Black Oak Hop Bomb

Brewed by Black Oak Brewing
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Etobicoke, Canada

great citrus nose, grapefruit especially, golden colour, some small amount of head with little lacing, taste of citrus hangs around, great beer

Cask at Volo, amped up version known as Atomic Hop Bomb.....came virtually flat - no head, no carbonation - but being a cask beer, I expected that. Huge aroma of grapefruit and really fresh green hops. Taste less intensely grapefruity than aroma, although that was certainly there. Also present was lemon, honey sweetness, and quite a bit of tannin bitterness which gave this uncarbonated product a very similar flavour to real iced tea. Not unpleasant, just a bit out of the ordinary. I had such huge expectations for this, that I knew they could never be met......I was right. Still, an enjoyable whole, just not the great IPA I was hoping and wishing for, especially given the astounding quality of Black Oak’s previous seasonals/one-offs. This is a beer that would really be enhanced by a bit more carbonation. It would also be greatly enhanced if it was placed into bottles. So do that please Ken.

Cask at Volo, under the name Black Oak Atomic Hop Bomb - came with no head, and was a hazy, unfiltered orange shade. Aroma was very, very citrusy, predominantly with grapefruit. The cask conditioned version has almost no carbonation, as is true to the style, but I wonder if I might prefer this beer from a regular tap (or bottle) as I think some light carbonation would have helped out some of the flavours and mouthfeel. Taste is again, very fruity and citrusy with grapefruit, orange, and honey. Very minimal bitterness in both the body and finish. There was also a character to the beer not dissimilar to lemon iced tea, especially with the carbonation being almost not existent. Not the spectacular IPA that I’d been hoping that it would be, but a very good one nonetheless. With more bitterness in the finish and a bigger body (and a bit more carbonation) this could become outstanding - the only other beer I’ve had with this kind of intense, grapefruity taste is the phenomenal Bell’s Hopslam.

I love their cask conditioned hop bombs! These guys really know how to reward beer fans with a very tasty, "sometimes" beer. This one has balls.

(cask conditioned draught at Volo in Toronto) Lovely hazy gold with generous head. Hops aroma was mild citrus. Flavor was citrus/pine hops. The mouthfeel of the cask ale was near perfect. Great IPA.

Draught @ TFOB 2006. Well what a great chance to taste a unique ale. The Friday only offering of Black Oaks Hop Bomb cask condition IPA was the highlight of the TFOB. For my first true IPA it was everything I would have expected and a little extra on top. As the name would suggest its LOADED with Hops. Theres hops in the aroma, hops in the taste and hops in the finish. But added to those hops is a great combination of honey and citrus that is present in both the aroma and taste. As it was beer in its true form the appearance was a cloudy, amber hazy, but I’m not going to hold that against it.

Draught @ TFOB: What a treat! A Friday only special offer at the Toronto Festival of Beer found Black Oak offering up their hard-to-find cask conditioned IPA, I couldn’t wait to try it. The pour is stunning, even without any head, with a hazy amber body that looked like I thought it should. Aroma was rich in hops, citrus, and heavy in honey. Flavour was, as promised, a hop bomb. Somehow, it was so well balanced that it wasn’t at all offensive, with a perfect blend of honey sweetness and hops. I should have gone back for more at the end, but I’d promised myself one sample per beer. :(

On tap at the Toronto Festival of Beer. Aroma was fantastic with a nice citrus bouquet. Looked great too, but then I tasted it. Big dissapointment. Very dry mouth feel with a heavy tannin taste... kinda like drinking black tea. No real bitterness despite the heavy hop aromas. This beer really needs some bittering hops to round it out. Cheers!