Hop Ranch or DirtWolf

I much prefer the dankness of Hop Ranch over DirtWolf's somewhat harshness and alcohol bite to my palate... Hop Ranch hides it much much better and IMO is much smoother. That said I wouldn't turn down a DirtWolf, but as mentioned above, I would prefer Hop Wallop to come back and replace it

EDIT: Also just bought a case of Hop Ranch, and it's very rare for me to purchase a whole case of a single beer. But I wasn't missing that opportunity this year, because last year I kicked myself after it was here and gone much too quickly. I don't perceive the seasonality as a deciding factor, I just much prefer the taste profile

 

Michael, I have not had the very latest Enjoy By but I have had a number of them over the past couple of years. It is kinda weird in that the first time I tried it (2 years ago both on bottle and draft) I did not perceive any dank flavors. The next few times (this past year) I have detected some dank but for my palate it was just a touch of dank. I enjoy drinking Enjoy By since the level of dank is subdued. On the other hand the Hop Ranch I bough in January 204 was very dank to my palate. I will try this latest batch of Hop Ranch if I see it on tap.

Cheers!

Jack

 

Hop Ranch is delicious, but Dirt Wolf has the dankness I enjoy.

 

I prefer DW and my wife prefers HR, so since the wife is always right…

I love that this is even a debate - Victory killed it last year, releasing these two in bottles.

As someone who drinks a shit-ton of DW (look it up, shit-ton is an actual unit of measurement), I will say this: DirtWolf is one of those beers that really changes with time - and not for the better. Old DW is not good; Fresh DW is world-class. Look at the Enjoy-By date on the upper right part of the label. Enjoy-By date - 5 months = bottling date. Personally, I won't buy DW if more than a month old. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where it's pretty easy to find super-fresh DW. In fact, I recently found some that was bottled 2 days before my purchase. It didn't last long in my fridge…

Cheers!

 

“DirtWolf is one of those beers that really changes with time - and not for the better. Old DW is not good; Fresh DW is world-class.” I agree 100% with that!

Below is something I posted previously this year:

“I bought a case of Dirtwolf very fresh in February (less than 2 weeks from the bottling date). Over the next 2-3 months I drank that case. That beer noticeably tailed off at 2 months from bottling and by 3 months the hop aroma was greatly diminished. As far as I am concerned, Dirt Wolf will indeed drop off a cliff at around 2.5 months.

I should state that I stored my case in an unheated basement so it was stored cool but not cold. If you have the ability to refrigerate this beer continuously then it might hold up beyond 3 months of bottle age?

I am a little perplexed in the 5 month best by timeframe for Dirt Wolf.”

Cheers!

 

I choose both. I know I suck.

 

I thought Hop Wallop had more character than Hop Ranch..even though that character was circus peanuts. Just sayin'.

 

Completely agree, Jack; I'm a lot perplexed by the 5 month Enjoy By date!

Here's a pic for anyone who needs to know where to look:




For DW specifically… 5-months-old is WAY too old.

For beer in general… As the consumer, I'd like to be the one to decide the Enjoy-By date!

Cheers!

 

I know I am in the minority here but I will go as far as saying I dislike Dirtwolf in a bottle. I have had so many oxidized bottles that I don't even bother buying it anymore hoping for a good 4pk. It's like drinking wet cardboard. The last 4pk I bought was 2 weeks old and 3 of the 4 were bad. On draft OTOH, it's excellent but still a step behind Hop Ranch imo.

 

I haven't forgotten that I'm supposed to age a 4-pack myself and compare it to fresh- it's just that since I posted that I haven't seen any fresh ones . It's been reported that our distributor has dropped the ball with this beer. I'll get it when I see it, and report back.

 

Yup, I haven't picked up any Dirtwolf in months because I can't be bothered to think about what the current month is and do the 5 month subtraction from the best by date. Back when I knew it was fresh I was blowing through cases and kegs.

 

Have you considered contacting Victory about your bottle issue? For a 2 week old bottle to have signs of oxidation indicates a faulty bottling operation. It would behoove Victory to be aware of this issue.

Cheers!

 

Look I love them both they are different IPAs, I get more citrus tropical easy drinking DIPA from Hop Ranch...DirtWolf challenges you a bit with more aggressive bitterness dank resinous, earthy, citrus, pine notes. They both were homeruns last year, I had DirtWolf freshly tapped last week A+ and I had two bottles of Fresh Hop Ranch this week A+. And when I see Liberty Bell Ringer I'm drinking that one too, they are all cousins...when Victory was brewing different DIPA Ranch S, R, etc. I will find it.

http://www.victorybeer.com/news/vic...introduces-hop-ranch-imperial-india-pale-ale/

http://files.victorybeer.com/directory/RC-Art/HopRanch/HopRanch_DirtWolf_Infographic.pdf

Straight from the Horses mouth instead of my own bullshit opinions!

I tend to drink four packs of DW occasionally and on tap in the Burgh, but I just ordered a case of Hop Ranch to be picked up Wednesday (it's a once a year release, we're just spoiled with year round DirtWolf)

 

You are drinking that particular beer in hand waaaaaay too slow IMO

 

I prefer Dirtwolf, but the limited window to enjoy Hop Ranch has me stocking up while I can. Very different IPAs IMO, both great. Victory has been kicking ass lately between Moonglow, Harvest, and now Hop Ranch. Hope they carry the momentum into next year.

 

I never had either of those, but that's good to know. I think it's mosaic hops that come across that way to me.

 

Sorry a tad off topic.. but can someone explain Victory Distribution in NJ? Reason I ask is I just got a text from my buddy saying he picked up Hop Ranch in Wegman's Mt. Laurel. Yet 15 miles down 295 in W. Deptford nothing yet. NJ distribution baffles me sometimes.

thanks!

 

Don't worry I live 20 minutes from the brewery and we won't see it on shelves until the week of the the 15th of December, and mid to late week at that.

 

Does Hop Ranch taste different to anyone this year? I just got my first 4pk this afternoon and I just cracked one now. The SRM is darker than I remember (100% pilsner as I recall from last year), it's not as creamy smooth, and it's very dry. I generally MUCH prefer a dry beer but Hop Ranch was fairly sweet last year (in a good way).