Moylans Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale

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

New bottle design (multi-color), sampled summer 2006. Slightly hazy amber, very slight. Generous lacey head that lasts forever. Nose is quite assertive with pleasant metal/steel, pine, and chalk. On the palate is a big, chewy malt sweetness with a beautiful balancing hop tang. Wow, this one tugs and pulls in each direction so nicely. Complex. Inspiring. Finish is softer than expected but leaves a pleasant dry marshmallowy sweetness and hop tartness. Very appetizing for the next sip.

Bomber from Holiday Wine Cellar. Pours a dark amber with one finger of off-white foam. Of course, the aroma is dominated by hop tones (grapefruit, pineapple, floral, light pine, earthy/spicy) along with a certain soapy quality. The aroma is good, but the flavor is somewhat disappointing. The hops come on too strong with very sticky/grassy/earthy tones (not much fruit). The malt backbone is strong and emerges after the initial hop shock, leading into a finish that is surprisingly not that bitter consider how this whole thing started. Feels too syrupy and heavy without the "refreshing" feeling of many other IPA’s and DIPA’s. All in all it’s okay, but it could certainly be more balanced. I consider myself to be a hophead, but this really begs the question: Is it possible for there to be too much hops? Apparently so. Other "triple" IPA’s (Pliny the Younger, Exponential Hoppiness) find the necessary balance. Not so much here...

Bottle at Volo. Pours a orange/copper colour with good-sized white head; nice lacing. Huge hoppy nose and flavour - very resiny. Pretty big body; very bitter finish. A nice, big beer.

Citus lemon and grapefruit aroma. Pours cloudy orange, small off-white head. Dry, piney with a lingering hop finish. Some alcohol. Earthy palate.

Now thats a DIPA everything hops is this beer..... nose HOPS!!!!!! flavor HOPS!!!!!! taste in my mouth for the next 3 days ...HOPS!!!!! and I love it!

Post Thanksgiving lunch/dinner feast. Pours a glowing, hazy amber from the 22oz. bottle into a snifter: Ok, so this label says "triple hopped" and so is Miller Light, so I proceed with caution. Oh my gosh this is bomber. The nose feels like each hop is holding it’s own hand grenade. Prominent caramel and a subtle, tart-like character. Some alcohol. Plenty of malts, hop resins, and faint spices in the finish, though it gets slightly perfumy. Drinkability: Heavily full-bodied with a decent amount of stickiness in the mouthfeel and a crisp bite of overloaded bitter, bitter hops. Rebuy: Definitely. #232 on 29112009, DG.

On tap at Crunchy’s, East Lansing. Translucent, slightly hazy straw-orange body, thin off-white head. Barleywine-like nose, caramely, boozy, and heavy, with herbal hops, citrus, and butterscotch. Extremely potent citrusy, herbal body, bitter, rough, and puckering, with thick, oily resins. A very big beer, boozy, astringent, and palate-destroying.

THOUGHTS: First time rating a so-called triple IPA. It was actually incredibly well balanced. Hid alcohol incredibly well. Tons of hop flavor, but not too harsh. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a medium to dark orange with an average, off-white head that kept a nice sheet and excellent lacing that was really more like sheeting. The aroma was moderate to heavy resinous and orangey hops, some Band-aid notes and a little rubber. The initial flavor was sweet, lightly bitter and acidic; while the finish was rather sweet and extremely bitter with a long duration. There was caramel malt, orange and grapefruit hops, resinous hops, slight metallic hops and oranges. The medium to full body was a bit syrupy with fizzy carbonation and a slightly metallic and lightly alcoholic finish.