Scuttlebutt Hoptopia Ale

Brewed by Scuttlebutt Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Everett, Washington USA

On tap at the brewery. Smoky and hoppy, with a little malt all at once. A pale and scotch ale at the same time. Slight burn on finish. Far and away the best thing I tasted at this brewery and probably on the whole trip.

Draught at BPP: Cloudy copper-amber colour. Big piney, slighlty zesty hop character. Very bitter, like chewing on hops. Piney, with woody back notes. Not much balance here and the hops aren’t especially bright - I’d like a fruitier, livelier mix.

Draft @ Elliott Bay - Pours a translucent but very deep golden orange, with a moderate rocky head. Floral hoppiness, fresh flowers, rosewater, some light alcohol burn. Truly smells like fresh hops dispersed in the glass. Mouthfeel is resiny oils, backed up with sweet caramel toffee maltiness. One of those beers that saves the day

On tap at Cooper’s in Seattle.

Pours orange amber with quite a decent head for an IIPA; the aroma is a great big burst of floral and citrus hops, plenty of spruce tones and a hint of alcohol. The flavor more or less follows, with a powerful essence of hops that is rich and almost sweet in its floral intensity. The malts provide a reasonable caramel throughout, and the overall effect is a hophead’s delight of hop flavor without the sort of crashing bitterness that comes with some highly hopped IPAs and IIPAs. The palate is likewise rich, oily, almost syrupy, but the beer goes down quite easily, with little hint of the 8.6% -- certainly drinkable enough that I enjoyed polishing off a couple of pints in quick succession.