Hoptimum (-2016)
(has 6 batches)

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear copped with light to moderate head. Aromas of orange marmalade, pine, rubber, and resin. Flavors of bitter orange, pine, toasted malts and resin. Long piney finish.

(355mL bottle from Systembolaget) Pours clear medium orange with a smallish but long lasting whitish head with lots of lace. Aroma sweetish, resinous dank hops with tropical fruit and sweet citrus, quite floral as well, some fresh pine and a bit of caramel - not a massive aromatic punch but reasonably strong. Flavour is where this beer is at, sweetish pale etc. malts at first with dried tropical fruit, peach, orange, loads of hop oil resin though which really builds through the palate, floral and spicy and what you’d expect loads of whole cone hops to taste like, with some pine needle and a softwood plank sort of note but not really earthy. Quite a malt backbone to it but the sweetness isn’t crippling at any point, and dries out a lot with quite heavy bitterness on the finish - alcohol well hidden but hop resin lingers on the palate for ages (several minutes, actually). Palate medium full and oily, softish carb. The hop flavor in this beer is really big, quite bitter and resinous, and stands out because of it. More bitter than, for example, Ruination. It’s still pretty sweet (maybe that malt core is needed), but the biggest weakness for me was the aroma. Maybe the cost of shipping to Sweden. Still really nice stuff, though suited to a one beer night!

355ml Bottle - Gold/amber with a small white head. Lemon, grapefruit, pine and some grassy notes in the aroma. Grassy and fresh taste with peach, grapefruit, dried fruit and some resinous notes. Very easy to drink but I think I was expecting or hoping for a bit more following the hype surrounding this beer.

This has got a lot of everything. The hops are resinous, to the extent that they almost provide the body to this beer in place of the malt, though there’s plenty of that too. This beer is huge but hides the alcohol pretty well.

Bottle from Citysuper at home. Translucent copper pour with dense foamy head. Aroma is intensely boozy with herbal hops and brown sugar. Taste is very herbaceous and hoppy with lots of malty sweetness and a lasting slightly vegetal hops flavor. Bitter too. Warm boozy finish. Solid DIPA - especially for the price (HK$30 at Citysuper). Would certainly get again. Trying the 2022 version. Can’t believe I only gave this 3.7. Very good. Very classic take on a huge IPA with lots of malt and deep dank hops. 3.7–>3.9

Medium amber, nice head. Big chewy piney hop character. Ok, but chewy and resiny, just not all that bright...only vague grapefruit.

Cask@GBBF 2014, London (13/08/2014) - amber coloured pour with white head. Aroma and taste is big hoppy and fruity, pine needles, caramel malty base, toffee, solid bitter finish. Great stuff.

16th July 2014 and this is on tap at ’The Hanger Bar’ inside Whole Foods, Tustin Orange County. The women are shopping, I’m drinking! Poured a clear dark orange with a light tan head, minimal lacing. The aroma was of semi-sour citrus fruits and herbal. Taste was grapefruit, herbal hops, with a mild malt finish. Not as bitter or hop heavy as I thought the beer would be, more of a happy blend than a hop monster. Good carbonation feel to the brew and I really liked it.