Single Hop Imperial IPA (Lemon Drop)
Flying Dog Brewery

 

It is the occasion of Merry New Christmas (Eve) Beer Sunday (Week 670) & this continues today's festivities that I anticipate lasting well into the morrow! I really had no idea that I had so many Flying Dog beers in abeyance until I got started, but this is working out nicely.

From the bottle: "A mutual friend introduced our brewmaster to the Lemondrop hop, which has notes of lemon, mint and green tea with a personality to match. It never hurts to know someone who knows someone."

I Pop!ped the cap, but this time, I was more wary & performed a very slow, gentle pour. An in-glass swirl raised two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with good retention that left behind some nice lacing in its wake. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Man, whoever wrote those notes was spot on! The nose wafted with scents of lemongrass, mint and green tea & put me in mind of my monthly pot of tea to go with $1.00 chicken pho. If the Idaho 7 version seemed mellow, this might be like Mantovani in a bottle. Zzzz. The taste was as advertised & definitely followed the nose. The lemon was more bitter than lemongrass, but the mint and green tea were definitely in evidence. Jeez-O, man, but it was a really mellow drink, though. I have had Celestial Seasonings teas with more Ooomph! This could have me asleep even before Santa reaches lift-off. I am unsure as to how I feel about this. I generally like my DIPAs to smack me in the face & then beat me about the head & shoulders, not rock me to sleep while singing a gentle lullaby! Finish was mellow, not very bitter, more earthy and tea-like. If I had another, it would be a nice accompaniment with Asian cuisine. On its own ...? Hmm. YMMV.

 

 

 

Pours orange-amber with minimal to moderate head and solid amount of lacing. Smell is rather faint, of tropical fruit and malt. Taste is sweet lemon and orange bitter herbal hop note. Total letdown from the smell. Crisp dry mouthfeel with minimal booziness. Not bad, but expected so much more. Edit: gets a bit better, leaning toward candied fruit taste as it warms. Not enough to change rating though.

 

 

 

 

 

12 oz bottle with "for optimal freshness enjoy by dating" 12-16-17, so seemingly this is a fresh sample...

Pours crystal clear, typical of white head, film and moderate lacing.

Spicy notes of tea and lime on the nose

Tasty and flavorful , with notes of lemon, lemon grass, tea, and some ginger....heady stuff....I always enjoy the Flying Dog brews and this one did not dissapoint....suprised by the low reviews for this one....wasa matter wid youse guys?

 

 

Enjoy by 12/31/17. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours golden with nice clarity and has bubbles racing upwards; fluffy white head that slowly falls leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have lots of fresh bread. Caramel is there. The malts seem to shine. Not much lemon or citrus going on. The flavors are more enjoyable. Nice clean, sharp and crisp bitterness. The lemon and citrus comes alive in the finish. Lots of fresh grass along with some subtle hints of pine. Some fresh bread and crackers in the mix. Mild spiciness. Caramel is there. Malts are there, but the hop bitterness seems to shine. Finishes dry for the most part. Mouthfeel is very nice. It's on the lighter side of full-bodied with sharp active carbonation. It's smooth and ultimately easy to drink.

This is an okay DIPA. It's pretty clean, crisp, sharp and refreshing. I'd say it's personally my least favorite from their "Single Hop Series", to date. It's not bad at all and it's well crafted, but it doesn't do too much for me even though I still find it enjoyable.

 

I like the clear look, even though the head's a bit ragged. I also enjoy the aroma - it hits the mark with the lemon and green tea qualities. Caramel malts are timid, as per usual with FD's single hop DIPAs. Tasting it though, oooof. The mid and after tastes are the worst acts in terms of offering a unrelenting, astringent bitterness. Right before the swallow it tries to inject some malt sweetness to balance, but to no avail. This reminds of that very first sip of the very first IPA I ever had (incidentally FD's Snake Dog) - a total tongue ripper. I suppose it's easy drinking and crisp (FD's single hop DIPAs always are), but the lingering bite from the hops really just taxes the palate excessively. Medium carbonation plays second fiddle to the bitter attack. I can taste some decent elements from the Lemondrop hops (green tea and lemon), but also FAR too much bitterness. My least favorite of the single hop series to date.

2.93/5: Say no to Lemondrop in a single hop IPA

 

 

A: The beer is crystal clear yellowish amber in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high bright white head that settled down, leaving a large thin patch of bubbles on the surface, a collar around the edge of the glass, and lots of lacing running down the sides.
S: Light aromas of lemons and melons are present in the nose along with some hints of herbal hops.
T: The taste follows the smell, having flavors of lemon, melons, and herbs along with hints of caramel malts. There is a moderate amount of bitterness, which is stronger in the finish and lingers into the aftertaste.
M: It feels medium-bodied and rather crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The Lemon Drop hops in this beer are interesting, but it doesn't seem like they work well in a single hop IPA as the finish of this beer has an astringent amount of bitterness.

Serving type: bottle