Hollister Bowling and Beyond

Holy crap - this one was fantastic! I was blown away by this caliber of beer being served at this establishment. Maybe I’m just a sucker for big sticky 2IPAs, but this one was a lovely monster. Sweet alcohol in the flavor, but hops everywhere on top of it all. Delicious!

Tasted on tap at the Pizza Port Strong Ale Festival 12/5/2008. This imperial IPA pours a medium yellow gold color from the tap. Small sized white foamy head. The aroma is floral and piney hops. A medium bodied Imperial IPA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are floral and piney. Definitely a double IPA but without the over the top malts and hops. Nice balance. Good carbonation. Nice citrus aftertaste. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and crisp. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

On tap at the 2008 Strong Ale Festival. Poured a medium and cloudy amber color with a very small sized off white head. Aromas of citrus, caramel, and some pine. Tastes of floral hops, citrus, and caramel.

Draught at the brewery. Gold with a small fine head that leaves light lace. Sharp hoppy aroma of pine and bitter orange. The flavor has a light, dry maltiness, and a powerful bitterness. Something about the hops is a bit rough in the flavor, with more apparent bitterness than any fruitier flavors. Medium bodied with a slightly watery finish that feels way light for the 8.6% that this batch came out as. The lighter malts kinda remind me of pliny the elder, but the hops just dont gel well in this case. A bit of a let down, as Hip Hop is an awesome DIPA, though this is still drinkable. 3.2 Rerate: The hops werent ass weird as I had thought. Nice hoppy, piney aroma. Still a bit light on the body, but the bitterness is refreshing.

On cask at the Real Ale Festival at PP Carlsbad. Cloudy orange hue, big thick white foamy head, moderate lacing. Smell is sweet hop juices, plenty of lemon, grass, citrus, and tea leaves, hints of cotton candy, pale malts in the background. Taste is sweet pine resin hops initially, tea leaves and lemon followup closely, grassy and chalky tones, finishes with light sweetness. Palate is medium-bodied, watery texture, moderate carbonation. A nice balance of hops and malts, texture is a bit thinned out.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear amber with a small, off-white head. Nice malty aroma with some spicey hops. Malts upfront in the taste, then spicey hops in the finish. Lightly syrupy mouthfeel with light carbonation.

On cask at the Real Ale Festival at Pizza Port Carlsbad on 6/13. Pours light orange with a medium off-white head. Hazy appearance. Very floral green pine sap aroma with spicy gingerbread and orange-rind. High alpha acid hop flavor amidst the heavy malty sweetness that makes the bitter finish very aromatic in the nose. Heavy mouth-feel. Had two samples of this; quite drinkable.

Another beer I’m happy WeeHeavySD went through the trouble of entering. Tried on cask at PP Real Ale Festival. Mild. Light amber color. Mild bitterness. Easy to drink. Good.