Lancaster Hop Hog IPA

Brewed by Lancaster Brewing Co.
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Lancaster, Pennsylvania USA

Pours a dark amber colour with a large frothy off white head. Aroma is very fruity, mollasses, and some mixed sour notes. Initial taste is very fruity resembling its aroma. Berries galore become present, I went to grab the bottle to make sure I am rating a Lancaster IPA and indeed it is. Sweet malts really give a lot of character to this beer but I am afraid that it really it overides the hops. From that initial taste you taste the lurking of bitter hops in the background but they never make their appearance in the finish. More of a vegetable finish with a slight bitter hops on the sides of your mouth. Palate duration is short, some head retention and nice lacing the glass. Finish is indeed dry, with a medium body. Overall, I am perplexed about this IPA, I had a lot of them and this is the most unique one I have encountered.

Poured a nice amber color with good head and lacing was strong as well. Aroma was a blast of citrus some maltyness as well. Flavor was pine/citrus hops with a great balance of malts in there. Not very complex but still very good.

2006 12 oz bottle. Pours hazy orange amber with a moderate off-white head. Light aroma of caramel malts, sweet butter, citrus and perfumy floral hops/dishwasher. Well-balanced flavor features a clean malt character, caramel, hop bitterness and light floral hops. Medium to medium full bodied, smooth and moderately low carbonation. Pretty solid, balanced IPA that would particularly appeal to those non-hophead IPA fans.

Bottle. From sampler pack. Copper color. Good. Biterness but little hop flavor. Slight caramel flavor (a minus.)

Pours amber with light head. Friendly hoopy IPA smell. Tastes with nice hop mix and smooth. Nice clean finish. Nce IPA

On tap at Lancaster Brewing. Arrived at the table a clear rusty gold with a thin white head that faded to a film after a few sips. Pleasant citrus aroma. Flavor was citrus with some light caramel sweetness. Long, bitter finish. Nicely crafted - not overdone like some IPA’s.

Date: November 28, 2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: hazy amber, scant head
Aroma: tart vinegar aroma
Flavor: huge sour infected flavor

Date: September 19, 2006
Mode: bottle
Source: roadtrip
Appearance: dark muddy burnt orange, huge cream colored head, lots of lace
Aroma: sweet carmel and citrus aroma
Body: creamy body
Flavor: well hopped carmel malt flavor, light bitterness leading to a nice bitter finish, a fine drinking IPA afterall

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **+/4

12 oz. Dark copper and clear with a medium and lasting, sticky head. Aroma is surprisingly malty and reminds me of some Scottish Ales I love. I would have to agree with most of the commentary here - this does not seem like an IPA (maybe a British style IPA), but I like this beer. It is fruity and rich with caramel malt, but there are also plenty of hops to finish dry and bitterish; they’re just not the dominating hops so many expect in IPAs. Palate is medium and smooth, with some hop tingle. This is a nice beer, but probably should be in a different category here (maybe British IPA, or traditional IPA category needs to be invented, vs. American IPA). It would do better in the ESB, American Strong, or possibly the Scotch Ale category. Too many ratebeerians have come to expect strong pine-citrus hoppiness in an American-produced IPA for this one to gather any good ratings in this category.