Hopocalypse (Green Label) Double IPA
Drake's Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance is opaque deep golden with a bouyant creamy head

Aroma: Very bitter and piney. Resinous. Big wafts of grapefruit, mandarin orange, and lime.

Taste: Strong, burning flavor or pine and citrus. Very potent with a marked alcoholic warmth. Slightly spicy.

Mouthfeel: Oily, warming, and crisp. A little on the strong side for a double IPA. The alcohol could be more masked.

Overall: Drinkable but not my favorite DIPA. Not as balanced as the classics like PtE or PtY or Heady Topper. Not a bad price and it's local and fresh so I might visit it again.

 

 

I signed up for Tavour a couple/few months ago & their service has really been bringing the west coast beers to this east coast imbiber! Man, my last shipment comprised two (2) boxes! I brought several bombers with me to Allentown last weekend, but my traveling companion was more into Stouts & Porters so I brought me big DIPAs home for another time. On another digression, I was stationed at NAS Alameda, CA from 1987 to 1989 & I visited Drake's subsequent to that, but San Leandro will always & forever conjure up memories of the beauteous Ann, a fellow sailor with whom I was involved. Those were glorious times! Sigh.

From the bottle: "Overwhelm your sense with a devastating quantity of hops. Hopocalypse Double IPA contains Jarrylo, El Dorado. Simcoe and Chinook hops, evoking notes of ripe guava, lemon blossom, and caviar lime. Drown your taste buds with this limited release. The End is Beer!"

I Pop!ped the cap & began a slow, gentle pour into the awaiting glass. I noticed some floaties/particulate in the initial going, so I stopped after having decanted only half (or less) of the bottle's contents. An in-glass swirl raised two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, eggshell-white head with modest retention. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose smelled like a pine forest! Whoa. Pine has become almost an afterthought with grapefruit citrus & tropical fruit as the frontrunners, but done well, right & correctly, pine is my personal fave. Mouthfeel was medium, but kinda light for this intense style. Speaking of intense, you had best like pine hops! This was resinous, sticky, woody, evocative of a mouthful of needles & cones, just beautiful. It was clean, cool, minty, like laying on a bed of needles during a snowfall and taking a deep, clean breath. I could drink this until I fall over, besotted. The resulting coolness of the finish was literally breathtaking! There was a hint of caramel in there, but the pine/wintergreen mintiness was the star of the show. Each subsequent deep breath was like inhaling pine & mint. It was very cool, like mentholated cigarettes, but oh, so dry. They could distill this one & really have a fine Gin. Oh, man, this simultaneously kick started my heart & then shut it down, hard. I'm keeling over with nary a regret. Did I read that they offer this on draught? 8=O Fantastiche! As to the finish - dry, but more towards woody and minty than alum/super-dry/bitter. Phew! Man, this was as cool as mouthwash but much more effective. Beautiful. Gorgeous. Breathtaking. Refer to Ann on this one.

Poured from a bomber into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly clear medium golden orange pour. 2 fingers of foamy white head... crazy lacing.

S: Grapefruit and tangerine rind... bready and rich.

T/F: Rich malts... sweetbreads to open with a bitter tropical hop profile. Well balanced... candied grapefruit, citrus rind, and peppercorn. Mild spruce/evergreen Oily and slick on the tongue. Finish is resinous.

O: A big DIPA, and the first in the 'Hopocalypse' series I've tried. Really nice beer... balanced, bitter, and rich. Hides the ABV at first which becomes more noticeable as it warms. Great effort.

 

Another fine beer from the Hopocalypse series. Somewhat cloudy, with a trace of floating particles. A creamy beige head with solid retention and lacing. Deep orange in color. Aroma is stone fruit, orange zest, caramel malt, and butterscotch. Flavor is very hop forward. Resinous and biting. Pine, spruce, and grapefruit. A trace of alcohol vapor, but not too heavy. A nice malt backbone on this one, smooths it out just enough to drink and enjoy this hop bomb of flavor!

 

 

Bottle dated XXX into a Stella chalice. Pours bright bronze with 1 finger of medium density white head that had moderate retention and left ringed lacing. Nose is uber pine followed by citrus...West Coast in da house! Taste isn't nearly as dynamic as the nose, earthy forward, then pine resin, and citrus undertones. Surprised it wasn't more dank given the nose. Finishes with plenty of bitterness, but clears the palate fairly quickly. Medium bodied accompanied by medium carbonation. Of the Hopocalype variants I've tasted, this one reigns supreme for my palate.

A: deep clear orange. Thick yellow white bubbles.

S: resin. Green chilis. Orange zest. Resin.

T: pine. Resin. Orange zest. Hops.

F: clean and crisp. Medium body. Nice balance

O: very good. 2017 vintage. Not as good as the past few years I've had tho

Reviewed on 2/11/16 from notes
2016 bottle
L - Pours a slightly hazy golden orange with a thick white head
S - I get tangerine, pine, and malt sweetness
T - The flavors are lemon, orange, slightly bitter very hop forward, slight malt back
F - a little astringent but good mouth feel
O - Overall a good DIPA