Rocky River Hop Goblin

This is the bigger, drier, harsher brother of the Hop Along Cascady. It’s a good beer, but it couldn’t stand up to it’s smaller relative.

On tap @ R.R. 4/22/05: Hazy orange unfiltered appearance w/ a lasting medium off white head. Piney & lemony citrus aroma @ first. Lightly woody & toasted malt while it warmes. Light caramel, Medium fruitiness, mostly from citrusy hops. Well balanced to just bitter and very grapefruit citrusy. Toasty malt as it warms. Hop is also herbal as well. Caramel malt and a moderate fruitiness between start and finish that is just bitter. Aftertaste is bitter and pleasant, not harsh with herbal hops and toasty malt that lingers. Lightly dry m/f, medium body, low carbonation. Very solid IPA. Not sure of the alcohol in my notes, but I see it is 7.3% and very well hidden. Would be a good session beer, but alcohol is a bit high. Simcoe hops were added to this batch to bump up the citrusy character and it worked.

On tap at the pub. Murky orange amber color. Subtle pine hop nose and nice lacing. Some hop bight, but after the initial hop flavors it quickly thins into a weak middle before the the grapefruit flavors appear in the finish. It seemed disjointed and unbalanced.

This looked really dark to me - like a muddy copper color; good lacing though. Started off malty, with a nice piney hop along the sides of the tongue, became more astringent and acidic the more I sipped at it. 2nd time I’ve tried this ipa, still looking for it to improve

Tap: Hazy copper hue with small head and some lace. The aroma has notes of pine and grassy hops, toasted buttery malts, some caramel and toffee. The taste is bitter with a lot of bite initially with a citric and grainy undertone. Earthy on the finish. The mouthfeel is lively, crisp, aggressive, and astrengent. This is a good IPA but lacks balance and depth.

Big, lush IPA. Floral hop flavors come at you from all sides. Rich, slightly nutty malt flavors too. Assertively bitter on the finish. Re Rate: April 2005: Huge citrusy aromas. A little bit of toasted malt richness on the palate underneath a ton of hop oil.

Got this in a growler from my friend. Exelent hop feel to it, to overly bitter, and has a nice nutty mouthfeel to it. Good floral aroma, and some decent sweet tones to it.

8/22/03: on tap at the Rocky River Brewing Co.
pleasant floral and hop aroma. creamy, medium yellow body. lacing = yes. hints of fir trees to the taste with other hop creaminess. somewhat of a bitter finish (in a good way). ah, another good brew.