Pizza Port Hop 15

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

Hazy amber with a reddish hue. Thin, yet lasting head. Forcefully plunge your nose into a sweet grapefruit: that's what this beer smells like. Smooth and soft palate. Sweet, rich malts are lip-smacking; they seem to complement the big hops pretty well. Much to my surprise, the multiple hops seem to tangle well together. Hoppy as hell, but not overwhelming by any means. Tasty stuff.

750ml bottle: This was bottle "285", from the original hand bottled series. Sampled 9-27-08. This had a cap and a cork in the bottle. Mine poured without any head on it at all. The color is a darker, orangish-amber color. I’m assuming that the hope aroma has diminished over time. It still has a very nice pine aroma to it, mixed with notes of citrus and caramel, although I’m not getting any sweetness. The taste is great. The bitterness had diminished almost to the point of non-existence. What has resulted is a mix of caramel, pine, grapefruit, other dark fruits. A touch of sweetness to the finish. Boy, is this great. I need to get a fresh one for comparison.

On tap GABF '02: Smells like it was made from mass quantities of 15 different types of hops. I never smelled such a depth of hops before. Medium orange color, oily syrupy palate. Starts more bitter than you can imagine ends way more bitter than that.

the awesome shepard faireyish label has hop bombs flying down from the sky. very cool. but it’s not just a hop bomb. it’s also an alcohol bomb at 10% and a malt sugar bomb. there’s obviously nothing wrong with that. this is a thrilling beer that’s big, drinkable and bright.

acquired from cquiroga. hand bottled #431. My bottle reads 10.5%ABV. color is copper with a slight reddish tint. only a slight ring of a head. there is what appears to be a hop resin sheen on the surface...it's almost like there's been a petroleum release in my beer...i love it. at. 10.5%, there's next to no alcohol presence in the nose. aroma is very sharp on the pine, there is some caramel, but mostly sharp hops. Flavor is initially a surprisingly balanced combo of hops and malt. There is an alcohol burn on the tongue, but still mostly hidden. swirling this in your mouth just unleashes another round of pine. and i mean that in a good way. there are mild chocolate notes on the tongue as well. this beer is as sticky as any candy i've had.

(On tap Real Ale Fest - Chicago) Pours a golden bronze with a sweet floral hoppy aroma. Great balance between sweet and bitter that finishes with a dry woody flavor. Very smooth with almost no detectable alcohol.

Draught at O’Brien’s, San Diego
Hazy orange in colour with a thin white head. Good carbonation and beautiful lacing rim the glass. Pine, citrus, floral and grassy with a stinging, peppery hop bitterness. Perfectly balanced malt sweetness makes this one hell of a IIPA.

Bottled at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Pours out in a clear amber colour with a low thick white foam. Huge hop aroma of lychee, pine-needles, grass and orange-peels with sweet undertones of nectarines and peaches. Full-bodied with a big bitter flavour orangey, piney and grassy hops with touches of resin and pepper. Long grapefruity finish with dryish and oily notes of lychee, pepper and orange-peels.