New Albanian Hoptimus

Brewed by New Albanian Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
New Albany, Indiana USA

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Clear golden body with a small white head. Sweet simcoe hop aroma. Sweet citrus hops and bitter caramel aftertaste.

Stl microfest. Pour is a dark orange with a thin white head. Aroma is a super nice pine hop with a bit of citrus in there. Flavor is again a extremely fresh tasting pine hop with a wee bit of dark caramel malts. The hops are what puts this one in the winner catagory. Just like walking through a pine forest. Very good beer.

growler (thanks Jared!).....appearance: clear orange-brown with attractive white head with good lacing.....aroma: lots of citrus, mainly orange and some flower qualities as well....taste: slightly bitter grapefruit with some pine aspects to boot which later gives way to some caramel malt. taste is mainly focused on the hops though.....a very nice imperial IPA from the boys at New Albanian

Pours dark orange, red with a thin, light head above it. Strong citrus and floral qualities. Taste-wise, a strange, almost carbon-like hop hit with a strong floral bitterness afterwards. Quite the beer!

beautiful clear orange with a great white head. good lacing. amazing clean fresh orange aroma.....this isnt some hops that smell like orange aroma this stuff actually smells like you took an orange zested it cut it open squeezed out the juices and rolled around in it. amazing aroma. bittersweet orange grapefruit flavor with some caramel notes. bitter orange caramel finish. full thick creamy body. great smooth very drinkable IIPA.

GTM ’06, draught. Definite hop aroma but not overly so. Hazy gold color. Large, off-white head that is frothy and creamy. Whoa. Rich, piney hop explosion. It’s hard to believe that you can get this much flavor out of a beer with a color this light. I’ve experienced it before on multiple occasions, but it is still relatively rare. Dry with a lot of alcohol. Really nice beer. I kept referring to this brew as Hoptimator in my notes, so if New Albanian also has a Hoptimator, somebody please let me know. However, I see that several others rated this brew at the 2006 GTM, and I’d be a little surprised if they brought beers called Hoptimus and Hoptimator!

Draft at Rich O’s - Hazy amber pour with little head. The creamy mouthfeel is a nice intro to the moderately bitter, grassy hop intro. Nice pine notes help cradle the inital bitterness as it moves into a citrusy plateau. The candied fruits and sweet grapefruit notes carry through the finish. Nice hop profile throughout, but I’m left wondering "Where’s the malt?" Not alot of balance here - which is a shame considering the tasty hop schedule. Still good though and definitely worth a try.

Draft at brewpub. Poured hazy copper with an average frothy white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate floral and sour citrus aroma. Medium body with a slick texture. Medium smooth biiter flavor with a heavy bitter finish of long duration. I would recommend this to a freind.