Hereford & Hops Hop Rocket Ale

Brewed by Hereford & Hops Restaurant & Brew Pub
Style: Amber Ale
Escanaba, Michigan USA

This beer is on tap at the H&H in Cranberry. I wonder why many beers have hops in their name but are not IPA? It pours pretty dark orangish brown. Has a big white head and medium hop aromas. Head fades rapidly. Not as hoppy as I expected on the first taste. IBU is listed as 48 but I think is may be a little less bitter than that. It is much less bitter than the ESB I just had. Now I begin to feel the bitter hops building on the back of my throat. Has a medium amount of maltiness, but the flavors are now dominated by the hops. It is not an overwhelming hop brew, mind you. Finish is mildly hoppy but not on the same level as other american ambers I’ve had the pleasure of tasting.

Sampled at the brewpub. Red-amber colour with minimal head and lace. Lovely grapefruit hoppy aroma drew me in. Hophead bitterness, this is some breweries’ i.p.a. Significant Carmel, malt for balance. Suitably carbonated. Drying finish. A medium mouthfeel.

Appearance: clear, coppery hue, nearly orange, with a nicely retained creamy, fuzzy head...an attractive pint before me. Aroma is herbal hops, piney, sprucey, juicy, bitter, caramel-y, toffeeish a touch....a bit of spice, very flavorful...let’s drink, eh? Taste: great display of hops on the palate, then very smooth, and very rewarding. Bitterness abounds, leaps onto every taste...all those sensations detected in the nose combine in the flavor. Medium bodied, with a light, hoppy finish...very tasty. Damn good! Hops are ablazing in this amber....I could get good and comfortable with this ale!

On-tap at the brewpub: Dark amber stained with caramel brown. Small compact head of fluffy, light tanned froth. Dwindles away at a easy gonig pace keeping a set skim and collar at the top. Lacing is spread from top to bottom with a skinny stringy blobbing. Nice aroma but a tad light for an amber with a fine toasty malt and piney hop topping. Bits of tartly scorched grapefruit and lime peels split around the last hindrances of hops. Taste nearly mirrors the aroma with a solid pine enduced bitternees on the trailing end. Toasty and well rounded malt, a smideon fruity it certain areas. But the hops in the finish really bring this puppy full circle. Very nicely handled bitterness of piney citrus. More so piney with a leafy addition to a slight grapefruity tinge and grab. Medium body feel with a fairly smooth carbonation, perhaps a tad thin in the front end but the hoppy finish makes up for it. A pleasingly good drinkin’ hoppy amber. This could actually put quite a few of the weaker IPA’s out there under a rug and stomp on them.

Although I gave the St. Edmund’s Porter 1 more Overall point, this is my favorite H&H beer. Attractive copper hue with decent head retention and lace. Although light on aroma, this brew lives up to its name with a solid dose of floral hops. Could be a little richer in the body department, but the flip side is better drinkability for the light weights. A very solid brew and one I would look forward to in anticipation on my next visit.