Mean Manalishi Double I.P.A. - Hoppin' Frog Brewery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Above average DIPA. Good aroma, good, no a great bittereness. Grapefruit colour with a little, though bubbly head.IBU 80-90 in taste as it is drinkable, rememering we are doing an assault force of DIPAs, and the malt is at the end, though lists at 160.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2008 23:27:16 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Warmly glowing red-orange-bronze with turmeric colored trim. This is a beautiful DIPA that could easily be mistaken for an American barleywine. The densely creamy crown looks like orange-caramel mousse and also looks to be full of hop resins due to the impressive amount of glass coverage that has occured so far.

The aroma doesn't ease off the accelerator for one second. Although it's difficult to believe 168 IBUs, I suppose it is possible. In any case, the beer smells like it's chock-a-block full of both caramel malt and C-hops. I get tired of describing DIPAs noses as brown sugar, grapefruit, orange and pine, but that's what's in here. I think I'm gonna like this one.

Mean Manalishi walks a very fine line. On one side of the line is too much caramel malt and on the other is just short of too much caramel malt. To clarify, that's with respect to flavor, not body. Thankfully, it isn't anywhere near the gooey, sticky mess that some DIPAs tend to be.

In spite of the 'toasted bread slathered with melted caramel' flavor of the malt, the 'citrus pith on steroids' flavor of the hops is able to punch through with authority. While those competing (yet complementary) flavors go toe-to-toe, the sweetness of the former is no match for the scathing alpha acid bitterness of the latter. This stuff isn't called *Mean* Manalishi simply because it sounds cool. Which it does.

My wavering on the all-important taste score is now officially over. There's so much juicy, buzzsaw-like hop flavor in every mouthful that I don't know how the final score could ever have been in doubt. There's no question but that MM is Ohio's hoppiest beer. For once, the words 'extreme', 'assertive' and 'intense' aren't mere marketing malarky.

No alcohol is appreciated. I'm not sure how it could be given wall-to-wall hop resinousness. Drinkability is directly proportional to one's hopheadedness. This bomber is going to obliterate my taste buds for the remainder of the night, but that's a tradeoff that I'm more than willing to make.

The mouthfeel might be a fraction lighter than the style average. That isn't a negative in this case because it keeps things moving smartly along. This is a 'begs to be gulped' beer, not an 'asks to be sipped' beer. The fact that I wouldn't want it any lighter or any heavier is reason enough for the above score.

I continue to be delighted by the deliciousness coming out of Ohio's second best brewery. Mr. Karm creates big beer for big beer lovers and does it exceptionally well. I always make sure to grab a handful of Hoppin' Frog bombers when I get back to the Buckeye State. I might have to make it two handfuls this time. Mean Manalishi means business.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2007 23:27:15 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.15/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Grabbed this one in a trade recently, but have had it before. Very nice twenty two ounce bottle that was served chilled in a pint glass. Consumed on 08/27/2008.

The pour was one of the best I have ever seen for the style. Rich dark amber color with a ton of orange highlights mixed in throughout. Tond of haze and a nice two inch foam top that never wanted to settle. The bottom of the glass was riddled with sticky foam once i was done. Really very well done here for sure.

The aroma was tons of sticky, resin like hops all the way. Oodles of pine aroma, mixed in with some rich orange and tangerine. Sight hint of a sweet malty base around here as well. The flavor here was much of the same. Rich pine hops, sticky with a resin like flavor and a good bready and biscuit like base to it. Nice balance here, but still way leaning towards the hops in terms of a definte direction. Nice medium feel was morethen adequatly carbonated and the alachol was soo well hidden, I plowed through this one much quicker then I should have,

Overall this was a solid beer. On the better side of the IPA's I have had as of late. I would have no isse at all with trying this one again sometime soon. A very solid offering that I would love to get ahold of again.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2008 00:50:58 | More by mikesgroove

brentk56

North Carolina

4.4/5  rDev +17%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a hazy amber color with a nice head that leaves plenty of lace

Smell: Resinous aroma with plenty of grapefruit pith

Taste: Forget about the malt as the grapefruit flavors assault the taste buds from the get go; it just builds from there, with some pineapple and floral sweetness that appears at the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: One wild DIPA for the hop heads; quite an achievement

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2007 00:21:24 | More by brentk56

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle: Poured a bright copper color ale with a medium foamy head with good retention but minimal lacing. Aroma consists of deep caramel malt with some astringent and bitter hops. Taste is also a mix between some caramel malt with limited sweetness and some astringent and dry bitter hops. I would have better appreciated this beer had more citrusy or floral notes been discernable. Medium body with good carbonation and no alcohol tasted. Not bad overall but still far away from some of the top beers from this style.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2008 15:39:11 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Everything I've had from Hoppin' Frog has been very good thus far. That ride continues here. The beer begins with a brigt amber-chesnut color with bright clarity, fantastic head formation, retention, lacing, and legging. An impressive look. The aromas are a beautiful blend of caramel maltiness, orange rinds, candied cherries, pine-floral-citrus hop juiciness. Flavors of the malts, fruits and hops are all there in force- making a nicely blended backdrop for hops. The hop flavor rides just behind the malts, but bite hard in the back of the throat and amplify an alcoholic taste that boarders on harsh and astringent. Texutres are very heavy and leaves some unattenuated malt syrupy textures. Alcohols and hops help to cut the sweetness, but create a harsh fusal sensation in the back of the thoat that promises heartburn later. All in all, this is a good example for the style. Although some age will help to round out the alcohols, the hops will fall into a more timid, herbal state. If I can find another bottle, perhaps I'll do just that.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2008 23:42:51 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

2.53/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

A friend of mine here in Greensboro thinks this beer is the one all be all and shared a bottle with me Sunday night.Poured into a standard pint glass a deep clear amber/bronze with a half finger slight off white head atop,great clarity and hue to the beer.Whoo man the aromas are borderline harsh,just wicked resin with a bit of caramel base but the hop onslaught is wicked in not such a good way.The 168 IBU's is just overkill on the palate,its dry as all get out and bitter to the hilt,wicked pine resin and alcohol make you wanna grab a glass of water and chug it.Iam a full on hophead but this is overkill to the umteenth degree,sorry Brian I told ya I liked it but man that stuff is harsh.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2008 20:58:15 | More by oberon

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.2/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Mean Manalishi

Very hazey, deep sunsetted orange coloration., slim negligible head.

Aroma: spice and fruit aplenty. A mess of citric and tropical fruit, with a blas tof pithy spice.

Taste: Toasty caramel malt holds down the fort, with bitter hops blazing above. A murky soup of intense hoppy flavors. Bright, bitter, bold, rich, .... a great melange of spicy, aggressive flavors. Thick mouthfeel ,long, hoppy finish.
Big and thick.Impressive.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2009 06:28:58 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4.2/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a dark golden amber color with a thick frothy off-white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great! It has an awesome hop nose; bold, bitter, and full of citrus character. The malt bill provides adequate complexity and balance. The taste is good. It has a smooth pale malt flavor as well as damn fine hop taste. It's incredibly hoppy, but overly bitter. It goes down quick with no alcohol warmth at all. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a very good DIPA. It's easy drinking and full flavored; a true hop lovers delight.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2011 22:05:01 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

3.98/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rounding out my sampling of Hoppin' Frog until someone can send me a Barrel Aged B.O.R.I.S. Poured from a 22 ounce bottle without a date into a Stone Arrogant Bastard 0.5L glass.

Beer is reddish and hazy. Forms a thin head of off white / yellow head made up of small bubbles. Carbonation is moderate and made up of small bubbles that rise through the beer slowly. Head leaves a lot of lacing as the beer is drank.

Aroma is dominated by pine hop character.

Full bodied beer, lots of malt character in the front, no aftertaste. There is nice hop character in the midpalate region as well as a strong bitterness at the back. Overall, well connected and balanced flavors. Drinkability is good and mouthfeel is good. Its a fine double IPA but not in the western / California tradition necessarily. Not a hop bomb.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2010 16:56:35 | More by drabmuh

zeff80

Missouri

4.08/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a somewhat cloudy, copper color with burgundy hues. It had a small, foamy, white head that left minimal lace.

S - It smelled very sweet with orange peel, some grapefruit and nice pine notes.

T - It tasted of sweet bubblegum, hoppy pine flavors. Plenty of citrus flavors with mild grapefruit tartness.

M - It was sharp and crisp with a dry finish. A medium bodied DIPA.

D - This is a really nice Imperial IPA. Despite its strength it was fairly easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2009 01:42:36 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

3.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is relatively clear copper in color and has a high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high dense beige head that has excellent retention properties and consistently left a thin head covering the surface and lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: The smell has a mixture of citrus, floral and pine resin aromas from the hops.
T: Like the smell, the hops dominate the taste and flavors of pine resin seem to stand out in particular. Advertised as 168 IBUs, there is a high amount of bitterness.
M: It feels medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation. There is some dryness in the finish.
O: Although this beer is very hoppy and bitter, it’s relatively drinkable and the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 01:10:56 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.6/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Acquired from nlmartin courtesy of Birthday Club 2, so a big “Thank you” goes out to him. Poured from a 22oz bottle into a mug glass.

A: The beer is a bright orange color with a short off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is loaded with floral hops and fruity citrus with some caramelized malt.

T: The taste starts out with a good burst of hops bitterness, then a strong citrus sweetness follows. The malt character is not too heavy, but is hearty enough to provide a good balance. The after-taste is slightly bitter.

M: Very crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean and dry.

D: Very tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, good kick, nice representation of style, I could certainly drink this beer for a long time. So far, after having this beer and BORIS The Crusher, it appears as though Hoppin’ Frog Brewery does the big beers very well.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2007 01:02:24 | More by TheManiacalOne

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Got this one from Hophead101, cheers Greg!

Pours a chill hazed chestnut with 2 fingers of cream colored head. Some floaties at the bottom of the bottle, very good head retention & lacing, huge chunky clouds of lace cling to the back of the glass, you can almost see it turning into sugar crystals in front of you

S: Resiny hops & breadyness & apricots

T: Resiny hops, breadyness, leafy hops & dryness up front, plus whispers of alcohol. A touch of plums & apricot as this warms, then a bunch of resiny hops & toffee. Finishes dryish, with leafy hops, apricots & pears, caramel, piney & grapefruitty hops. Almost pulled a 4.5

MF: Chewy with minimal carbonation & nice balance, skews fruitty

Drinks very easy for the style & abv, a solid DIPA

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2008 05:02:34 | More by russpowell

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This beer poured out as an amber color with a foamy white head on top that had a nice lacing to it. The smell of the beer wasn't quite as floral as I was hoping for, it had a hops on the nose but they were much more earthy than citrusy. The taste of the beer was similar to the nose. I wish that this was a little bit more of a brighter IPA instead of a muddy earthy one. The mouthfeel was decent on this beer, it had a good amount of body but nothing too exciting either. Overall this beer was good if you like the Eastern style or English IPA's. For me, I enjoy the Western ones more so this one wasn't really going anywhere with me.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 06:00:40 | More by Knapp85

emerge077

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A ton of suspended sediment slowly swirls in the direction of the pour. Dirty reddish amber tone, sheets of lacing in the glass.

Rich resiny hops, candied grapefruit comes through in a big way. Strangely a touch of sterile gauze wafts in, but doesn't stick around. Vegetal hop aroma.

Lots of pale malt flavor, as it sits, the hop element becomes less bitter and pretty agreeable overall. Mainly grapefruit with a few random pine needles jabbed in it for good measure. Savory bitterness in the end, mild spice that can't be positively ID'ed. Some sort of mustardy notes come in toward the end. Alternately fruity and herbal.

Full bodied, but still retaining a pleasant drinkability. Worth the price of admission. 168 IBUs...and i'm 129 years old. I would try this next to Dreadnaught, Goose IIPA, or similar for a good head-to-head battle.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2008 02:30:44 | More by emerge077

Gavage

New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: pours a clear copper color with a nice 2" head that last a while. Thick lace paints the glass during the session.

Smell: loads of pine, grapefruit, and caramel sweetness leaps from the glass into the nose.

Taste: pine is most up front with some grapefriuits, caramel, honey, and loads of hop bitrterness. Alcohol is mildly noticeable along with some background breadiness. A touch strong on the bitterness versus the balancing sweetness, but still tasty.

Mouthfeel: medium-heavy in body. Light crispness at the start, smoother and dry at the finish. Aftertaste is very long as the pine and grapefruits stick to the tongue for quite a while.

Drinkability: a bomber bottle is enough for one session as the tastebuds take a hit here. Tasty beer but a real sipper here.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2008 01:16:49 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours copper with a well-retained head that leaves lacing.

The smell is of citrus, pine - Very hoppy.

The taste is of citrus - tangerines/clementines, and grapefruit, with pine sap. Very, very hoppy - in a very good way - and with a caramel background that gives a touch of sweetness to the bitterness.

Full-bodied, with carbonation cutting in to keep it from being too syrupy.

Very drinkable despite (well-hidden) abv. A hoppy delight!

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2008 04:15:27 | More by jwc215

akorsak

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A 650 mL bottle from a recent trade with PBRStreetgang.

A: The DIPA is a very dark orange color, tinged with red and brown. The overall effect is darkened by a haziness that prevents light from coming through. The pour conjured up a small head that quickly disappeared.

S: The aromas really jump out at you. Lots of pine, sweet with resiny oils, lead the way. Citrus notes create a subtler aroma that nicely sits just below the pine.

T: The taste is huge, deliciously thick with piney hops. They ravage the tastebuds with thick resins, so much so that I feel like I am sucking on some hop cones. Under the huge hop presence is a surprisingly flavorful caramel malt body. It supports the hops but adds a great deal of flavor on its own. The finish is piney, oh so sweet on its way out.

M: Lots of hops make this on a treat on the palate. I've been slowly sippin' on it for almost three hours.

D: There is little alcohol heat to slow you down, despite the high tag. The hop profile is enough to make you want another one. Well done by the Frog!

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2008 02:19:46 | More by akorsak

tempest

Pennsylvania

2.93/5  rDev -22.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Split a bomber at Tap and Table. I poured my share into a tulip glass and looked a hazy red amber with a short off-white head. Right off the bat, as I stick my nose into the glass, there's a clear plastic aroma. It continues into the flavor, really staining the otherwise tasty dry grapefruit of orange peel notes. There's also a good kick of caramel malt that almost overbalances the hops, but this is still a pretty tasty brew aside from the obvious faults. What a shame.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2010 03:00:05 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appears a pretty heavily cloudy amber orange hue with a large cream head forming thick with large bubbles after a nice strong pour into my Corsendonk chalice. Lacing forms even with each sip all around my glass, can't go wrong by the looks let's take a smell. Aroma is very green with heavy grapefruit peels and some medicinal aspirin bottle like acidity going on, herbal grassy, pine cones, and floral wildflowers roll on as well. A touch of sweet honey and mango pineapple fruits how does a beer from the midwest get so tropical. Flavor is full of brash hop bitterness alot of hop pellet concentrated IBUs, sweet caramel and sugar coated grapefruit rinds blended together with more herbaceous hop tones like some kind bud, pine cones, and perfume. Caramel juicy malt bill forms but the hop bitterness and flavor really overshadow those malt traces here. Alcohol definitely an evident component in this brew, doesn't seem to thought out just a slew of hops and malt. Mouthfeel is medium to big body not much lush hop oils going on here, even carbonation I can't really complain about this area. Drinkability is alright definitely not a quaffer very complex and intense but not something I'm going for on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2008 21:12:13 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear very dark amber with brown and reddish tints. Minimal tannish head doesn't really stay long, but leaves decent lacing on the way down. Nose is super floral hops. Strong and unrelenting. Flavor is very strong. Acidic almost at first. Firm woody edges. Very, very earthy. Feel is sticky on liquid and the carbonation is good. Surprisingly, this ends up being a pretty drinkable DIPA as I tore through the bottle and was finished well before I wished. A nice DIPA, though a bit heavy on the robust side.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2008 23:20:51 | More by RblWthACoz

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark amber with a strong orange hue. The head is beige with lasting power. Spotty ring lace on the glass. (Interestingly, the lace become thicker as the beer went down.)

Milder hop aroma than I was expecting, still it is fresh and citrusy. The alcohol is present in the background as is the malt base. Pretty well balanced for an extreme beer.

In terms of lasting presence, the swallow reminds me of the Altoids' Curiously Strong Mints; the hop bitterness goes on for minutes. The brew starts off in neutral but quickly slides into a bitter chew. The alcohol is surprisingly muted. The body is solid.

I am trying this beer the day after I tried their superb IPA. I prefer the "single" version. If one is inclined to the edges of taste, this may be a treat. For me, I find this to too extreme to enjoy regularly. As a one off, it's still a treat.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2008 21:21:11 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.5/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks goes out to lightindarkness for this brew.

Pours a very nice hazy dark golden orange color, nice carbonation, very nice two-finger creamy off-white head, lots and lots of sticky lacing and islands. The nose is hoppy, some malts, nice tones of citrus/pines, and some caramel. The taste has a nice sweetness to it, pretty hoppy, malty, nice touch of citrus/pines/caramel. Medium body. Very drinkable, this is an awesome DIPA, highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2008 00:30:16 | More by Wasatch

Jason

Massachusetts

2.85/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

22oz brown bomber.

The appearance is a tricky one, at one point my pint showed a clear reddish amber color but after about 8-10oz poured out the particles on the bottom of the bottle rushes into the rest of the liquid. Now its cloudy, nearly turbid with small bits of sediment that does not want to settle to the bottom of the glass. Half decent head retention.

Big pungent and sharp hoppy aroma of the rind from a fresh peeled grapfruit, spearmint and wild flowers with a hint of caramel malt in the back of the nose.

Sharp bitterness from the hops cuts deep, luckily it has a lot to cut through. Creamy full body with a solid maltiness that screams caramel and a little bit of toasted malt. All of the malt gets beat back down and the drying hop bitterness takes over. Grapefruit peel, tobacco and black tea from the hops. Finishes dry and overly bitter and astringent.

168 IBUs ... hmmm, your tasted buds can only handle about 80 IBUs so this is aiming for overkill and that is what it ends up being. Its so hoppy that it masks the mildly solvent alcohol for the most part. Keep the sediment out, tone down the bitterness and focus on more hop flavor and this would be a great DIPA. Great to try once but this ends up being a taste bud killer.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2008 01:46:55 | More by Jason