Oregon Trail Hop Doctor Harvest Ale

Brewed by Oregon Trail Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Corvallis, Oregon USA

Name: Hop Dolter
Date: September 25, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub
Appearance: clear copper, creamy beige head, heavy lace
Aroma: sweet crystal malt aroma, citrus hops, light fruity orange
Flavor: sweet malt flavor, lots of balancing hops, nice citrus character, fruity orange, plenty of balancing bitterness leaves a long bitter finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4

first beer at Fresh Hop fest in eugene, hosted by ninkasi. Robust cascade nose, strong bitter bitter hop bite, sticky and fresh, clean yet overpowering. I am all for intensely hoppy ales but this is waaaay intense, maybe i hair too bitter, i suppose that is the pc nw style but, wow

I guess a good beer is like a good movie. It depends on when you experience it. However, unlike movies, beers are not permanent. I captured the essence of this beer in its prime at the 2006 Fresh Hop Festival in Portland. A citrus and powerfully hopped bright ale. Very qualpable with a dry biting taste and distinct finish.

[Tastival 2006 SNOB Event – Tap] Wow what a beer. A huge hopped beer with a ton of flavors. I liked this beer it had pizzazz and it was full of hops that made this beer a true NW brew. The color was a off amber reddish color and the malts used where very good. These was a lot of dyactle in this brew could have been an old keg. I am hoping this was the issue. I will try another at the place this fall.

A celebration of the hop harvest, and a very interesting beer. 10 different hops are used in this beer, both fresh, and dried. Tried this one on draught, at the Newport Craft Brewers Fest, in Newport, OR. It was impressive, and some of the hops, came from the brewer’s own hop fields. Pours to a a burnt orange color, with a thick white head, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer is very fragrant, with, punget, zesty, aromas of citrus/lemon, and piney hop aroma. Palate is firm, with good pale and sweet malt flavor, but that malt base, plays a supporting role, to real, citrus and some what harsh, pine tar, hop flavor, that hits the back of the tongue. Hop Doctor finishes with more citrus and pine hop flavor up front, then ends with a very bitter, dry, very hoppy flavor that lingers. This beer is all about hops. Seems odd to say, but like when someone chews tobacco, this beer is that kind of experience with hops. You drink this beer, but it is almost lke to are chewing hops, both old and new, and getting it all in one beer, if you can understand that. Hopheads will. Hop characer dominates, in aroma, flavor, and bitterness. It really is a showcase of PNW hops, at different levels, ie dry, vrs fresh, hops in the boil, dry hopping, etc. Only in the PNW can you experience a beer like this. And what an experience.

Draft at the brewery. Clear golden dark orange body, clear, with a light tan head that sits firm. Wet, fresh, slick and a bit syrupy. Those are my first impressions of this beer... something I like quite a bit, but it definitely transformed over the time I drank the glass. At first it was a sweaty sweet hop and orange citrus smelling IPA-style, but then it turned into something with a bit of a soggy grain smell, almost moldy tasty at times. Not that bitter, but sweet, oily and vinuous, with a simple flavor of honey-infused leafy hops.