December 6 - River Horse Brewing - Hop-a-lot-amus DIPA

River Horse Brewing Company - Hop-a-lot-amus Double IPA

It's been quite a few days without my staple go-to beer, the IPA.  I figured since I needed to play catch up with my lack of IPA consumption, I would step it up a notch and make it a double!  A double IPA that is.  For the hop-head, the DIPA is the epitome of hop- gazm.  Yeah, there are triple IPAs out there, but the alcohol content is the only difference in most cases.  The hop bite is pretty much the same as a well-crafted DIPA.

When I picked this beer up a few weeks ago at my local bottle shop, Bottleworks in Sunbury, PA, the only reason it came home with me was because it was something that I never had before.  I enjoy trying new beers if I haven't already mentioned that before.  This one is from our neighbors to the east in New Jersey.  One of my beer-drinking buddies turned me on to them a few years ago since his wife is from the state.  From River Horse Brewing in Ewing, NJ, this is one of about 12 different styles that they make.  My favorite so far, is the Hippo-Lantern Imperial Pumpkin Ale.  The beers that these guys make don't disappoint!

I was thinking on how I could make this a Christmas-themed beer and I just thought I would make something up and it would be a stretch.  But wait!  When I set this beer down for the traditional Bryan Mohr blog picture (you know, the one you keep seeing at my kitchen bar, strategically placed in front of the Christmas tree...), I sang something to myself that came out of nowhere...

Lo, and behold!  The theme is intact!  Now, let's get to the notes, shall we?

This beer poured a hazy, golden orange color with an off-white head at the top that stayed throughout enjoying this brew.  Again, there is a wonderful lacing on the glass that makes this beer very enjoyable to look at.  

The aroma is very hoppy to say the least and I know it's going to bite!  There is a fruity aroma reminiscent of grapefruit and a caramel essence to it as well.  

The beer quickly makes it malty presence known by overwhelming your taste buds and mouth with a hearty, bready, character.  The hops start to bite you right away and continue throughout without letting go.  The balance of this beer is pretty good too, because at 8.5% there isn't too much overpowering alcohol or boozy flavor.  Like the aroma, there is distinct grapefruit hop flavor along with a pine flavor from the hops at the finish of this beer.  The hops and malts are still present at the end, letting this beer finish just as strong as it started.

For the hophead who enjoys IPA and DIPAs, if you've not yet tried this, I highly recommend it.  I'm pretty stingy with my ratings for this category of beer, so rating it at a solid 3.5/5 is pretty darn good.  I reserve the 4 and 5's for absolutely blow me away brews.  This doesn't blow me away, but it's a solid go-to if I'm ever needing something quality.



My Christmas shirt and beer selfie for the day...

...and old reliable! :)