Left Coast Hop Juice - Left Coast Brewing Company

Nugganooch

California

3/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: A golden caramel color with amber hues and a nice dense 2-3" off-white head with some slight lacing.

S: Floral and spicey nose with some malty-sweet aromas

T: Starts very sweet with lots of caramel like flavors. Decent floral and spicey hop presence. Alcohol is very evident in this brew. Finishes dry with some bitterness.

M: Good carbonation but a very sweet and sticky brew that is quite warming at 8.5% abv.

D: Low - The combined sweetness and booziness to this brew make it a sipper.

I have had this brew straight off of the tap and have never really been a big fan. Left Coast Brewing Company is the public distribution arm of Oggi's Pizza and Brewing; which dont get me wrong is a fine establishment with many accolades. However I have always felt this brew was just off and too unbalanced. Advertised as a "Hop Monster" the hops actually take a back seat to the heavy malt and alcohol presence. Another "West Coast" style IPA that does not really deliver compared to other SoCal offerings in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2011 18:43:27 | More by Nugganooch

Sokool

Washington

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-22-2013 18:34:29 | More by Sokool

canders0927

Texas

3/5  rDev -16%

05-21-2013 15:49:43 | More by canders0927

Mat_Rampson

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-21-2013 00:16:10 | More by Mat_Rampson

VDODSON

North Dakota

4/5  rDev +12%

05-18-2013 23:59:27 | More by VDODSON

sparx1100

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +12%

05-17-2013 04:13:15 | More by sparx1100

dmilewsk

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-16-2013 13:17:17 | More by dmilewsk

josephwa

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +19%

05-15-2013 04:45:56 | More by josephwa

mhaugo

California

1.5/5  rDev -58%

05-12-2013 15:27:50 | More by mhaugo

Brianinthewbl

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -2%

05-09-2013 03:35:25 | More by Brianinthewbl

DrewShalvoy

California

4.25/5  rDev +19%

05-07-2013 23:14:36 | More by DrewShalvoy

markcp

Iowa

3.25/5  rDev -9%

05-07-2013 21:07:18 | More by markcp

Eric908

South Dakota

3.75/5  rDev +5%

04-28-2013 23:54:44 | More by Eric908

yamar68

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Glowing amber gold body with a few fingers of off-white head which leaves a good amount of lace. Body is completely still.

Some melon and pineapple on the nose... sweet and subtle malts can't seem to mask the alcohol content.

Chalky toffee and vanilla overwhelm the hop profile I had expected. The alcohol content doesn't do us any favors.

Lame. Color me unimpressed.

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 05:23:36 | More by yamar68

spycow

Illinois

3/5  rDev -16%

04-26-2013 23:42:42 | More by spycow

WritersBlock

Texas

3.5/5  rDev -2%

04-26-2013 19:49:24 | More by WritersBlock

Mersh

Connecticut

3.5/5  rDev -2%

04-23-2013 09:35:09 | More by Mersh

gregy55902

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Hop Juice Double IPA. No freshness date, but the guy at the store said they JUST had put it on the shelf (so hopefully it's very fresh).

A - Poured into an XL snifter. Very pleasant darkish-orange color; not cloudy but not opaque either. Very minimal head - what was there disappeared within several seconds, and all that was left was a nice ring of bubbles and lacing.

S - Plenty of juicy citrus hops and bready/carmel-ly malts. 5 hop varieties, but it's hard to tell which ones. I am slightly worried that this will be a malt bomb.

T - Hops. Malt. Too much malt.. way too much. The malt overpowers the hops and dominates the taste. A tad disappointing. The hops are there, but just barely.

M - Decent carbonation levels, although more carbonation would liven it up a little.

O - If you tout your beer as a heavy hitter in hops with the name 'hop juice,' then I am expecting the bottle to punch me in the face and force heaps of hops down my throat. I don't know how old this beer is, so the hop characteristics may have faded (but I'm inclined to think the beer is just like this).

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 01:59:18 | More by gregy55902

Cramerican

North Dakota

3.75/5  rDev +5%

04-18-2013 03:03:57 | More by Cramerican

MeisterMayhem

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev +5%

04-18-2013 01:11:49 | More by MeisterMayhem

TheDudeRules

Minnesota

2/5  rDev -44%

04-17-2013 22:23:07 | More by TheDudeRules

morimech

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a darker amber color with one finger of head that had good retention before settling to a thin cap. Impressive amount of lacing is left down the glass.

Hoppy aroma which is expected. Not that strong of a aroma but has nice citrus elements.

Packs a bitter punch but lacks the hop flavor payoff that many of the better DIPAs have delivered to us. Flavor consists of citrus, a little tropical fruit, and a surprising amount of sweet, caramel malt. Not the malt level and flavor you expect from a west coast brewer. With this malt comes the equally surprising ABV level, and alcohol warmth.

Big body for a pale ale. Has nice smooth carbonation but enough to help with the bitterness and alcohol.

What I want from a DIPA is hop flavor, not just tongue punishing bitterness. What hop flavor you do get is good, just need more of it.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 21:46:22 | More by morimech

MattyG85

Minnesota

4.11/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness chalice.

Appearance: Pours a deep and slightly hazy copper amber orange. Moderate amount of bubbles and about two fingers of off white head which slowly fade into a thin creamy layer. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: Big hop forward aroma of grass, citrus, and pine with some bready malt backing. Rich and juicy hops upfront with herbal and grassy hints along with some pine resin spice. Citrus hints of grapefruit, orange peel, pineapple, mango, and lemon. Bready malt sweetness with hints of sweet caramel, biscuit, grains, toffee, and yeast. A juicy and wet smell.

Taste: Lives up to the aroma with a sharp and ripe taste of big hops and sweet malt. Big bitter hop taste with earthy notes of grass, pine resin, and citrus fruit. Citrus notes of grapefruit, pineapple, orange peel, mango, and lemon. Also some herbal and floral hop notes. Solid sweet bready malt background with notes of caramel, grains, biscuit, toffee, and yeast. Very hop forward, lush, and bitter taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very oily, juicy, and bitter. Starts somewhat sweet and finishes dry. A little alcohol heat is felt.

Overall: Pretty decent for a more in your face hoppy brew. One of the more oily IPA's I've had but I like the aggressive hop taste.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 06:56:32 | More by MattyG85

joshbhs04

California

3.2/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: clear with an amber hue
S: Bread Malts with very lil hops
T: malt forward IPA, The hops really don’t shine as much as the name states.
M: Sticky mouthfeel, thick and good
O: Not really worth the price of admission. The name suggests a lot more hops but I had to really dig to find them on the palate. Wont buy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 03:03:44 | More by joshbhs04

Hopstout

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -23%

04-14-2013 00:13:02 | More by Hopstout