Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

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

There are a ton of hops in this beer. To discuss anything else in the aroma or flavor would be dumb because all there is to perceive are hops. It’s not a lack or malt, but an overwhelming amount of hopping. There’s pine, citrus and cat piss (in a good way, if that makes sense). The bitterness is harsh, but not over the top with harshness.

Pours with an amber body topped by a medium thick head with some lacing. It’s slightly sweet and malty wtih tons of piney hop notes and a slight touch of grapefruit. Full bodied, dry and suprisingly smooth.

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.

Bottle: Poured a bright orangey color ale with a huge foamy head with great retention and good lacing. Aroma of bitter and citrus hops is quite intense. Taste is a mix between a dry caramel malt bases with some intense bitter and citrus hops. Full body with good carbonation. This is really a one-dimensional beer but still well done and great version of a West Coast hop beast.

22oz Bomber – Gravity Room – Olympia, WA
Aroma – IPA aroma with strong hops and spices
Appearance – Amber in color was slightly hazy. I am sure from the over powering hops used.
Flavor – Huge Hops flavor. This was a IPA for the NW people. This will eat your teeth and then more. This was a great IPA with a very strong flavor with good spices also
Palate – This was a full flavored beer that gave your mouth a huge amount to taste. This was a great beer to taste
Overall –This was a great IPA with huge flavors. A big beer for the bys to sink there hops fetish into. Here you IPA fans drink up see you next summer.

Bottle courtesy IrishBoy via trade. Pour is thick orange, lots of sediment particles everywhere, permanently suspended, looked like it smelled: broken tea bags. The head wa off-white, excellent retention and lacing. The aroma was tea bags, caramel, light brown sugar, pine and floral notes. The flavor was tea bags, caramel, tons of bitter hops, citrus making more of a showing than in the aroma, pine, even floral notes. This was one of those dIPAs that actually retains bitterness, darned bitter. Moderate mouthfeel. Thanks, Richard!

650 ml bottle. Coppper brown with a fizzy white head. Amazingly strong floral hoppy grapefruit and pine aroma. Buttery palate. Good caramel sweetness immediately transitioning to a swirl of citrus flavors: grapefruit, orange, and lemon all intermingeled, and finishing with a wonderfull overpowering bitterness. Wow!

Pours a hazy, dark reddish-amber color. The first pour exhibited more clarity than the second, as there’s a ton of unavoidable yeasty sediment in this one. A large, frothy, egg wash head shows excellent retention, and leaves thick patchwork lacing all the way down the glass. The aroma is pure SoCal IIPA, with heaps of fresh orange, grapefruit, and tropical fruity hops. Mango and peach are present, as is a heap of fresh cream and caramel. There’s a faint grassyness in the background as well. The flavor shows a heavy malt bias up front, toffee in particular. Quickly, it shifts to dominating, bitter grapefruit and orange hops. An ample amount of cream smoothes things out, but its still on the hoppy side of balanced. Finishes long and bitter. Medium-full bodied, with just the slightest bit of astringency. Big, big beer. There are alot of huge aromas and flavors moving around in this one.