Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale | Moylan's Brewery

4.43/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This pours a slightly hazy amber gold. Thin foaming. Big big big aroma. Lightly floral orange blossom and candied citrus notes. Big intense bitterness with a strong citrus and pine character. Just a touch of boozy heat and some sticky malt backing. This was good.

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4.44/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I picked up a bomber of Hopsickle from Hi Times in Newport Beach, CA on 02/12/2017. No bottled date, which is pretty asinine in this enlightened age of "drink fresh." APV 9.2%. Colorful label touting the various awards won by this imperial IPA and providing you with directions to Moylan's Brewing in Novato, CA. Novato is located 30 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County.

Actually, I'd classify this beer as an Imperial Triple IPA -- it has an insane hop-forwardness with an Imperial IPA's backbone. This beer relies upon Amarillo, Palisade, Simcoe and CTZ hops -- a ton of these hops.

Hopsickle pours a light hazy copper with low to moderate carbonation. 1 finger of ecru foam which dissipates quickly. Beautiful lacing. The smell is strong notes of honey and hops -- citrus, flowery and piney hops. This aroma, while relatively okay, doesn't prepare you for the assault on your taste buds.

The taste starts with honey and bitter pine hops, followed by hops, hops and more bitter hops, ending in a delightfully (or painfully, depending on your opinion) bitter honey taste. At first sip, the honey (malt) backbone washes out the complexity of the hops. But then the bitter hops quickly overwhelm the honey taste, leaving just a wonderfully bitter, piney taste that lingers in your mouth for literally hours afterward. I'm not kidding -- for hours afterward. This is some very cool sh*t!

This is definitely an imperial IPA of extraordinary hop intensity and bitterness. That said, Hopsickle isn't for everyone. I doubt many drinkers will truly appreciate the bitter/sweet insanity of this imperial IPA. It literally knocks your socks off with its hop bitterness and honey malt. This isn't just something one drinks every day -- this is also what one savors on special occasions.

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4.06/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber into a tulip

L: Pours a semi-opaque golden orange color. 1.5 fingers of white head falls quickly. Moderate lacing.

S: Hops, hops, hops. Citrus and pine... peppercorn, all mixed with bready malts.

T/F: Rich malt body... full, and with a very big hop profile. Lots of resiny pine, light citrus notes... sharp and peppery. Juicy and oily. Finish is bitter.

O: A big hoppy Imperial IPA. Not the best I've had but definitely upper third. Well worth snagging for a test drive.

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3.51/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Darker than average ipa, this one brings a healthy dose of crystal malt if you're into that kind of recipe from yesteryear. So much hop oil it makes it almost impossible to form the off white head on top.. Aroma dropped lots of caramel sweetness and C hop bitterness.

Taste is just going for those ibu numbers, trying to make it as bitter as possible while creating an almost barleywine like malt body and sweetness to boot. Its hot and bitter.

Only comes in a bomber, way expensive for its one trick pony bitterness. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, but ultimately this is a barleywine to me.

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4.02/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 22 oz bomber into snifter. No visible bottle date.

A: Copper tinted orange with generous 2-3 finger dense white head. Lasting retention and leaving lots of lacing.

S: Fresh pine cones, and bold earthy hops. Orange peel and grapefruit.

T: Dank, resinous, earthy hops from start to finish. Faint citrus with grapefruit and tangerine.

M: Medium body with average carbonation. Finish is bitter with hop oils lingering on the tongue.

O: Seriously huge hop bomb that I thoroughly enjoyed. My first from Moylan, and hopefully not my last!

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4.18/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle from the Co-op. Orange copper pour with one finger fluffy head. Big bold hop aroma, taste continues with more hops, assaulting the palate with some real dank bitterness. Bitter finish slides down the throat with some heat. A big, chewy, meaty DIPA. Nice!

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4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

They did a very good job with the hoppiness. Great beer. The hops are very strong and the aroma is overwhelming. The taste is also very hoppy and smooth.

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4.35/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours a hazy reddish orange. Smells resiny, piney, orange and maybe grapefruity. The taste is a wonderfully bitter, yet balanced brew. The mouthfeel on this big beer is really selling it for me. The body and carb level are making a happy dance on my tongue! Really wish I had brought back more from my vacation, yum!

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3.79/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

ABSOLUTE HOP BOMB!!!!! Couldn't even comprehend some of the citrus notes before the bitterness destroyed my palate. Extremely piney. This is not a '100' rated beer, bros. But it is damn good. Oddly enough, some sweetness shined through (maybe residual resin, maybe (chocolate?)?

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4.1/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Look: yellow maybe a bit more Amber than the average IPA.

Smell: lots of complex hops. Floral and resinous. Not much citrus if that's your thing.

Taste: unique and complex from the start. Not very sweet. There are surprising notes of chocolate and coffee. Finish is bitter as the tomahawk hops come through

Feel: medium bodied. Not crisp but not overwhelmingly sticky.

Overall: a very distinct imperial IPA. Strong hops and not afraid to let the bitterness fly. Fans of sweeter IPAs might not be a fan but overall a very enjoyable drinking experience.

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4.29/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Must have got a relatively fresh bottle as I didn't notice any lack of carbonation or muted flavours like some of the other reviewers. Great beer. Bready, malty, with a pleasant bitterness. Excellent mouthfeel. Bitterness balanced quite nicely with malt flavours.

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4.75/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

L: Hazy amber gold with a persistent 3” clingy white foam cap. S: Malty nose with some hops, citrus. T: Intense hops with grapefruit, citrus, melon. F: Medium to medium full body, medium low carbonation. O: A big, intense hoppy elixir.

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3.95/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Don't know exactly when this was bottled (come on people, date stamp that shit...seriously), but shouldn't be more than a couple months old.

The taste and smell on this are great. It's much more malty/bready than I would've expected, but this is well balanced by a hop kick in the middle and a lingering bitterness.

I would've rated it higher, but, considering the price I paid, I expected something better executed. My bottle is way undercarbed and so the mouthfeel is lacking. Fix that issue and it'd top-notch.

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4.51/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Looks super hazy, nice off white head that disappears quickly. Smells like one of my favorite hops being simcoe, super citrusy, piney, malty goodness. Tastes nothing like the smell, a very malt forward beer with subtle notes of the nose, earthy, mineral iron towards the end. This is not what I was expecting from something brewed in California. This is a malt bomb at times. Medium to heavy side. Just not at all what I was expecting from these folks. I liked it, just not a flavor you'd expect from simcoe and amarillo.

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3.11/5  rDev -24.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

This may have been an old bottle, hard to tell with no bottle dating.
Will re-review when I have this again; this just wasn't what it should have been when I had it.

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3.6/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Smells of pine, earthy, woody, a little lemon. Strong malt and pine resin/spice flavor, rye. A little over powering on the hop resin which dominates the palate and aftertaste. Heavy body.

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3.8/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

Way too bitter for my liking. In fairness, there was some age on this one, so I should revisit it when fresh. Unfortunately those were all the notes I had on this one.

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3.9/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - Pours a hazy orange with a one-finger white head. Lots of sticky lacing.

S - Aromas of grapefruit, orange peel, and big piney hops.

T - There is a citrus peel and piney hops right upfront. Once the citrus fades the bitterness kicks in. The bitterness is aggressive and lasts through the finish.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Very dry mouthfeel.

O - This is one big bad DIPA. Lots of piney hops and aggressive bitterness.

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4.02/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sample at Max's on 7/23/14 (from notes)

A: Lacing and copper colored.

S: Hops, all day.

T: Bitter as hell. Along with pine, that is the taste. I don't usually get this even with some of the other big IPAs out there.

M: Smooth with light carbonation.

O: Unbalanced but hoppy and bitter as hell.

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4.41/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearence very deep orange copper Thick very appetizing.

smell very multi with fresh deep hops but enough citrus adds sweetness in the smell

the taste is it exactly like the smell very smooth rich deep a bit creamy very tasty beer

very smooth mouth feel.

Overall a great beer

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4.51/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Poured a nice copper color. Does have a strange smell (not bad, just unusual) Heavy on the bitter side with a hint of citrus/sweetness. Hops on hops on hops but still went down incredibly smooth. Very tasty. Would definitely recommend.

Thanks for reading!

David S.

Huntington Beach, CA

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4.46/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured a nice orange/copper color

Smelled great! Citrus and grapefruit smell

It was delicious! Hops, Grapefruit, Orange, Hops and Bitterness

Medium carbonation. For me this went down smooth

Grabbed this beer at House of 1000 Beers, tasted amazing! It was smooth with a good amount of bitterness and hops! Definitely try this one!

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4.1/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A: Pours a semi-hazy amber color. The head is two fingers high, and ever so slightly off-white in shade. Good retention and a frothy texture betray its hoppy nature, leaving webbed lacing down the glass.

S: Quite grapefruity, almost pungently so. A more piny characteristic appears after opening up slightly. Some of the caramel-laden malts come through, suggesting this isn't the freshest bottle. Still, the hops have held up well. This is going to be exactly what I anticipate it to be...

T: Ohhh yeah, this is bitter as fuck. The bitterness is intense, but not flavorless - I taste plenty of grapefruit behind it. It's so hoppy, it almost seems metallic (but it really isn't). Sweet, almost biscuity malts gradually build up, providing just enough (and I do mean just enough) balance to squelch the bitterness...slightly. Some other flavors of pine, apricot, and flowers try to appear in spots. If I can fault this beer for anything, it's that its simplistic and poorly balanced. Who cares?! If I wanted complexity and balance, I'd drink a proper Belgian quad. This knows exactly what it's trying to be, without over-shooting to be anything else: it's a brutally bitter hop bomb. Period.

M: The bitterness is mainly front-loaded, but a lot of it also lasts right into the aftertaste, and then some. This is really damn dry thanks to all those resinous hops, too - for 9.2%, this one is brutally drinkable. It's actually pretty full bodied for the style, with the decent carbonation hiding slightly behind the oily hop resins and residual sugars.

O: This is NOT for beginners. I like to consider my palate very acclimated to raging bitterness, but this really taxed those limits to the breaking point. Having said that, it's definitely a great DIPA that satisfied my bitter tastebuds more than any other IPA I've had in a long time. Oily, resinous, biting, harsh - but in a good way! It's a hell of a beer, and a hell of an experience.

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3.79/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

"By the way if anyone here is in advertising or marketing… kill yourself.

No, no, no it’s just a little thought. I’m just trying to plant seeds. Maybe one day, they’ll take root – I don’t know. You try, you do what you can. Kill yourself.

Seriously though, if you are, do." - Bill Hicks

Hopsickle pours with a furious carbonation into two-fingers of quilted tan head. Color is a dirty brown with ruddy hues.

An aggressive hop aroma is checked quickly by strong notes of caramel, peach, and vanilla.

Long hoppy notes to the tongue, with the sweetness taking a timorous role compared to the aroma. Light fruits are noticed in the middle. An annoying chalky character lingers.

Medium to heavy in body and drier than expected. Alcohol is only noticeable as an afterthought.

Damn good example of a DIPA, but still don't know what the hell "triple" has to do with anything. I guess that's something I'll just have to live with.

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4.79/5  rDev +16.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Bomber. Poured into pint glass. SRM ~14, Generous, fluffy, cream-coloured head. On the nose, it definitely smells what I would expect a hopsickle to smell like! Aroma is pretty much all hop, and very complex. Fruity, spicy, and earthy notes combined. Robust mouthfeel. As for the taste, it is what is expected from the nose. Very complex, very bitter, all hop. This an outstanding example of an Imperial IPA!

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