Hopstate NY (2019)
Brewery Ommegang

A: hazy; deep gold in color; 1+ finger off white head that receded to a wispy cap; nice lacing;

S: not especially aromatic; what's there is earthy, with a bit of floral in the background;

T: follows the nose up front; orange and orange zest from the middle through the finish; mild bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: interesting;

 

 

Brewery Ommegang "Hopstate IPA 2019"
1 pint can coded "L061719 EBT2 BEST BY111719" and sampled on 103019
$4.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a very hazy, even cloudy, deep golden/amber/orange body beneath a two finger thick head of rocky off-white foam. I'm going to give it three minutes to settle and see how it holds up... well I've still got a whole finger thick head, about an inch and maybe a touch more, and the lacing where the head has already fallen is quite thick and almost completely covers the sides of the glass. The aroma is quite perfume-like and floral. It smells like roses, jasmin, orange, and scented soap to me. The label lists the hops used as Cascade, Chinook, Michigan Copper (which I've never heard of), and Triple Pearl (which I've also never heard of). Interesting. The flavor is not as floral as the aroma suggests, although there's certainly still some of that, but it's really more fruity / tropical. I'm finding a good bit of melon along with apple, tangerine, peach, and apricot. There's also a dusting of spiciness to it that reminds me of allspice, although that might be because I made a dish for dinner last night that included fresh ground allspice and I'm just imagining it. It's interesting. The malt is fairly basic, just a touch biscuity. It's a little sweet with a golden syrup kind of note but there's enough bitterness to balance it so that in the end it finishes mainly dry with a touch of orange, some spiciness, a light earthiness, and just a touch of pine lingering - and now I'm finding some pine in the nose, or am I imagining that as well? Surely the Chinook is used for bittering. In any case, I am finding more spiciness now, which is interesting. I like a beer that has enough complexity that it evolves while you're drinking it and it warms up a bit. In the mouth it's medium bodied and dextrinous, and the carbonation seems really fine-bubbled and seemingly natural. It lends a light caress to the tongue before becoming quite smooth. So how strong is this? 7.4% - that's not bad, but it's fairly malty and it's coming across like a double IPA so I wanted to check. Another thing to note, that at least I appreciate if no one else does, is that it's brewed with locally grown barley and hops which seems to have worked out well (I've had some beers brewed with locally grown barley that weren't that good; I'm assuming, based on the malt). Ahhhh, and so I see that this beer is also called "Hopstate NY" which is an interesting word play on upstate New York, and New York state used to be the hop growing center of the United States. In the end it's a bit sweetish and floral/fruity but I'm pretty happy with it. I'd only drink it as a specialty beer, not out on a night with the lads or anything like that, but maybe on a reading night with something like Miller's "Tropic of Cancer" or something from James Baldwin. Review #6,768

On tap at Das Beer Garden. Hazy bright orange. Smells of bright orange and grapefruit with floral notes behind it. Tastes of grapefruit hops, grainy malt, and piney hop bitterness. Malt profile is bright with a little sweetness. Medium body. Throwback hop profile. Solid.

poured from 16oz can to Spiegelau IPA glass
Look: pours deep gold with a nice 1" thick white head which has decent retention. this beer has a certain amount of haze without it being a NE style hazy type. minimal lacing was observed.
Smell: resiny, piney, hop dominated aromas of fruit salad (melon, cantaloupe, mandarin), some spice. light malt.
Taste: hop-derived sweet fruity flavors dominate against a light malt backbone and significant bitterness.
Feel: moderate body, rich, resiny texture. moderate carbonation and subdued astringency. finishes long and sweet with lingering bitterness and some tingly astringency making a late showing.
Overall: a different IPA for sure. on the sweet side. interesting and delicious at the same time.

 

 

 

Poured from a 16oz can into a Trillium pub glass.

Look is a hazy orange yellow with a thick white head.

Aroma is a funky, hoppy, orange peel with a little candi malt.

Taste is a little medicinal, but definitely that hoppy candy orange peel.

16oz can into IPA glass
Canned on 6/6/19
Pours an opaque dark gold with rocky off-white head
Tangerine, sweet sticky resin
Malty, flowery, vanilla
Feel is medium bodied smooth with a bite on finish
Overall unique beer, I was not expecting it to taste like this

 

 

A: The beer is somewhat hazy yellow in color and has some amber hues. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that died down, but consistently left a thick coating of bubbles covering the surface and the sides of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of honeydew, orange peel, and floral hops are present in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of candied citrus and caramel with notes of floral hops and hints of spices. There is a moderate amount of carbonation.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I found this IPA to have interesting and unique aromas and flavors from the mix of hop varieties that were used.

Serving type: can