ton of cobweb lacing as it settles into a thin ring.

The aroma has a metric fuckton of peaches. Fresh peach as well as sugary peach rings, followed by a fair amount of lemon, grapefruit, and orange rind.

The flavor absolutely punches you in the god damn face with fresh peaches and peach ring candy. Holy balls is that a lot of peach flavor. There's some mango, bubblegum and honeydew melon before a wave of citrus comes through. Finishes subtly earthy with a faint hint of pine. PEACHES. FOR. DAYS.

The feel is medium-full bodied with very low carbonation. Pillowy soft and smooth with a dry, creamy finish. Alcohol is nicely hidden.

Overall, this is a freaking incredible DIPA. The peach notes in both the aroma and flavor are just downright ridiculous. There's a nice bubblegum note that compliments all the other fruity flavors and it helps to create a beer that is honestly kind of stupid. Reminds me of the first batches of Haze.