Mad Hops
Brewsters Brewing Company & Restaurant - Eleventh Avenue

 

 

 

 

Growler fill. I remember having it at the restaurant last year and it being super bitter/hoppy, and all cloudy and nice looking. Did they even fill the right beer? Anyway, it poured a clear copper colour. First impression on the smell was more subdued/smooth, almost like an IPL. Taste was a bit more amped, definitely floral and citrus and the heat from the abv being noticeable. Felt like it could have been higher in the IBU this time. Mouthfeel might be gone now since I'm at the end of the growler. Overall not a terrible IPA, and it's been a while since I had one from Brewsters, but after considering it being a "premium fill" I'm kinda wishing I'd just picked up a bomber.

If you're a fan of West-coast IPA's, this ones for you!. Beautiful orange colour. Citrus-forward brew with a nice dankness and piney, floral from the mad hops and a slightly chewy malt background. Love seeing beers like this being introduced to Alberta. A definite fan over here! Cheers.

Appearance: Orange and somewhat cloudy, with a foamy white head that seems to withstand the alcohol content for quite some time.
Body: Full-bodied with minimal carbonation. Really coats your mouth.
Smell: Very pine-forward, but there is definitely grapefruit and other citrus present.
Taste: Sweet, borders on being cloying. Botanical notes are very heavy, almost tonic-like. Some may dislike this, but as a gin enthusiast I appreciate this. Grapefruit is present and provides a nice contrast to the sweetness, but not quite enough. Lemon and grassy flavours are also detected. Could be improved by toning down the sweetness a bit.
Overall: A good DIPA, but the sweetness is a little too much and could be too botanical-heavy for some.

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed 12 oz. tulip glass on tap at Brewsters Calgary Crowfoot location. A lightish red-gold amber color with a half-inch of densely packed small beige bubbles and an aroma combining fresh orange juice with medicinal pine and a hint of onion. Silky smooth mouthfeel and massively juicy, chock-a-block with orange peel and flesh (with co-occuring grapefruit but orange decidedly leads the way), fresh pine/spruce boughs, bramble fruit jam, unripe pinapple, black pepper, canned peaches, and a little pot resin. Low to moderate carbonation that lends a near-syrupy, jelly-soft mouthfeel which foils the hop aggression in an interesting fashion. Semi-dry finish and not that oniony, really. Not on this occasion and to this palate, at least. Certainly does flash Simcoe all over the place. Almost a poor man's Lagunitas Sucks, dialed down a few notches and without the grain bill complexity. Maybe people will loathe that comparison. In any event, worth a shot for any self-respecting Brewsters stalker.

12oz chalice at the Century Park location.

This beer appears a clear, medium bronzed amber hue, with one fat finger of lazy, and mostly creamy ecru head, which leaves a wall of speckled lace around the glass as it slowly ebbs away.

It smells of crackery caramel malt, sticky toffee, grassy, leafy hops, raw onion, and a late-arriving pine-Sol booziness. The taste is onions, right off the bat, sheesh, raw and acrid, and pasta-dish ready as ever was. They damned-near overpower the underlying, and still heady caramel/toffee malt, and the now innocuous, and apparently quotidian citrus and pine astringencies. A huge dose of Summit and Simcoe hops, ummm, represent?

The bubbles are pretty low-lying, and generally unavailable for comment, the body an adequately hefty middleweight, and smooth like the tears of a chef chopping, oh, I dunno. It finishes dry, like said sous-chef's tear ducts after less than a round of this wankfest.

Ok, I get showcasing particular hops, or even particular hop attributes, but this one takes it way too freaking far - onions are hardly a leading sort of lady, y'know? I powered through this, even at the earnest bartender's duly noted protestations, just to get the full-on experience, and brother, I'm starting to wish I hadn't - a few glugs, and you get the whole idea here.