Single Hop Imperial IPA (Calypso)
Flying Dog Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Color is nice rich gold ,frothiness/ lacing is excessive. The apple and pear and lemon zest is there to savor if you want to try to ignore the astringency. Some pineapple solidity to save the day.
I never buy Flying Dog but I always buy their Single Hop Series beers just to learn about hops. Calypso as a hop is on my radar now as I am trying to be hop affluent. Appreciate Flying Dog for showcasing the hop.

 

I keep adding Flying Dog bottles to my inventory! Man, those guys are the dictionary definition of "prolific"! This will be the third or fourth horizontal that I have conducted of their offerings since I embarked on the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody.

From the bottle: "Having never worked with it before, what was it about Calypso that appealed to our brewmaster? Unique notes of apple and pear mixed with stone fruit and citrus. A second date was a no-brainer."

I Pop!ped the cap & conducted a slow, gentle pour into the awaiting glass as Jim Morrison held forth. I nodded & he nodded back as I began an in-glass swirl that raised just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with moderate retention. The sticky lacing left in its wake was going to require a jackhammer to remove! This is The End! Color was a Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity. Naturally, this prompted a visit from The Gelt Gang of Mammon, Croesus & Midas, all clamoring for a taste. Jeez, like the scene wasn't weird enough already. Nose was really sweet and I was put in mind of freshly-pressed apples as a kid. The apple tree in the upper lot is long-gone as are my maternal grandparents, but the memory lingers. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was very fruity with the apple & pear flavors acting as a counterbalance to the grapefruit bitterness. Wild! As self-described, self-avowed hophead, I really dig these single-hop and S.M.A.S.H. beers since it is like a crash course in flavor profiles without having to be a homebrewer. My only bugaboo with regard to this one was the astringent finish. It was just a tad too dry for my taste. I now wonder what Calypso hops get paired with on a general basis. It was interesting, but one was satiating.

 

 

 

Enjoy by 9/22/17. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours golden with solid clarity; big fluffy white head that slowly falls leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have a nice amount of cracker and fresh bread. Some subtle floral notes. Mild hints of berry. The flavors are very clean and crisp. Some citrus leading the way. Grapefruit and lemon is there. Nice amount of pine. Malts do their thing. Finishes dry. Alcohol basically goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is on the lighter side of full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's very fluffy and slightly creamy. Very smooth and easy to drink.

This is a solid DIPA. No gimmicks here. It's very similar to most of the Imperial IPAs in their Single Hop series. It's not flashy, but it's very clean, crisp and refreshing. The craftsmanship is on point. It has alot of pale ale qualities and would be best described as an "Imperial Pale Ale", in my opinion. It's probably better than my "numerical score" might indicate. It's enjoyable stuff.

 

Interesting hop profile. Hardly any hop aroma at all. Picking up grains and maybe some hops but not sure. Taste is dry and metalicy. Almost aspirin like finish. No sweetness or citrus here. Actually feels like a 5.8% pale ale in body and feel. Definitely lighter than 8%. Its sort of a SNPA at higher alcohol level.

very nice golden color with white head. The nose promises hops and fruit. The taste is a typical Flying Dog single hop taste, with the slightly more bitter hop character of the Calypso hop. I love it just like I loved all the other ones. I also enjoyed the lower ABV of 8%, which allowed for an extra beer.