Pizza Port Hop 15

Brewed by Port Brewing/Lost Abbey
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Marcos, California USA

Sample while judging Alpha King 2009 Contest at Falling Rock. My choice for #1, no offense to Mountain Sun. Copper colored. Huge piney hop aroma. Extremely balanced IIPA. Sticky hops, delicious, malty balance. Great Great beer

Bomber from JCB - thanks! Clear gold with a thick white head. Lots of chip-like floaties, and a big hunk of sediment, still semicircle in shape from the bottom of the bottle, plops into my glass. Sweet malt nose that is pounded into submission by citrus and pine. Brutally bitter flavors permeate the mouth, it almost stings the palate. Dry grapefruit and orange with a resiny tone throughout. After the initial bitterness passes, something I think is cardamom comes through. A spicy herbal bitter finishes the assault, and it lingers for quite some time, like a hard punch, reminding you you were in a fight. Niiiice.

Amber with a white head. Aroma is pine hoppiness, light floral. Taste is a firm hoppiness, nice fruit, and floral combo, light caramel.

Thanks To Hellbilly for the bomber!!! Pours hazy copper, with 1 finger and light lacing. Nice piney aroma. Grapefriut on the mouthfeel hop in the middle, and slighty sweet on the finish. Nice clean & crisp finish with not much of a aftertaste. Very complex and well balanced

Rerate DraftThe bottle version is nothing like the draft version. Clear copper decent white head. Syrupy caramlel malt and grapefruit aroma. Beautiful falvor profile, sweet, alcohol, tons of citrus, fruit, and floral, then the big hop bitter bite. Damn fine! Medium crisp body with a very pleasing and refreshing finish. Out of 15 big hoppy beers tried on this night, this (and the Stoudts IIPA) were far and away the winners.(old - 7/3/7/3/16)(rerate 11/3/03 Bottle #379) Immediately upon popping the cork you are hit by the aroma of hops. Very nice ruby aroange color. Carbonation consists of very small bubbles that produce very little head. What head there is laces quite nicely, however. Aroma is maltier than I expected (especially compared to the draft version). The hops are there, don’t get me wrong, but the malt aroma is there also. Flavor is strong bitter hops. Huge pine flavors. Body is full but lack of carbonation makes it seem a bit thin. The draft version is IMO much better than this bottled version.

(old notes 7/23/03 - draft) Minimal head and lacing. Very chewy mouth-feel. Very hoppy but yet also a sweet malty taste. Alcohol flavor is masked by the hops and malt. Seems like an odd cross between an IPA and a barley wine.

Pours a hazy golden brew with a creamy golden head. The aroma is sweet, hoppy, malty, some caramel. This bottle sat for a little while before being consumed and some of the hops may have faded. The flavor is rich, bitter, alcohol, caramel, grapefruit peel. The palate was rich and waxy.

This bright orange beer poured with a decent beige head a a wonderful floral aroma. There is a flavorful caramel malt base that is hearty enough to compete with the intense hop bitterness. It all comes together very nicely to provide a delicious glass of beer with a spicy carbonated finish.

Bottle sampled at stateline. Pours a hazy copper color with a nice off-white head. Aroma of malt sweetness, citrus, pine, and some grapefruit. Flavor is full bodied and moderately sweet with caramel, grapefruit, and notes of pineapple with a clean and dry finish. An excellent imp/double ipa . Thank burt