Beer Here Hoptilicus American Strong Ale at 9.0% ABV (C$11.00 at Zyn 650 ml, bottle date undecodeable)
Pours hazy (first glass) to cloudy (second glass) deep amber with two fingers of creamy tan head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, moderate spotty lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel malt, dark boozy fruit, raisins and liquorice, pithy bitter grapefruit. (7/10) Taste is moderate to high sweet, moderately strong bitter. (6/10) Medium to full body, low carbonation, sweet and syrupy, lingering dry and astringent bitter finish. (4/5)
Kind of a hoppy version of a BSDA – combines the dark fruitiness of an Abt with the hop profile of an IPA. Not bad at all, but not an unqualified success – a bit of a kitchen sink of flavours, and not entirely balanced. And definitely not as hoppy/burny/over-the-top as the label promises/threatens: “It will enter your mouth with great fury, burn your tongue with alcohol and hop bitterness and leave you begin for more.” Quite aside from pedantic impulse to correct the absence of at least one comma, and my juvenile impulse towards a lewd joke, that statement is just wrong: the alcohol is warm but not hot, and the hops are big but not over the top. Not bad, and I certainly warmed up to it as it warmed, but ultimately it didn’t get past “good”. (14/20)
7/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
