San Diego Hop-O-Potamus

Brewed by San Diego Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Diego, California USA

Name: Hop-o-potamus
Date: 10/11/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, GABF

clear dark yellow, creamy dirty white head, sweet citrus and tangerine aroma, creamy body, huge tangerine flavor, nice fruity sweetness, light bitterness,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: ***+/4

Draft at the brewery. Clear golden with nice white head. Aromas were sweet right from the start. Lots of sweet mango and pineapple and other bright citrus aromas. Flavor continued into sweet. Very very Chewy and resiny. Lots of citrus and grassy hops on the finish. I really like the sweet DIPA’s. Good stuff.

Draught. Marks for Appearance are an average, as beer was sampled in weak artificial light after dark. Fine, if powerful C-hops, with some malts backing the full aroma. Very delicate (yes!), flowery, dried roses flavours, sweet lassi and again tangerine hops. Rather light MF. Nearly - I say, nearly - delicate hopbeer.

GABF 2007: Poured a clear golden color with a large off-white head. Big hop forward aroma. Grapefruit and tangerine juice. It smelled like fresh pulp. The flavor was also like tasting citrus and orange pulp. The beer had a malty middle. The sweetness drys out quickly. The finish had a growing bitterness. Medium bodied.

2007 GABF. Light copper color big khaki head, nice lace. More mellow aroma than the hopnotic, berries start coming through, caramel, sweet. Avg pal. Sweet fruity tropical fruit & caramel, flavor. Mellow and nice.. surprising how much the icing improved this guy.

On draft at SD BrewCo., this is a second tasting several months after my first, just after it was brewed this spring. Arrived a clear dark orangey amber with a small off-white head. Bold aroma, rich with biscuity and toasty malts, still a big hop presence though this beer is a few month old, citrus and pine along with a bit of dustiness. Flavor was also featured the nice malt backbone, again biscuity from the ESB malts, but followed up closely by the still plentiful spicy citrus and gently pine hops, leaving a tingly, astringent aftertaste. Medium to full body, gently tingly carbonation. Though not as brash and bright as it was originally, though it’s still flavorful, interesting and enjoyable. Kudos to Dean for taking risks in brewing!

On cask at O’Brien’s. Appearance is a dense and cloudy orange/amber hue, thin layer of white head with minimal lacing. Smell is sweet hop juice aromas, mostly characterized by floral and earthy tones, smooth and sweet scent. Taste is mostly hops [grapefruit/lemon] with sweet bread malts, dry bitterness enters midway, some hints of tea and grassy tones, finishes sweet and bitter. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, watery to smooth texture, no carbonation (cask). Drinkability is high, smooth and easy-drinking DIPA off the cask, I like my friend’s comment that this tastes like a "hoppy iced tea", i’ll have to check this out on draft when it comes around.

On taps at SDBC. Pours with a really nice honey colored hue. Nose is very citrus and hops. Flavor is hops forward and more hops after that with a cool piney, resiny flavor. The finish is sharp and bold. All and all this is a very nice IIPA and will be a big favorite of any hop-head!