Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

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

22 oz. bottle, from BevMo in Walnut Creek. Pours rich reddish copper color with a large off white head that leaves thick lace. Bold hoppy aroma with pine, lush grapefruit and lemon peel, caramel malts are barley discernable in the background of the hop assault. Flavors features a rich malt sweetness, but again it’s the hops that dominate - more pine, grapefruit, spruce and spice. Thick full body, gently tingly carbonation. A hop monster in the truest sense of the word.

Bottle. Hazy dark honey/amber with a medium ring of bubbles. Nose-reminds me of the basement of the Falling Rock during one of Dr. Bill’s soirées-lots of hops, and alcohol. Taste-medium to high bitter, lime, fruit loops, grapefruit, meaty, orange zest, pretty much all hops with a medium malt backbone. Sickly sweet finish.

Sampled at a recent Champaign-Urbana Beer Club meeting. This was the top beer of the night for me. Poured a deep amber with a weak off-white head. Visually not very enticing but let the aroma grab you. HUGE grapefruit nose sings lead with backup provided by caramel, pine, flowers, and herbs. Medium bodied with a smooth and slightly tingly mouthfeel. The flavor was a rush of hops, citrusy bitterness cut with a touch of sweetness. This was very impressive and one I’d like to get my hands on more frequently.

Bottle. Pours an interesting color. Not really amber, not really brown. My best descriptor would be "tea-like". Moderately opaque with a nice sized light tan head that is formed from bubbles of multiple sizes. Sea-foam like lacing is left behind. Wonderful piney/floral aroma which is a pleasure to smell. Medium bodied and very smooth mouthfeel. Carbonation is low or the malt bill is tremendous, either way it coats the palate nicely. Flavor is a well balanced hop and malt bill. Pleasantly sweet with a generous, but not overwhelming, citric rind bitterness. Alcohol is tucked away nicely. Well crafted IIPA.

Bottle given to me so generously by Dickensonbeer. Pours translucent copperish brown with a nice butterscotch colored head and lively carbonation. Nice aroma of citrusy and piney hops. Initial flavor is semi sweet with the fruitiness of the hops dominating the taste buds. That quickly transitions to a very bitter, dry, resiny finish that lingers on and on. Alcohol is well hidden. A real hop bomb here. Once you drink this, your palate is shot for the night. Whew!

Bottle from Secret Santa. Hazy amber body with a large chunky beige head. The aroma is grapefruit, tangerine, apricot with cotton candy and caramel. The flavor is quite sweet with over-the-top crystal malt (i.e. lots of astringent caramel and ice tea), grapefruit and resinous pine. Medium/full body is sticky, chewy with a bitter, slightly astringent finish.

Pours deep amber into a shaker. Medium sized head with good retention and lacing. Grapefruit and pine aromas. Upfront grapefruit with a bitter, lasting finish. Slick and fizzy. Not very balanced.

Wining & Dining Tasting. Pours a slight hazy amber. Smells hoppy. Quite bitter - lots of hops - pine, dry grape and tonic. Smooth carbonation. Alcoburn. Bitter fininsh.