Single Hop Imperial IPA (Azacca)
Flying Dog Brewery

355 ml bottle, will soon be available at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 8%. Hazy deep golden to orange colour, moderate white head. Strong aroma of citrus, especially oranges, a little caramel, and piney hops. Citrussy and piney hops in the flavour too, also some tropical fruits. Well balanced for an imperial IPA.

This is probably a quite OK single hop imperial IPA, but unfortunately mine was too old and very much hop faded.

 

Looks good with a firm beige head with it's stubborn lacing. Color is a nearly opaque creamy orange. Nose is an overwhelming floral spiced Noble hop thing, with very little else punching through until a crackery finish, well, finishes... Taste is a robust floral up front, like a wonderful pungent flowery niceness. Sorry, just can't explain it differently. There's some sweetness, a spicy floral quality that really brings it's own depth. On finish it's mostly earthy with a touch of heat on an otherwise sweet with malt balance finish. When you first start swigging this, it seems thin, but gets a bit more thick as the complexity unwinds. Finishes dry with a slightly medicinal sweetness. Overall, this is very well done. For anyone that enjoys a single hop journey, this is a fantastic example of showcasing a hop. Nice job by the folks in Frederick.

 

Poured from a 12 oz brown bottle into a clear tulip. Best by 03/11/17

A: Slightly hazy amber-gold with 1- finger of off-white frothy head with decent retention and good lacing down the glass.

S: Candied oranges, honeysuckle, hay, pineapple

T: Flavor is muted hops with a candy sweetness from over the hill caramel malt and some orange/grapefruit citrus and an earthy herbal finish. Moderately bitter.

M: Finishes reasonably dry with medium body and carbonation.

O: Not great but probably long in the tooth. Will have to see if they try this again ans snag it fresh to re-review.

 

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, a bit herbal. Taste piney hops, some notes of tea, moderate bitterness. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, not terrible, but not nearly as enjoyable as a DIPA should be.

 

 

Slightly hazy golden color with off-white head. Aroma has earthy hops and some oranges. Some grains in the background as well. Taste starts with chai and orange rind, continues with crackers and biscuits, finishes with bitter orange peel and pink grapefruit. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. Overall it's a decent DIPA but it tastes a bit old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Pours a golden yellow color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a solid head that leaves some good lacing

S: Tropical fruitiness up front along with a solid malt backbone. Lots of orange and papaya. Pineapple and mango in there as well. Some very light stone fruitiness in the back

T: Follows the nose. The malt manages to balance the hops nicely. Mostly tropical fruitiness with an emphasis on the papaya and pineapple. The orange is on the lighter side along with the mango. Finishes with lingering light bitterness and fruitiness

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: A solid IIPA that definitely highlights the azacca. You can tell it's more of an aroma hop, but the taste still carries over nicely. Worth checking out if you're into azacca hops or single-hopped IIPAs