Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

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

22oz. bottle, 2005 release. Aroma fairly well leaps from the glass and fills the surroundings with the scent of abundant hops. A closer analysis reveals strong notes of pine, flowers, grapefruit, lemon, green, leafy herbs, and some background honeyish, toasty malt sweetness. Deep copper color, mostly clear, with a lasting uneven, creamy head and wispy chains of lace. Flavor profile is quite balanced to start, the rich, pale malt sweetness combining with massively fruity hops before a truly forceful and deep bitterness sets in, maintaining this throughout, subsequently blending back in with a faint amount of sugary malt and very light peppery alcohol presence for the finish, which is drenched in long lingering, juicy hop resins. Mouthfeel is slick and lightly effervescent, body is of course full. I was very much in the mood for a monstrously hoppy beer this evening and this certainly fits that category. A true hop-focused Imperial IPA as indicated on the bottle -- "super hoppy". Thanks, Bob!

Live/real ale. Most vendors just stick it on the shelf, but with this level of hops and alcohol, it is a survivor. Strong citrus influence, but it’s hops all the way. If anyone has aged this, I’d like to hear how it turned out. Too tempting for me.

Pours a cloudy orange hue with a thick white head with excellent lacing. Aromas of pine, citrus, a little grassy with a hint of wheat. Mouth feel is medium bodied with lingering finish. Bitterness isn’t as assertive as expected, but still there. Flavors of pine, orange peel, straw, and a hint of pineapple. Thick, lingering finish. MMMMM.....

Pours a transparent copper orange with a thick, frothy, well-lacing and long-lasting head. Aroma is bursting with fresh, green, piney, and grapefruity hops well balanced with some mild toasted caramel notes. I like these Tomahawk hops! Body starts with a nice sticky caramel sweetness smothered with a ton of flavor hops and lots of piney bitterness. Finishes bittersweet with lots of sticky hop resin. A very nice double IPA. Many thanks to wohlfs for sending this to me!

(22oz bottle) Beautiful off-white head atop a clear copper body. Lovely lacing. Aroma is quite rich, medium sweet, pine, grapefruit, light pineapple. Taste is moderately sweet, pine, grapefruit, some caramel, orange, light chocolate. Creamy, medium-full body with resin galore, plus some alcohol. Definitely a keeper!

Bottle, bomber size. Pours an unclear crazy looking particulate filled gelatinous looking medium amber with a thin, lasting, off white head. There is seriously some crazy amounts of stuff floating in this beer....stuff that stays where it’s floating no matter how much you wiggle the glass. I’ve agitated plenty of bottle conditioned beers in my life and then poured them, just because I want to see the shit floating in them and taste the dead yeast, but it usually falls to the bottom of the glass. This shit is just floating. The lace is just stupid. I’ve not seen anything stick to a glass like this ever. I might as well throw my glass in the trash because it looks like it will never come clean. I think I stared at this beer for a goddamn hour. It looks fantastic. Aroma is initially hoppy, the cascade comes through pretty prominently but they did more here and you taste it. There is layers of fruit, pine, grapefruit, rind, flowers, plants, earth, and then some sweet caramel malt. Flavor is bitter, heavily so and delightedly so. I would say it’s well balanced with a caramel sweetness, however I would bet that many would not. The thing is though, the sweetness seems to last on the tongue as long as the bitterness even though the bitterness is kicking the sweetnesses ass the entire time. Finish is bitter and complex with hoppiness. The use of Tomahawk just hammers this one shut. This is truly a great beer experience.

Bottle... This beer rocks!... Murky, amber ale with a frothy, off-white head. Great retention. The nose is a medley of pine, wood and grapefruit with barely a suggestion of menthol. The flavor delivers tons of earthy and fruity hop flavor. Lots of Columbus and Cascade evergreen and grapefruit. Decent balance due to moderate bitterness supported by a sturdy, caramelly, malt backbone. Full-bodied and chewy with lively carbonation. Finishes lightly sweet, medium bitter and bone dry. World class effort! Thanks to DarkElf for shipping the bottle my way!

Welcome to Maryland! 22oz - Clear orange, creamy off white head. Intense blast of hop aromas swirl with notes of fresh piney earth, white grapefruit zest, and touches of tropical fruit. Warming brings out a light sweet malt undertone. Bitter hop explosion of flavor as razor sharp grapefruit, sprucey earth and pine tear away the enamel from my teeth. Only a faint sweet malt backbone plays out late, but is merely just for show. Full bodied, prickly carbonation, bitter hop juice finish. If this doesn’t cure a hop-fix, nothing will! Awesome brew...