Big Hoppa
Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16oz can into a speiglau IPA glass.

Look is orange with a slight yellow tinge and very hazy. The head is very white and bubbly.

Aroma is malty with an astrigent orange hop.

Taste is much better than aroma, but maybe a tad hop faded.

 

 

 

I am a fan of this brewery. They are local to me and I know they aren't New England but was curious about an double NE IPA. This one was easy to drink for a 9% goes down way too easy. Dank and a little fruity but overall nice hop forward character and very much a hazy IPA that I very much enjoyed. Poured from a 16 oz can a cloudy straw yellow with a nice head was even better at the bottom of the glass. I will have more of these.

Manayunk Brewing Co. "Big Hoppa"
16 fl. oz. can without freshness dating
$2 @ Weis, Conshohocken, PA

Notes via stream of consciousness: No dating on a NE IPA? That's ridiculous. These guys have to get their act together and buy a laser printer. I know they do mobile canning but with the amount of cans they put out and the amount that they intend to do in the future it's almost irresponsible not to. Anyway... surprisingly big head of fluffy off-white foam. Cloudy golden orange body. Aroma of citrus rind and floral notes, probably mostly grapefruit, and light pineapple. It's not bold, nor "juicy" but neither is it unclear. There's some hop resin there as well, maybe even some pine, and definitely yeast. The flavor follows with perhaps a little bit more pine, some apple and light pear as well, and the hops are pretty well threaded throughout the sweetish golden malt that's just a bit doughy, and lightly biscuity. Again, it's not bold or "juicy" but I guess I should keep in mind that this is a "HAZY NEW ENGLAND DOUBLE IPA". Well, technically not, Manayunk isn't in New England, but they probably couldn't fit "Hazy New England STYLE Double IPA" on the label. So it's more malty, I get that. It also looks great, I still have a solid head and the lacing is quite nice. It's as bitter as it needs to be, maybe around 45 IBUs, and there's a light alcohol presence. How strong is this? 9%? That's not bad. Given that I'd say the alcohol is fairly well hidden, and what you DO sense, you SHOULD sense or the beer would seem lacking. So what have I missed? Body? Medium. Carbonation? Moderate. Overall smooth and malty. The only negative I'm finding right now is the yeast which is just too much, it's cutting into the flavor and hurting it. I find it very distracting. OK I'm done. It's a decent beer but I think this sample is a little old. Maybe not. Hard to tell.

 

16 oz can poured into a pilsner glass.

Appearance
Hazy gold. Moderate carbonation. 1 finger of creamy white head.

Nose
Peach, tangerine, candied lemon, candy sugar, passion fruit, and dank.

Taste
Cotton candy, blueberry, dank, and pine resin. Grapefruit zest and wintergreen. Lighter notes of peach and passion fruit. Light caramel and candy sugar maltiness.

Mouthfeel
Full bodied, crisp, silky, oily, dry, and bitter.

Overall
Fair dankness with nice tropical and citrus fruits. At first sip I thought it was too dry and bitter to be considered a New England IPA. About halfway through the can my palate adjusted and I figured...why not consider it? So I did. And I liked it.