Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

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

Hazy orange-copper with a dense head that lasts awhile. Aroma is like a floral hopsack with mild caramel notes. Lots of fruit with sharp hop bitterness. Dry and noticeably strong. Lingering hop 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.

Bottled. It’s hazy, sparkling, honey-colored body is topped with a bone-white head of creamy texture, medium size, and diligent beer-hiding that leaves behind thick walls of lace. The aroma screams "HOPS!" (yay!) with a variety of citrus, peach, honey, flowers, and a yeasty undertone of sweet, dark bread. The mouth is medium-full with lovely, dry carbonation for a decent finish. Flavor...I can pretty much taste what I smelled: peach, honey, grapefruit, sticky and sweet, dark dough, followed by a bunch of pine, grapefruit rind, a touch of astingence (prone to happen with uber-hopped beers, but I’m going to age some of this and see if that doesn’t go away ;o). Obviously a little imbalanced towards the hops, but I do think it will mellow out nicely with a year--even 6 months--under the house so that it can learn to play well with others. =p I love wintertime!

It says triple hoppy right on the bottle, and it is. Hard hitting hop bite, resin pine, and strong grapefruit flavor. Also a weird gear oil smell and flavor, but good overall. And extremely hoppy.

Beer pours cloudy dark honey color with a big, thick, totally retained off white head. This is a beautiful beer to gaze upon. Big aroma of grapefruit, a bit of an alcohol blast. Flavor is thick and rich with hops with a bit of a knife edge to them. I guess I am a bit more of a fan of the lighter IPAs, but this is an excellent example of its style. Big and brash, but the flavor are quite well integrated. Sweet caramel flavors and a long finish. Quite a nice beer.

Cloudy orang color with a big thick beige head. Aroma of grapefruit and piney hops. Very bitter hop flavor.

Sampled at the Odds and Ends Tasting II on 10/19/07: Pours a dark copper color with a medium thick and fluffy off-white head that has good retention. Patchwork lacing on the glass. Strong hops nose that is citrusy and piney. Rich and bitter character with a citrusy hops punch and a solid toasted malt base. Some pine and alcohol are evident in the taste too. The finish is hoppy and leaves a lingering bitter aftertaste. Overall this beer is a great example of a straightforward IIPA that retains enough balance to make it supremely drinkable.

Bottle. Rich amber beer with a reddish hue and a nice light beige head. Huge grapefruit and pine aroma with some tropical fruit (pineapple) underneath. Resiny, grapefruit flavor with rich malt backing and a bit of caramel. Full bodied. Hops linger. Some alcohol present.