Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Bend, Oregon USA

Pours a brilliant shade of reddish orange copper. Head is a two fingered ivory color.....very sticky lace and great retention as it lasted throughout my tasting. Nose is clean and somewhat subdued but floral....pine needles, lemon pith, grapefruit and raw pastry dough. Very biting up front and on through the finish. Bitter and bold. IBU’s are high but balanced decently. The middle of the palate is where the diversity is, although not overly complex. Grapefruit rind, fresh pine sap, spring flowers, earthy and woody with a blood orange twang. Some caramel, honey and butterscotch sweetness jumps out from the back of your throat after the initial "hop shock" finish. Good dense body, a touch oily, buttery, some diacetyl presence after it warms some. Not bad.

Bottle courtesy of fishingnet. Pours a clear amber color with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of citrus, grapefruit, pine, ripe fruit, some hints of fresh flowers. Flavor is sweet and floral with more maltiness, notes of caramel, honey, floral hops, honey, pine, some light citrus and grapefruit. Generally light to medium body with a pleasing floral hop finish.

Bottle, batch 2.

Deep copper pour with rich lace. Strong c-hop nose. Burly but not sticky or overly sweet; quite nice. Good bite to the mouthfeel, deep but not overly oily hop flavors. Very enjoyable.

Bottle from Papago. Aroma is thick hops that avoid syrup and almost a little oak. Color is a nice amber gold with a fluffy, persistent head - looks totally refreshing. Flavor is like the aroma plus a fairly bready malt base. They say the new processes create an unexpected beer - this is not precise: the beer is outstanding and boasts that great Northwestern flavor; it’s good, but not unexpected.

22 oz bottle courtesy of lb4lb trade. Thanks Deniz! He told me this was freshly delivered and I couldn’t pass it up. Pours a fiery orange dark amber, decent haze, with fairly big offwhite bubbly head that laces well. Aromas are a nice blast of the PNW pushing good citrusy and piney hoppiness, grapefruit and florals mix well with underlying carmel malt strength. Initial is. Medium bodied, not necessarily blasting with bitterness up front, but lingering in with moderate carmel malt sweetness with hop bitterness pushing over as a wave, moving to good bitterness and pine power on the backend. Front end shows more grapefruit and citrusy notes with a touch of orange sweetness. This is really well balanced and proves you don’t have to just pour in a shitload of hops and pray like hell it works out. I’d drink this a lot if it were always fresh and available here. Cheers!

Pours a dark golden colour .. . fantastic white foam, with fantabulous lacing .. . great crisp hop bite, good bitterness also .. .has a nice backbone oddly enough, a good beat, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS5Ny0FLwj0 ... is a great brew, but honestly, maybe lacks a bit of hop complexity, which isn’t really a bad thing but .. .i am enjoying it so .,.. and, everyone in florida can fuck off..oh, and its a cheeseburger..

Bottle (batch #2, 2009). Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is medium to dark amber. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit, apricot), lightly yeasty (dough), with a light note of melon. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter. Medium to full body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation, moderately to heavily alcoholic, lightly to moderately astringent. Ordinary aroma for the style, unpleasantly sour/citric and abrasive in the mouth. Not a particularly notable example.

Courtesy hopscotch. Pours a glowing crystal copper color, with a frothy white head. Very nice hoppy nose, lots of big grapefruit citrus as well, with a minimal malt presence. The flavor is pretty crisp right away, the hop bitterness is pungent throughout. The caramel malt seems to show up more in the finish to balance it out nicely. Pretty big flavor profile with a nice hop bite. Very tasty double IPA.