Skeleton Cruise
Hop Butcher For The World

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a fine, two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of pale malt, citrus and piney hops, lemon, grapefruit, pine, light mixed stone fruit and a small floral note. Flavor is pale malt, citrus and piney hops, lemon, yuzu, grapefruit, citron, pine and mild mixed fruit. Citrus rind and pine finish with nice bitterness. Medium bodied with moderate creaminess; nice mouth feel. The use of classic West Coast hops in this IPA result in a fine citrusy and piney hop bill, one of the best West Coast style IPAs I've had from the midwest. I kind of expected a little more caramel in the malt, but this has the current crisp, drier style of malt used in this style here in the West. There are some light fruit notes expected from Mosaic, but citrus is the big show here, leaning to a lemony profile, but with good pine too. Quite enjoyable and a nice creamy mouth feel too. Nicely done.

16oz can purchased at Community Pint, in Spokane, WA, for $7.50. According to the stamp on the bottom of the can, this was canned on April 11th, 2024.

Poured into the glass, this was a clear, golden Amber color, with a big, sudsy, off-white head. Lots of sticky lace.

Big, piney and fruity nose. Smells sweet and bitter. This is definitely a West Coast style approach to a DIPA.

Taste is similar to the smell, but the bitterness is not as strong as I was led to believe by the aroma. Still, it's a very tasty old school IPA flavor. Things are citrusy in a grapefruity sort of way up front, but not overbearingly so. The finish is mildly bitter and dry. Midwest IPAs, before the advent of the ubiquitous hazy, always tended toward less bitterness than their West Coast brewed brethren, and this seems to go along with that.

Medium bodied, with the appropriate amount of carbonation and a slightly resiny, oily mouth feel.

This is a really good Midwest example of an old school big IPA. I've had a couple small samples from this brewery courtesy of some friends, and I'm very happy to have finally had a beer from Hop Butcher. I hope the trend of their beers being available at Community Pint continues.

5/8/24 Draft (16 oz) (Hop Butcher Taproom) (Chicago, IL) - 7.5% ABV West Coast Double IPA. Clear Beer, Hop-Loving Swashbucklers Rejoice! $8.82.

Appearance: Clear golden tan pour into a nonic glass, bright white head leaves quickly, leaving a creamy cover over the faintly carbonated base. 4.0

Aroma: Mild citrus and pine notes, smells a bit bitter. 3.75

Taste: Taste firmer than aroma, a bold citrus and bitter pine battle for supremacy. Light grapefruit and lemon back. Solid. 4.0

Mouthfeel: Dry, sticky, resinous. Medium feeling creamy body. Faint slightly fizzy carbonation. Sweet flavors and bitterness see saw in terms of lead. Light sticky pine finish. 4.5

Overall: This is a solid old school IPA, hard to find these here on a consistent basis, but this fits the bill nicely. Continue to be excited by Hop Butcher’s breadth of solid offerings across many styles. Thank you! 4.25

 

 

16oz can packaged on 03/09/2021. Sample from the brewery.

Clear, bright golden, with lively carbonation and a foamy white lace. Nose is clean, soft, fruity, and floral with some stone fruit. Medium-bodied and creamy on the palate. Smack of lemon/lime zest upfront with suggestions of grapefruit rind, pine, overripe pineapple, cantaloupe, peach, berries, and apple skins. Some dankness. Bitter, a bit grassy and earthy too, with a tea-like astringency. Toasty, bready, sweet grain, and honey notes push back on the bitterness. Finish is dry, herbal, and a bit doughy.

I'm here for the Skeleton Cruise. The hop profile throws way back and reminds us that IPAs don't have to look or taste the same.

 

Appearance is crisp golden yellow. Clear enough I can literally read the words on the can through the glass. Lovely little half finger of white foam with fine bubbles.

Nose is a nice pleasant little blend of lightly sweet, a touch of juicy lemon... pleasant is the descriptor I keep coming back to. As it warms, the berry notes really do come forward, almost like sugary cereal, which gets a little saccharine at times.

Flavour begins with some of those same fruity sweet notes before turning hard into the pithy bitter lime bitterness, which just kind of dominates.

The finish is all and only bitter lime. I miss the era of clear bitter IPAs, but in this case I think they lean a little too hard into the harshness of the bitter finish. It honestly kind of feels like a nostalgia piece written by someone who has heard so much about 'the good old days' but is truly of the new era trying to capture old magic, as opposed to someone who builds the nostalgia piece because that's where they come from.

 

 

16oz can, dated 03.09.2021, poured into a stemless wine glass.

The beer pours a bright golden color, straw and copper hues, fairly clear with a very faint haze and a nice two finger head, white and foamy with moderate retention and nice lacing. The aroma is pleasant, earthy and herbal, somewhat floral, grassy, mild pine, grapefruit peel, a bit of fruitiness and a nice cereal grain base. The flavors are good, bitter grapefruit peel, underlying citrus and fruitiness, herbal white tea, wildflower, pale dough, bitter pine and grassiness grows over the finish as it warms. The mouthfeel is good, coating, lively medium body that's smooth and finishes easily with a dry bite.

Verdict: A nice west coast style IPA from Hop Butcher. More herbal and floral than a typical beer of the style but it's nicely bitter and has a solid grapefruit profile that ties everything together.

Tasted in a Spiegelau IPA glass from a one pint can on October 13, 2019. West coast style India Pale Ale brewed with Mosaic, Centennial and Simcoe. Very good.

 

 

Pours a semi clear light orange with thick, fluffy head.

Smell is fruity with notes of grapefruit, pine, peach and tea.

Taste is fruity and quite floral with notes of citrus, pine, peach, tea and rose water. Moderate bitterness, and a clean, drying finish.

Mouthfeel is medium, soft and pillowy, with good carbonation.

Overall, a very nice IPA, balanced but with some bite.

Thank you Franfab for this
16 oz can poured into a teku

A- A hazy golden straw with a two finger white head.

S- Citrus, grapefruit, lime zest, pineapple, a little piney.

T- Citrus, piney, grapefruit, some melons, pineapple, slightly floral.

M- Smooth, light to medium body.

O- Tasty with a nice balance, easy to drink.

16oz can, "PKG 10/8/19 THE BONES R THEIR DOLLARS". Brilliant, bright; and hazy tangerine colored ale with a foamy off-white head. Super juicy aroma of tropical fruit, citrus, pine, and berry. Bold hop flavors that are similar to aroma: piney mango, tangy tangerine & lemon zest, and berry. Medium body, very resinous, semi-dry finish with plenty of citric & pine bitterness on the finish. A very delicious hazy IPA.

Pours a murky golden color. 1 1/2 finger white head. Head retention is good. Some lacing on the glass.
The nose is has a nice hop aroma to it. Citrus, mango, pineapple, and other aromas.
Taste - The hop citrus is mellow up front, but kicks in more on the backside.
Hops linger in my throat a bit.
A decent IPA from Hop Butcher.