Total Eclipse Of The Hop - Howe Sound Inn & Brewing Company

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.45/5  rDev -12%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Ordered from a shop in Washington. I was not expecting a 1L bottle, I can assure you of that! lol

Pours a dark caramel colour. Not totally translucent. A beige head adorns. Leaves a little lace.

Aroma was sweet malts, a hint of nuts, some earthy, spicy, flowery hop notes. Not huge; was definitely a more malty DIPA.

Same kinda went for the taste. Sweet up front, rich maltiness, though a nice bitterness, but more of a spicy, herbal, earthy hoppiness on the taste. Not my favourite hop notes, but it's pretty decent either way.

Had a creamy texture. Full bodied for an IPA.

Not bad. Not sure how fresh this was either. Initially, wasn't too keen on the price, and while the size of the bottle made up for that a bit, I probably wouldn't want to try this again.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2012 12:28:48 | More by EgadBananas

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

1L bottle into tumbler.

A- Hazy dark copper pour with a two finger sticky, soapy, off white head. Lacing is sticky and chunky.

S- Sweet, sticky up front of toasted malts, strawberries, simple syrup and a touch of maple syrup. Pine bitterness and a little citrus notes are muddled in the background.

T- Roasted malts, sweet start with a bitter floral presence and a bit of citrus. Very chewy and bitterness seems lower than the 92 IBU the bottle claims.

M- Medium bodied, nice chew, dry lingering finish.

O- This is really malty for a IIPA. Problem with so much malts is that it starts to taste like a pale ale or a standard IPA. Why add so much malt and not ramp up the hops to make it stick out. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, just could be better.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2012 22:19:32 | More by korguy123

maclean25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bought this at a liquor store in northern BC. I've come to expect high-quality, flavourful but mellow beers from them. This one pours with a fluffy head which reduces fairly quickly with lots of lacing. The body has cloudy, copper-orange colour. The aroma has lots of citrus and an earthy, slightly smokey quality scent. Beginning to drink, I was bracing for a heavy hops and bitterness but found it starts rather lightly. It all hits soon afterwards and lingers in the aftertaste. Despite the high hops, there is still significant malt presence. Hides the alcohol well, which is at 8%. It feels oily (or creamy) with little carbonation and a full body. Overall, it basically met my expectations (which were high).

Serving type: growler

06-17-2012 04:00:17 | More by maclean25

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from a private order, 1L swing top into a tulip several times over.

Reddish brown with some orange highlights, dense cream coloured head, strong retention and lace. Nose of grapefruit, piney, citrus and some tropical notes. Really identifiable as a BC IPA, has a similar hop character to most IPAs I've had out of the province before. Some sweet malt character. Taste has sweet citrus, grassy hops and a big caramel back bone. Alcohol content is easily confirmed. Good bitterness, medium-full body and a low medium carbonation. A good IPA, but doesn't really stand out.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 23:45:21 | More by liamt07

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

1L bottle from Private Order. Poured in to Duvel tulip.

A - Medium translucent orange/amber colour with one finger of fluffy cream coloured head. Some light lacing.

S - A big sweetness up front full of bready/grainy malts, caramel and some toffee. A big bitterness is present as well with some floral and herbal aromas coming through.

T - Big bitterness up front that immediately gives way to a huge malt presence fully of bready/cereal flavours, caramel and a touch of toffee. The hops provide a very English flavour profile with floral, herbal and grassy flavours. A very big malt presence for a DIPA. The finish is bitter and dry with a big sweetness, reminiscent of an American barleywine.

M - Medium body. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 02:27:58 | More by TheSevenDuffs

papat444

Quebec (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to chad for this one.

Poured from a 1L bottle and enjoyed over the course of the weekend (thank you swingtop!).

Appearance: A vibrant orange body that is quite eye-catching with a not too massive head that gently settles down and leaves spotted lacing everywhere.

Smell: Peaches, orange, candy sweetness, tangerines, mangoes, soapy lemon and some pine.

Tastel: Cloves, oranges, piney hops, tangerines, caramel a bit and restrained hop candy.

Mouthfeel: Prickly carbonation that doesn't overdo it with an evident balance in the middle but just enough of a bitter kick in the finish.

Overall: A thoroughly enjoyable DIPA with a sweet touch.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 11:55:32 | More by papat444

Tolosa

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A : deep, troubled gold. Marvelous regular head, abundant.

S : It's like a bouquet of fresh hops has been thrown in your face

T : Hoppy as it can be. VERY bitter, very hoppy, a bit of toffee. Alcohol is stealthy.

M : ample feeling of bitterness, lightly sparkling, aftertaste is definitely bitter.

O : if you like hoppy bitter beers... don't look anywhere else.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2012 04:02:09 | More by Tolosa

tonyf55

Alberta (Canada)

2.98/5  rDev -24%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Beer Revolution. Served in a pockal glass.

Visual (3.5): Dark rusty red with a pure white minimal head (likely a consequence of the tap) body has a low opacity with a dense colour.

Aroma (2.5): minimal aroma of floral hops. Weak aroma with little to nothing there. Disappointing.

Taste (3): Grassy, floral, hop flavour with a little bit of malt balance. Leaves a sweet, but bitter flavour on the pallet.

Mouthfeel (3.5): nice rough carbonation over the tounge that isn't too coarse. Light to medium body with small carbonation bubbles that don't last past the initial swallow.

Overall (3): A very average IPA with minimal aroma and a stereotypical hop profile. The mouthfeel is appropriate to an IPA but leaves a little to be desired in hop complexity.

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2012 00:22:06 | More by tonyf55

grub

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Viggo brought this one over when sampled in 2010. thanks eric! 2012 bottle courtesy of a private order via keep6imports.

1 litre capped swingtop. sampled july 20/2010. originally reviewed at 4/3.5/3.5/4/3.5 = 3.58. revisited april 22/2012 as shown here.

pours super hazy deep orange with a huge fluffy off-white meringue head. the head drops slowly and leaves tons of thick chunky lace as it falls.

aroma is nice. sticky sweet candied orange and grapefruit. buttery toffee and caramel. multi-grain bread. cracker. bit of biscuit. bit of grain. light alcohol. on my previous sampling I noted a bit of vanilla and something else herbal or spicy that i can't quite place. this is gone today, to my approval.

taste is nice. bit of pine. grapefruit and orange. touch of tangerine. light alcohol. lightly toasted whole wheat bread. bit of biscuit and cracker. slightly powdery. again, the previous sampling noted vanilla and that odd spicy/herbal thing, both of which are not present now. just over medium bitterness level. definitely seems like a "canadian ipa" in that it's more malt focused than hop focused.

mouthfeel is good. just over medium body. medium carbonation level. carbonation is fine and well integrated.

drinkability is nice. pretty well balanced. that odd spicy/herbal/vanilla component I had previously noted threw things off and didn't really work for me, but it must have been a fluke due to an old bottle or something in my previous sampling. this 2012 bottle is clean and tasty and my only real complaint would be a lack of hop "oomph", for lack of a better word. they're there, but just not as balls-out as i'd expect in a DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 22:19:50 | More by grub

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a reddish amber with a very large white head.

Smell is certainly hop focused. Pine, orange, grapefruit, floral notes and a big burnt caramel/toasted malt scent backing it all up.

Taste does not live up to the smell. Toasted malt is upfront. Some pine and citrus (orange, some grapefruit) along for the ride. Alcohol is a little more noticeable than expected for 8%.

Heavy and full bodied, moderate carbonation, sticky. Pretty thick for the style.

Overall, decent but not great. Howe Sound does not appear to date their bottles, so I am not sure of the age of this one.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2012 21:51:39 | More by jrenihan

BashOnABike

Alberta (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 1L resealable bottle into 16oz pint glass.

A: Orange-amber, with slight cloudiness. A huge (like, 3", woops!) off-white, tan-ish frothy head, moderate dissipation with messy lacing, plus this cool, cream-like lumpy surface pattern. Neat!

S: Faint hop, a little apple juice, lime, almost a little coriander, grapefruit, and a little whipped cream. A bit underwhelming though, but it could be my cold.

T: Smooth malt, amber-esq smoke, sweet hop, citrus, with mild hop after. Really good, a nice mix of sweet and astringent.

M: Super frothy on the head, and fairly hearty on the beer. A little tingle with bubbles, low-moderate carb, moderate body, more than an avg double. The froth on the head was pretty sick though.

O: Amazing, best of amber, cream and India Pale ales. Almost whipping cream head, with excellent flavour. A little lacking on the scent, but the rest more than makes up for it. Definitely worth a try!

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 05:10:06 | More by BashOnABike

Converge

Alberta (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

1L swing-top bottle poured into a 16oz tulip.

A - Pours with a thick tan head of creamy foam sitting atop a deep and hazy ruby-amber brew; looks really nice. The head slowly settles down to a soapy cap, leaving bits of lace on the glass, although not much.

S - Fresh, juicy hops upfront with a sweet caramel malt lurking in the background. More floral than tropical or fruity, but some orange peel and grapefruit shines through. West Coast pine character rounds it out. A nice balance of floral hops and caramel malt backbone.

T - A little underwhelming overall. The hop character is there, but the tropical and pine notes don't really come through, but neither do the floral hop notes. The hop profile really just comes across as bitter, but not very flavorful. Howe Sound don't date their bottles, but the place where I purchased this one got them in about 6 weeks ago, so there shouldn't be significant degradation on the hop profile yet. Minimal citrusy notes come through here and there, backed with a rather bland caramel malt that adds nothing to the flavor. Overall this feels poorly considered and executed, yielding lackluster results.

M - Rests on the lighter side, but has some chew to it. Overall it feels quite smooth, but at the same time a little watery. This one really suffers in the finish though, feeling hot, oily, and disproportionately bitter in comparison to the uninteresting hop profile.

D - My second somewhat underwhelming experience with Howe Sound. Overall this was a decent beer, but the lack of real hop presence and rather unnecessary bitterness and the poorly masked alcohol heat made for a sub-par representation of the style. I've heard great things about Howe Sound, and after being disappointed with their beer in the past, I figured that skipping to one of their most hyped up beers might help me see what all the fuss is about with this brewery. Unfortunately, this did nothing but further sour my opinion of their beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 23:58:02 | More by Converge

timtwoface

British Columbia (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Well, now this was an interesting take on the ipa, one I have never tried. Rather than being supremely hopped - which I love - it almost came across as a wonderful mix of an ipa and a solid porter style brew. I appciate it. Not a favourite but still, it's slid, easy to drink, and with a nice roasted aftertaste. Had I not known this was advertised as an ipa I could have sworn it was some porter variant. Check it out if you are a fan of either style!!

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 04:41:44 | More by timtwoface

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Pours a hazy, toffee brown with a finger width of creamy beige head.

Smell - Piney and floral hops, grapefruit/citrus, brown sugar sweetness.

Taste - Moderate level of piney/earthy hops flavour, leaving a light bitter aftertaste. Hint of citrus comes through as well. The hops are present from start to finish which provides a complexity to this brew.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Has a pleasant dry finish as well as a creamy characteristic.

Overall - A good representation of a DIPA by Howe Sound. I thought the sweetness in the smell provided a nice variation from the style. The hop characteristic to this brew was good but it could use more to represent the style better. Besides this, a worthy brew for those venturing in this style.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2012 03:10:43 | More by leaddog

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.53/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Review from 6/2011 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a dark, clear copper-orange amber. Two finger head and heavy lacing. Nice constant carbonation bubbles from the glass. Light sweet malt and citrus aroma. Hop forward with a background of light malt, mild dark and light fruit. Hoppy finish with a peppery, citrus, grapefruit flavor. Deceptively hoppy in the start and finish, but has an underlying complexity that supports the hops. Refreshing and different IPA. Will buy again.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2012 22:35:19 | More by LiquidAmber

Duke

British Columbia (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Total Eclipse of the Hop poured a beautiful clear but deep red amber. There was a healthy one-and-a-half-finger just-off-white head that lingered and eventually left stiff lacing. Impressive.

Smell: The nose is all citrusy hops, and it's a little floral too. It's toasty at the back.

Taste: Very well balanced with the fruity, flowery hops playing a big role all the way through. But that's about all there is. The beer is a little toasty and caramel-like.

Mouthfeel: The body is medium with what feels like quite soft carbonation. It's easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 06:33:07 | More by Duke

mattsander

Alberta (Canada)

2.33/5  rDev -40.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Murky deep amber, head hangs around for a while with an aggressive pour. Nothing pale about it, but not unappetizing.

S: Sweet bready malts jump out first with some indication of floral hops. Definitely a malt-centered aroma.

T: Starts as a sweet syrupy caramel vanilla toffee bomb then reveals a long, coarse bitterness. Not much in terms of hop flavor, very disappointing. It's as though the entire hop bill was added at the very beginning of the boil.

M: Chewy and creamy.

O: My least favorite beer from this usually-awesome Canadian brewery and a poor example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 14:49:23 | More by mattsander

Brianhophead

Alberta (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A- Hazy, copper colored ale coming down close to the color of marmalade. Light carbonation supports a dense, orange-ish head with good retention.

S- Aroma is very hop forward, giving me loads of American hops. Hops are very piney and resiny with a hint of grapefruit citrus in the back. Malt takes second place to the hops, giving enough in the center to show balance. Malt gives me toasted bread and a hint of caramel sugariness.

T- Total Eclipse is one of the more full bodied examples of the style. First thing I notice is a bracing, mouth coating bitterness. Bitterness is piney and resiny as it was in the aroma. Some malt comes through in the center, just enough to add a bit of balance to the bitter. As with the aroma, malts are big on flavors of caramel. Finish is bracingly, assertively, almost aggressively bitter.

Overall, not a bad offering of an Imperial IPA. That being said, I've had versions of this style that weren't so heavily full bodied and whose bitterness was assertive without being as aggressive as it is here. The bitterness definitely makes it a challenge to drink too much.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 23:14:43 | More by Brianhophead

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance. Pours a hazy amber-orange with half a finger of thick, pale yellow head that leaves some nice lacing.

Smell. Caramel and light toasted grains. Citrus and a little pine takes a backseat.

Taste. Nice toasty light grains and caramel. Light citrus fruit and pears, some bitter resiny pine and citrus rind in the end.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with lower carbonation. Slightly sticky.

Overall. Nice and mellow for the style with lots of malt, but not in a bad way.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 22:53:09 | More by Rutager

brotherloco

California

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1 Litre Flip-Top bottle. Can't find a date. Served in a 22oz glass.

Pours a gorgeous, hazy, unfiltered deep amber w/ over an inch of beige foam. Tons of lacing left in the glass.

Aroma contains floral and citrusy hops, but also a lot of malt variation. Bready and toasty notes sit in the background. Overall sweetness. A touch of booze.

Flavor starts very nicely balanced. Bitter resiny hops on top of the tongue and sweet malt filling the mouth. A little roasty malt appears in the middle. It's a bit of a one note flavor without much development, but that one note is damn tasty. A little alcohol sting in the finish, but it fits in nicely. In fact, 8% is the perfect ABV for a DIPA, IMHO. Lingering bitterness in the aftertaste.

A medium body with medium-high carbonation. Never gets overly thick or cloying.

My first Howe Sound beer, and I dig it.

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 01:30:47 | More by brotherloco

suspect

New York

3.48/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a giant 34oz capped bottle with optional swing top into a Dogfish Head Snifter. Thanks to my buddy Chris for bringing this back from the Idaho Beer Fest.

A: Crystal clear light amber color. Aggressive pour leads to a 1.5 finger head that disappears after a few minutes. Leaves a small ring around the edge. Little to no lacing to speak of. Lots of tiny little bubbles push their way to the top.

S: Lots of bitter citrus his the nose up front. Strong grapefruit smell with some lemon in the mix. Slight piny notes follow the grapefruit. After that it's some malt and a small touch of alcohol.

T: Not quite as hoppy as one would think from a IIPA but it's nicely balanced and really full of flavor. The citrus hops are toned down but are the first thing I taste in this beer. Followed by caramel malt and bitter pine hop. Some spices in there as well that I can't quite put my finger on.

M: Well carbonated, less bitter than other IIPAs I've had. Medium body, aftertaste doesn't linger quite as long but it still leaves me wanting more.

O: A decent beer, one that I'm glad I tried but not one I would spend a lot of energy seeking out again.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2011 18:36:52 | More by suspect

scootpolute

Washington

3.05/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

34 FL OZ. bottle poured into tulip glass (with left-over(s)!!!).

A - Pours cloudy brownish-red-amber, solid frothy, dark-white head...- some great lacing.

S - Hops and some spicy-like pine with lots of sweet citrus - grapefruit and orange VERY SWEET!

T - Strong bite with spice...Yes, strong hop flavor along with sweet & pine-like flavor. Due to the strong spicy tones, not so smooth...strong!

M - Good carbonation...The over 'spice' punch is too much for me. Also, in parts a bit 'too' fruity/sweet.

D - This one was highly regarded at the beer specialty-joint, "Malts & Vines" in Redmond WA (which seems to be a two in one version of Seattle's Bottle works...I was quite impressed to see something of this caliber on the 'east-side' of Seattle with the live taps patio, along with 3 huge fridges of beers to go!)...OK, more about the beer...I'm a huge x2 IPA fan...this one just has too much spice, and even though there is strong hop presence, the alcohol is the only characteristic that sticks out...So, very much a sipping beer, not the refreshing beer I was hoping for...Epiphany moment, this beer is from Canada…Not bad for a Canadian beer, eh?!!

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2011 20:02:43 | More by scootpolute

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at the Alibi Room in Vancouver.

A: 1/4" cream coloured head that left a nice lacing over cloudy amber liquid.

S: The faint smell of lemon and yeast.

T: Citrusy and piney hops and some malt.

M: Medium viscosity and low carbonation.

O: Somewhat acidic and not the most drinkable IPA I have ever had.

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2011 17:51:05 | More by DaftCaskBC

distantmantra

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

1 liter bottle poured into a pint glass. June 2011.

A: Copper red color with large white head. Heavy lacing

S: Heavy citrus and pine notes with a hint of caramel.

T: Grapefruit and orange were the initial flavors, but a secondary pine flavor was evident. I detected some caramel aftertase. Alcohol slightly present but not overwhelming.

M: Bitter and full-bodied, but still smooth.

O: One of my first forays into Canadian craft beer. An excellent IIPA that I would purchase again.

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2011 22:00:26 | More by distantmantra

snaotheus

Washington

3.78/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1 liter bottle poured into a pint glass (obviously the whole liter didn't fit)

Pours a dark amber, very slightly cloudy, nice looking head that fades down to clumpy islands in a thin film. Lots of fine active carbonation. Smell is a muted fruity bitter hoppy, lots of rich bready malt.

Taste is a little muted for an imperial IPA, nice and hoppy but not over the top. Stronger malt component than most imperial IPAs, too. Nice strong bitter grapefruit peel aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is dry and pleasant. Overall good beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2011 23:45:24 | More by snaotheus