HopTown IPA

Formerly brewed at HopTown Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Pleasanton, California USA

Very pleasant nose here - floral and piney hops. Very cloudy amber in appearance. Nice rocky head. Very rich mouthfeel, malty and juicy. Some bubblegum and caramel. Hops are present but not overwhelming, with a little aspirin at the finish. Very tasty. Thanks to Derek (The Fat Man Rocks) for the bomber.

This pours out a hazy deep amber with an off white head that towered out of the glass and I had to wait for it to die down to finish the pour. The head collapse into a mountainous landscape leaving chucks of lace in its demise. Smell is comprised of citric hops with a touch of earthiness to it and not much in the way of malt. The taste was heavily biased towards the hops as expected with big citric hops dominated a small sweet malt backbone. The after taste was fairly bitter with a citric touch to it. The mouthfeel on this was thinner than I would expect, but not so much as to hurt the experience. Good drinkability if you are in a hoppy mood, I would come back to this one again.

Draft. Golden ale with a subdued floral hops and malts. Heavy malts and hops in mouth, Heavy bodied with acrid notes. (June 2004).

22oz - Wonderful hoppy smell that that doesn’t linger too long. Pours a nice thick lacy head. Color is opague orange-brown you’d expect from a west coast IPA. Flavor is smooth hops without the bite. A very nice smooth IPA with all the flavor and not so much of the sting.

(22 oz bottle, $3) Fairly assertive maltiness is able to balance the moderately bitter hops, but this is not the typical blast of hops often found in west coast IPAs. Somewhat sweet. As the maltiness dies away, a subtle smokiness joins the hops bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied, fairly clean in the finish, thanks to the hops. The rather tame but pleasant nose shows light maltiness and a vaguely hoppy aroma. Orange, light amber color, quite cloudy, with a small, but creamy off-white head that has average retention and leaves a fair amount of draping lace on the glass. There’s a significant amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Overall, this is a decent IPA, not offensive, easy to drink if someone puts a full bottle and glass in front of me, but not something I’d actively seek out.

11.22.04 Bomber, thanks to loweredsixth. Sharp looking brew is bright orange with a foamy and lasting wicker colored head. Aromas are floral and pleasant with orange blossom highlights and solid malt beneath the surface. Great palate is thick and soft, carrying the yummy flavors to all reaches; has the mouthfeel of an IIPA. The hop bitterness is omnipresent at every stage of the sip. Floral flavors are a nice switch, one I’m not used to in an IPA. Very nice stuff, thanks Joe!

Bottle conditioned: Slightly clouded (yeast) orangey appearance, good head formation. Tropical fruits and bitter grapefruit aroma. Mild orangey palate, biting grapefruit but not overwhelming. Mild dry bitterness in the finish, stops a little short.

Very decent IPA, I had this last night at Najas Place, on tap. Nice appearance, hoppy floral aroma, and went down really smooth. This is nice.