Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

Brewed by Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Novato, California USA

Big bottle. Pours orange with a soapy white head. For some odd reason when I saw and smelled this beer it immediately reminded me of that Lennygoogle Sunset Wheat beer. I know I didn’t spell that correctly and I’m too lazy to look it up right now. Anyways. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it is very light in color with an orange tint, it’s hazy, and it smells very sweet. Smells different to me than most DIPAs . Can’t decide if it’s an overwhelming aroma of sticky, fresh, citrusy, grassy and earthy raw hops or if it’s an overdone, cloying mess. Ironicaly it reminds me somewhat of DFH’s 90min. That’s one of my favorite beers in this style. This one, not so much. I feel like it’s missing the malt. I know it’s all about the hops here, but this beer just seems too bitter, dry, astringent and one sided. There is too much alcohol burn where the malt should be. Probably not a beer that I will seek out again, but I am glad I tried it. On a side note: I dig their labels. I like the fact that a "personal" e-mail address is included along with a map to their place. It’s kinda like reading the cereal box when I’m eating breakfast, I like to examine the beer bottle as I’m drinking it.

Hmm...well, forgot to rate this one last night when I rated it for a friend’s blog (cvillebeergeek.blogspot.com). I’ll post that rating here.

Appearance: Pours a dark amber color that is pretty typical of an IPA. There is a two-finger head that shows decent retention and some nice lacing on the side of the Duvel tulip (Duvel... crappy beer, awesome glass). 4.0/5.0.

Aroma: The website says this beer contains Tomahawk, Centennial and Cascade hops. The bottle claims Cascade, Simcoe, Columbus, Ahtanum and Chinook. So, who knows what we’re really dealing with? Nevertheless, this exhibits a very strong hop aroma. Flowery, with a faint bitterness in the background. Some sweetness too... maybe a tad bit too sweet. 4.0/5.0.

Taste: Sadly the taste is not quite sweet enough. The hops come through immediately and without pulling any punches. There is a little bit of a metallic taste, though it’s not too offputting. A little bit of a honey sweetness is there, but it’s not nearly strong enough to balance out the hops. Finish is bittersweet, with a grapefruit taste that is typical of IPAs. The alcohol is hidden well. 3.5/5.0.

Mouthfeel: Thick and sticky. Some styles are meant to be thick and sticky, but not this one, or at least not this much. Though bitter, this beer is not too harsh. I would think it’s a nice entry level beer for the hoppy-as-all-hell type IPAs that have been so popular lately, but I’m pretty sure my idea of what constitutes entry-level hoppiness is a bit skewed by now. 3.0/5.0.

Drinkability: Well, I think I already covered this one in mouthfeel. That’ll show me to try to use someone else’s rating system. 3.5/5.0.

Overall: 3.65/5.00. Not bad. A little bit off balance, both in the aroma and the taste, but still a very drinkable IIPA. If you’re really craving a good hop fix and there’s no Two-Hearted, Hopslam or Ruination around, this will fit the bill quite nicely.

Medium shading towards dark orange amber, decent head, quite clear. Aroma was pure hops, lots of resin and pine. Flavor was clearly a hop bomb, focus clearly on resin and pine hops. Some citric in the background added complexity. Gummy caramel accented malts provide a nice counterpoint and some balance. Really well done, thoroughly enjoyed this one.

This beer is, simply stated, everything a liquid homage to the hop should be, from its bright, subtle, and slightly hazy orange appearance to its endless resinous, floral, piney, and citric palate that goes on, and on, and on....

something in the water in california. seems like pretty much every dipa that comes out of that place is made in heaven. im glad i can get this 100 ft from my back door.

WOW! This is hoppy! This beer celebrates hops like it’s Christmas! Dark Golden Color. Citrus aroma. Thick feeling in mouth. Impressive floral hop taste with Grapefruit notes. Very bitter aftertaste. It’s like chewing on a hop flower. I love this beer! And the alcohol packs a punch.

bomber and going solo, this might have to be my only beer tonight .... floral and pine aroma ... this one is insanely hoppy .... sweet on the front ...smooth in the middle .... and a crazy bitter/pine pitch, back of the throat, top of the mouth cheese grater scrubbing ..... lingering bitterness make me want more ..... I cant even detect the amount of alcohol in this one, this could be dangerous if I didn’t read the bottle 1st .... I could pound about 3 or 4 of these until I figured it out ....... I LOVE IT

Bomber. Lightly hazed amber with a tan head. Big, whompin’ pink grapefruit nose, piney and fruity peach over caramel. Excellent sheetlike lacing, nice body on the fuller side of medium. Holy CRAP, bracingly bitter flavors! Dry grapefruit zest and mild pine with a strong caramel spine. Very herbal bitter finish, pretty dry. A whopper of a beer, but a bit overdone, really. Made to give the biggest hophead his fix, if not overdose.