Odin's Breath
Hop Butcher For The World

 

 

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a one pint can on June 19, 2019. Brewed with Amarillo, Simcoe and Ekuanot hops. A dank brew fermented with yeast of Norse mythology. Notes of pineapple, sweet orange peel and pleasant pine.

 

Had on tap. Odin's breath? More like Odin's barf. This was undrinkable, drain pour. It did look pretty though, hazy yellow with a finger of white foam. Smells like salt, grapefruit, pine, overripe pineapple, and lime, fine but verging on soapy. Taste is salty and overly sweet overripe fruit, with vinegar, apple jello, sickly sweet caramel, and so much booze, a complete mess. Feel is somewhat soapy, boozy, and rough with the booze and hops. Not sure how this one got past quality control.

 

Heard they changed their malt profile on this one, so this one makes sense. They need a few adjustments, but I'm sure they will follow through on them if they decide to continue with the malt profile. Bready malt, some toast, and slight biscuity malt profiles make this one less desirable. The hop character is pretty underwhelming as well. The brewery even hinted at a different yeast strain so that might be contributing to this. Orange and pine pretty much sum it up, with some more complex notes thrown in. A bigger malt profile than usual, but still not a bad beer by any means.

This was a little different from most of the Hop Butcher beers I've had to date. This one was a little thicker and heavier than most of their beers. This one had a definite grapefruit smell. In fact the grapefruit pretty much donated the smell. The taste had grapefruit and I swear I had a hint of lime n some of the sips. The malt came into play here way more than usual for a Hip Butcher beer. Overall it was a solid beer from Hop Butcher.

A thank you to Edwin for this one.

Pint can - dated 06/18/19 - poured into a stout flared pint glass at 46F

Pours a fully hazed, turbid, murky brownish-orange, with just a couple centimetres of white head that quickly recede to a thin collar, leaving little-to-no lacing. Definitely one of the brownest IPAs I've seen.

Nose: Quite mild and subdued. Orange rind, grapefruit, and sweet mango form the base profile, with some lesser notes of pine, earthiness, vegetive dankness, and a faint musty, almost wet-cardboard note, and a candlewax note underneath it all. Amarillo is the star here, but there's definitely some earthy Simcoe to be found, however, on the nose at least, it is in no way offensive or off-putting, as I often find Simcoe to be. Definitely fruity over earthy.

Palate: Right off the bat, I'm struck by how surprisingly sweet it is. A heavy, almost syrupy malt sweetness prevails, causing the palate to have to take a moment to adjust. Once acclimated to the sweetness, the dominant flavour is grapefruit. Grapefruit is a common flavour found in a variety of hops - that's no secret. What's unique here is just how identical the flavour is to actual grapefruit. Hope that taste like grapefruit generally taste more like the rind, or the pith (white spongy bitter material beaneath the rind) of the grapefruit. Dry, resinous, almost like an aromatic extract or essential oil. This, on the other hand, genuinely tastes like a glass of ruby red grapefruit juice. The sweetness only adds to this. It tastes so much like the actual sweet juicy pulp of the grapefruit. If tasting this blind, I would be convinced that this was a grapefruit-flavoured IPA. I'm not picking up on much, if any of the Simcoe earthiness, however, as I acclimate to the grapefruit, I can definitely put my finger on the unique characteristics of Ekuanot. It lends these bright, springy, green floral and unripe fruit notes. Unripe melon, and some white grape. There is a whisper of bitterness as the finish approaches, but the sweetness clings enough so that it's almost undetectable.

Mouthfeel/Body: This is a big beer. At 8.2%, it becomes difficult to hide its weight. In spite of its ABV, there is very little ethanol character giving it away. Most of that heft is carried by the malt sweetness. Still, the beer sits somewhere between the heavy side of medium-bodied, and the lighter side of full-bodied. There is certainly a softness to it, but unlike a creamy, fluffy softness found in some NEIPAs, it's more of a syrupy smoothness. Effervescence is quite low. It isn't flat, but there's very little carbonation pushing through the hefty body. As I drink more of it, the weight becomes more evident, making me want to call this full-bodied.

Overall: This is a unique one. Every now and then, I'll encounter an IPA that truly surprises me, for better or worse. This is definitely one of those. It takes a few minutes to sit and sip with, before really seeing everything it has to offer. Not because it's terribly complex, but simply due to how bold and loud it is. Get past the sweetness to unveil its shocking similarity to grapefruit juice. Get past the grapefruit aspect to find some Ekuanot qualities. Get past the flavour to see how big of a beer it actually is. Some people will reference new-world IPAs tasting like juice. They don't know the half of it if they haven't tried this before. It truly is like a glass of alcoholic grapefruit juice. If you enjoy the taste of grapefruit, and don't mind a hefty dose of sweetness, I think there are many who might enjoy this, as something to throw in to mix things up a bit. Undeniably unique, and ultimately, an enjoyable double IPA.

 

 

Canned 6/18/19; drank 6/21/19 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque dull orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a nice white head; frothy lace.

Baking soda, grapefruit & table sugar notes in the nose.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Apple cider, cardboard & table sugar flavors up front; caramel & mild grapefruit notes on the finish. Mild booze heat emerged as this warmed.

Over the past few years, Hop Butcher has largely been a leading light on the Chicago scene, but when they miss, they really make it count. This was simply awful; a scarlet letter on the brewers art. Avoid!!