Half Hitch Imperial IPA
Crux Fermentation Project in Bend, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
IPA - Imperial / Double Regular|
Score
7.47
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Hops climb up twine that’s just loosely tied to the trellis with a half hitch knot—and this Imperial IPA is just loosely tied to tradition. The Mosaic hop imparts surprisingly floral aromas instead of the more expected grapefruit-y notes. On the palate, complex layers of flavors might remind you of guava, mango, stone fruit and lemon, unraveling your idea of what an Imperial IPA should be.
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8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Schwing! Beautifully crafted DIPA, rich and flavorful without being overpowering. Amber with nice tight creamy head, light syrupy, hop nose, malt and hops blend perfectly in the flavor, more smoothness on the finish. Awesome!
Tried
on 12 Jun 2014
at 19:33
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
2019-07-19, bottled March 2017 from The Gull, North Vancouver, 2 years old, 6-4-7-3-12=32
Cloudy golden colour with large head. The nose presents some sweat, some PNW hops, lightly skunky; the flavor is more compromised, it's still decent in the front, with a good malt base, but getting more cardboard notes later, even some light acidity.
Not too bad considering the age.
Bottle from Bottleworks, Seattle; bottled Feb 11 '14
Golden color, hazy, with the light of the sun; the head is small. The aroma is nice, but not deep; more was expected, maybe because the bottle is 3 months old; some fruit salad, not specifically citrusy. Good note, the mouthfeel is quite lean and highly drinkable; the malts are subtle, with light toffee notes; and the hopping is perfect, mostly fruity, with original notes of guava and mango; moderately sweet body, well integrated with the strong bitterness; the final is slightly more resiny, a nice biting end, some sweet orange too.
A bit expensive (6.56$ after tax, 37cl) but very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 22 May 2014
at 02:55
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
On tap at Apex, pours a hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma is full of tropical fruits, piney hops, and biscuity caramel malt. Flavour is similar, with a wonderful balance of tropical fruits, resinous hops, and caramel malt. Loads of depth here, with a lightly sweet, and resinous hoppy finish. Excellent.
Tried
from Draft
on 28 Mar 2014
at 16:48
8.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Update: 375 mL bottle poured. Acquired a bottle that is only 3 weeks old. Bottled 12/22/14. Love this stuff fresh. Pours a semi cloudy golden color with an incredible mango fruit hoppy aroma. Sweet tropical fruit flavors with a good hop balance. An amazing IPA here.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Feb 2014
at 17:10
8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours a bright golden color. Mildly cloudy, which could be my fault but I don’t see any sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Small to medium white head. Fine bubbles. It doesn’t stick around all that long. Little bit of lacing. At first, the aroma seemed to be just a big, juicy dose of peaches and floral hop flavor, but after a minute, I’m also getting a sweaty note. It definitely doesn’t ruin the aroma for me - maybe, I’ve just discovered something about myself - but it’s not quite as clean and juicy as I thought at first blush. Still, I’m impressed by the peachiness, as other mosaic (D)IPAs generally haven’t lived up to the hype in that department. I’m also picking up grapes, raspberries and a little tangerine. A little bit of pale, sweet malt in the background. The taste is much the same territory, but there’s a bit more citrus in the bitterness. The beer really isn’t all that bitter, though. Lots of peach, grape, floral hop flavor. Pale malt in the background. It’s not quite as juicy and interesting as the aroma, but I’m still quite happy. Also, the beer is much lighter than I’d expect from the abv. I’ll call that "well made". Mouthfeel has some weight, but again, it’s lighter than you’d expect from a 10% abv DIPA. Significant hop oiliness. This is a very good DIPA. I didn’t come in with high expectations for whatever reason, but Crux did fine work, here. It’s particularly nice to come across a Mosaic DIPA that shows off the varietal effectively.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jan 2014
at 20:45
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pours hazy butterscotch, small white head that dissipates quickly and leaves decent lacing. Big aroma dank, pine, citrus, Passionfruit. Flavor follows, dank and hop forward delicious. Some sweetness, but not crazy or out of bed with the style. Light plus bitterness, not harsh on the finish, which is a plus. Somethinga bit medicinal mid body.medium body, oily finish. great compliments here, not quite jelling yet, but not bad at all.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Jan 2014
at 21:54
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On tap at Apex. A really odd brew. Pours a clear golden color with a medium white head. A big sweet nose of oranges, melons, almost buttery sweet. Sweet flavors of cat piss, cannabis, light low bitterness, super almost shocking unbalanced sweetness. Not good. Drinkable of course, but seemingly devoid of early boil bittering additions. Unbalanced and not my thing.
Tried
from Draft
on 27 Nov 2013
at 13:25
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Tap at Crux, Bend, 23/05/13. Lightly hazed golden amber with a thin off white head. Nose is hops, light piss, bitter orange, bitter grapefruit. Taste comprises ligh floral hop notes, orange pith, pine, grapefruit. Full bodied, fine carbonation, good dose of hop bitterness in the finish. Good stuff.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 Jun 2013
at 05:03