Secret Snacks
Hop Butcher For The World

 

 

 

A serving from a tap delivered inside a twelve ounce clear snifter-like glass. Such a terrible vessel for drinking beer, but on this occasion there was no option. The brew is light and bright brass-amber in color and not at all hazy. There's at least some sweet malt and moderate hoppiness, but this kind of glass limits a bouquet. The taste has some backing sweetness, but it's not rich in a good barley malt way. The hops are also present, but not particularly delightful. There's a nutmeg reference to taste that is more annoying than it is contributing to a complex taste. Although this isn't much for glass lacing, there is a little. The alcohol bite is integrated, for an Imperial, but it exaggerates the odd aspect of the taste. The worst part is that those flaws dominate the finish and sorry to say, leave a bad taste in the mouth.

 

 

Aroma is really big dank hops and fruit. The flavor is tropical fruit/papaya, malts, a small hint of sugar/mild sweetness in the middle and a spicy/very dank hop finish.

Let the butchering of the hops commence! But just don't tell anyone. This snack just belongs to us. Hop Butcher's nearly reckless use of Mosaic, Columbus, Tomahawk, Zeus and Nectaron hops makes this session hard to be quiet about.

Pouring with a moderately hazy golden appearance, Secret Snacks releases a foamy white froth with a juicy scent of all-things citrus, tropical and stone fruit with a piquant herbal spice to follow. As the sweetness rolls onto the palate, its early taste of honey, wafer and graham cracker sets a foundation of malt for all the hops to come. A starburst of red grapefruit and tangerine leap out with a followup of more tropical mango. Apricot and peach create a juicy wrap with hints of lime, lemongrass, verbena, tea leaf and fresh pine needle in a bitter leaning finish.

Medium-full on the palate, the imperial IPA shies away from the haze but shows a lot of the hop flavors typically found in hazy beer. Using these flavors on a crisper American styled double ale surely isn't a secret easy to keep.