I just picked-up a bottle of Port Brewing Hop 15 the other day. It was from a very recent bottling (I want to say March 24th or something like that). I had fond memories from drinking that in the past, so I grabbed one when I saw it. When I cracked it open to drink it, there was barely an audible hiss. I gave it a pretty hearty pour, and I literally had no head on the beer. There was a little bit of carbonation in the mouthfeel, but no head that could be seen. I also noticed a really strong alcohol/ethanol aroma and aftertaste. Now I know, it's a double-digit ABV IIPA, but I don't recall it being SO dominant in the past. Has anyone else had similar experiences from this latest batch of Hop 15?
Same impression. Just had mine. Was wishing I pulled the always available Mongo instead. Hop 15 was boozy, low carbonation. Never had it before so no basis of comparison other than I don't want another.
Yup. Too bad old forums aren't up, you'll see that undercarbonated Lost Abbey/Port is something BA's have been complaining about for 5 years now
Gotcha. I mean, I've heard plenty of rumbling about the Angel's Share bottles, but I've just never experienced the problem firsthand. I guess my good memories of Hop 15 from years past was just put on a pedestal. Bummer.
Under-carbonated, excessive alcohol heat and yeast particulate matter compounded with a lack of hop flavor. In a word...disappointing
You definitely lucked out then. I poured mine very vigerously and got zero head. And like TheJollyHop said above, it had a strong alcohol/ethanol burn and a lot of gunk at the bottom (an overabundance of yeast sediment) that gave some off-flavors.
Interesting. I mean its 10%, its not gonna be super smooth but I had no floaties or anything really wrong. Cheers!
Yeah, like I mentioned in the OP, it'll definitely have an alcohol presence being double-digit ABV, but I've had it in years past and it was never like this. I was actually really excited when I saw it on the shelf because I had fond memories of it. This year was a huge disappointment IMO.
We are flipped then. I was excited because I had never had it before and was glad to try it. I mean it was still tasty. I reviewed it at a 4.03/5. I understand your point of not having a comparison though or having a good one and then being let down. Cheers!
Any Lost Abbey or Port beer can be a undercarbonated/flat lottery ticket unfortunately. This was probably one of the top 5 forum topics when I first joined the site.
