Hop Dam Triple IPA - Hoppin' Frog Brewery

SawDog505

New Hampshire

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a 13 oz tulip. Pours a bright reddish orange, with a 1 inch off white sticky head, plenty of lacing. Smell grapefruit, grass, pine, and some breadyness. Taste is all of that with a large grapefruit pucker at the end, very little taste of alcohol, impressive for the abv. Nice body and great carbonation especially for it's big abv. Nice beer, but I want to be amazed for $18.99 a bomber and I didn't notice a date on the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2011 22:01:36 | More by SawDog505

goblue3509

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an orangish amber color with a ring of head around the edge and little to no lace. The aroma is big and hoppy. Earthiness and florals are present. The taste is big and bold. There is not a lot of balance just bit earthy hops along with floral hops and a bit a citrus in the back end. The mouthfeel is moderately carbonated and smooth and a little oily. Overall this is a hop bomb. I know it lacks balance but isn't that what they are going for, if you are a hop bomb fan try this one.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2011 21:55:52 | More by goblue3509

heysuz

Indiana

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Intro: Split a 22 oz. bottle with a friend in a tulip glass.

Appearance: Thin head on pour, although a head can be swirled up, it does not last. The coloring is cloudy with a medium amber with an orange hue. The lacy, which is minimal, but it clings which shows it is not oily.

Smell: Strong hop smell with nice tones of sweet citrus and no alcohol smell at all.

Taste: Very dry with strong hops taste, but not a harsh bitter. It has a burnt aftertaste, not sure what is burnt, but that is the taste left on the back of the tongue.

Mouthfeel: Lots of carbonation and a warming alcohol feeling in the chest. It is dry in the mouth. Left with a hop oil coating and an alcohol aftertaste.

Overall: It’s a good example of the style. It is slight above average. If you are a hophead you will enjoy this beer, but there are so many offerings in the DIPA class that it does not stand out.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2011 20:41:37 | More by heysuz

BeerWanker

Australia

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

drank out of a 750ml bottle in an open pint glass.

huge nose, massive hops and the smallest after-thought of barley and typical PA flavours. tight fruits, peaches, apples and all that wanky noise.

monstrous on the taste buds. huge, uncomprimising hops, smashing apart all other flavour profiles. fucking love it. if you can handle the hop monster (IBU in the 100's) this is a beast of beer to love and savour.

mouthfeel is a smal consideration, yet barley comes through to tame the beast. wow.

overall. if you want to try your hand at a monster, this is for you. if you love IPA, try this triple, otherwise man up and drink your 6 percenters' and feel like a champ..i joke, this is a beast. try it and then you will understand true imperials.

Serving type: nitro-bottle

10-11-2011 19:38:50 | More by BeerWanker

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -46.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5

On a perpetual IPA kick-and haven't tried any of Hoppin Frogs IPAs- so I picked this one up at VE.

A- Body is a nice hazy dark copper/amber hue. Pours with a minimal head which soon fades to a thick collar and leaves lacing all the way down the glass.

S- The nose is very earthy. Earthy and herbal hops abound everywhere. A hint of spicy hops is in there too. Lots of alcohol astringency and a grainy malt backbone.

T- Herbal, grassy and spicy hops upfront. A hint of citrus in the background. The finish turns a little as the greeness of the herbal hops really comes out and a nail polish like alcohol astringency comes through as well as a grainy bitterness. Left to linger is a trace of herbal hops, and a big hop and alcohol bitterness.

M- Low to medium carbonation, and a slightly oily hop body-medium weight. Actually the body is done quite well and is the highlight of the beer. I wish more IPAs had a similar mouthfeel.

O- Esentially I wasted $18 on a disgusting mess. As I drink more I am really not liking it anymore although the mouthfeel is growing on me. Worth a try- if sharing with a million people.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2011 00:04:08 | More by PittBeerGirl

Beaver13

Colorado

3.8/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle. Pours a hazy reddish copper with a medium creamy off white head that goes to a thin film and leaves some lacing.

The aroma is sweet sugary melon and catty, resiny hops with some alcohol as it warms.

The flavor is some sweet fruity malts followed by a huge hop bang in the finish - very resiny and kind of catty and tarry. The alcohol is pretty well hidden. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with low creamy carbonation.

Overall, an expensive, big unbalanced hop monster, but fun.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2011 06:01:40 | More by Beaver13

Osiris9588

Ohio

3.7/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy bronze color out of the 22oz bomber. There are yeasty floaters suspended in the body of the beer. The two finger white head is thick and leaves plenty of trails of large-bubbled lacing.

The smell is dry, more woody than piny, very pleasing to the olfactory senses.

The taste--I know this is a hop bomb, and I love hop bombs and include Bell's Hopslam as one of my faves beers in the world (if not the fave). Yet, I think one is a bit overbearing and kind of a one-trick pony. It's very phenolic, plenty of cherry cough syrup and dirty band-aid but not as much of the pine and citrus notes I enjoy so much in other hop bombs.

On the mouth you get a bit of a sweet syrupy kick on the front, then it dries out into a woody finish with a slight metallic, battery-like finish.

Not terrible, but not in the upper echelon of the style.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 21:34:11 | More by Osiris9588

jamescain

Texas

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a sniffer, thanks to StoneBrewFanatic

Appearance: Clear copper-amber with about one finger worth of head that slowly fades into a lacing and clings to the sides of the glass.

Aroma: Not nearly as aggressive as I thought it was going to be, since its a so called triple IPA. Grapefruit, pine, citrus, pineapple, and passion fruit.

Taste: Pretty similar to the aroma with some hop astringency, not malt backing in this baby at all.

Mouthfeel: Medium body and medium carbonation, I was expecting the body to me more syrupy, not that I prefer that.

Overall: I enjoyed it more as a dry hopped and less as a triple IPA. Good but probably doesn't support the price Hoppin' Frog asks.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2011 20:04:29 | More by jamescain

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle of this at Al's of Hampden.

The beer pours a copper amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is pretty intense and outrageous, as I get a huge aroma of pine, dry citrus, dank and skunky earth, and light underlying malt. The beer smells pretty boozy as well, which is to be expected in a 10% DIPA I guess. The flavor profile replicates the nose, but the hoppy bitterness in this beer is really over the top. Also, along with the blast of hoppy bitternees, I get something of a veggie soup flavor, which is interesting. Mouthfeel is full, and the finish is long, dry and almost painfully bitter. Alcohol is fairly well integrated into the flavor profile, but is still pretty noticeable in this sizeable DIPA. Really hard to imagine drinking an entire pint of this bad boy.

This is an impressive DIPA, no doubt, but I think the brewer got a bit carried trying to make an overly bitter DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2011 13:54:58 | More by johnmichaelsen

beagle75

Iowa

2.58/5  rDev -35.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass.

A: Hazy, light amber color with lopsided off-white foam residue. Scant lacing remains on the glass and suspended sediment is heavy to the point of being distracting.

S: Light caramel and a trace of herbaceous and piney hops make for a smell that is unremarkable, considering the style, yet inoffensive. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins off-dry, with early artificial pine hop aromatics, muted butterscotch, and husky crystal malt that is backed by mild acidity. Flavors turn earthy in the middle, intensely English in the qualities presented by the hops, but a bit reckless. Columbus hop flavors become aggressive in the finish--very bitter with medicinal overtones that are not helped either by some late booziness that is present.

M: Medium viscosity, while it is astringent on the palate it stops short of disaster, with low carbonation.

D/O: Another kitchen-sink DIPA that embraces a more-must-be-better philosophy but comes across as muddled at best. Lingering astringent bitterness wrecks the palate, but no payoff is provided.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 22:15:03 | More by beagle75

Blakaeris

Iowa

2.55/5  rDev -36.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Pours dark bronze with a ton of floating sediment. Head is slight and soapy, leaving a thin sheen.

Aroma is caramel and toffee with a mild musty hop quality reminiscent of nugget hop, or wet hay.

Taste is more of the musty, nuggety hop funk from the nose, but much more pronounced, along with an intense piney quality that somehow doesn't match up. Very dry and woody with a touch of nut. The caramel and toffee also make an appearance, but are understated in the flavor. Finishes with tobacco and an odd musty funk.

Mouthfeel is medium-full. Quite thick.

Overall a very unusual flavor. Musty and funky, with massive piney and floral undertones. Not what I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 00:52:25 | More by Blakaeris

bashiba

Iowa

2.3/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured a bright orange with lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of sediment. Easily the chunkiest beer I have ever seen. A light soap ring of a head.

Doesn't really smell all that hoppy for a TRIPEL IPA, a light medicinal quality with a bit of mineral.

The flavor is a big grassy bitter mess, mild toasted malts sort of sneak through, but its bitter herbal and grassy hops. It seems to be missing most of the tasty hop flavors and just full of bitterness and old lawn clippings with some alcohol sweetness.

The mouthfeel is thick and chewy, literally chewy.

This beer is an absolut train wreck of a giant IPA, will avoid in the future.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 00:40:06 | More by bashiba

EgadBananas

Louisiana

4.33/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to my bro JM03 for the bottle!

Pours a very nice dark, dark copper color. I forced the head, but it's a nice frothy tan, with nice lacing.

Aroma is ripe with pine and caramel, alcohol-soaked resins. It has a nice balance, while still being alluringly intense.

Taste is intensely bitter. Huge pine notes, resins, some grapefruit and citrus, but they are second fiddle. Some caramel and plenty of malts.

Slightly sticky feel, full bodied, slightly crisp and lingering.

This is extremely balanced and dangerously drinkable. It's still a huge beer, so caution should be had. Great though. :)

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2011 22:35:22 | More by EgadBananas

DoubleSimcoe

New York

4.1/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Hoppin' Frog Hop Dam, bomber bought at Friar Tuck in Springfield for about ten bucks.

Appearance: Served in a hotel glass, it takes a real assertive pour for this brew to produce a decent, foamy head that doesn't last anyway. Thick lacing, alright retention and lots of bubbles. Color is a very hazy amber-copper, looking almost like mosquito-infected dead water. You know you're in for a hefty brew!

Smell: Booze, hop, cooked citrus. Orange juice, a bit of lime. Pine, soap, lemon. Cleaning product. Very aromatic, reminds me of the Sick!

Taste: Follows nose, with more hops and citrus. Bitter, funky, farm-like, dry at the end. Some floral aromas. Hot and boozy. Extreme! Pungent!

Mouthfeel: Sticky, a tad sweet, definitely oily. Hot, HOT! Alcohol all around. Tongue-tickling. Burns at the end. Full body and flavor, medium carbonation. Huge!

Overall: I appreciate the Frog's extremeness. Hop Dam is aggressive and brutal, it is not drinkable. It hurts good. But for those of us who enjoy the hops and the adventure, this works. The Manalishi was pretty big, right... well, this is even bigger and badder. Man!

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2011 04:27:43 | More by DoubleSimcoe

parris

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +14%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A - Beautiful orange color, with tons of bits of hops. If I didn't know any better I'd think it was a gross amount of yeast/protein, but it's hops, I've heard. And it adds to the appearance.

S - Not a super intense aroma, but very pleasant. Citrus, maybe some vanilla.

T - Malty at first, piney in the middle, earthy/papery bitter finish. Pretty damn balanced for the hundred fifty million IBU it's supposed to have. The bitterness is clearly past my palate's detectable threshold.

M - Oily and smooth. Perfect for an imperial IPA. The carbonation can be felt from the lips to the back of your throat.

O - I was afraid I was going to be wasting the $23 I spent on this one beer, or that it would be more of an "experience" than a tasty delight. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase, very tasty, not just something you get once just to say you've tried it.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 23:46:59 | More by parris

KansasBeerLover

Kansas

4.93/5  rDev +23.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours to an light copper color. A thin head, which rapidly disappears with little or no lacing. There is a lot of sediment in the bottle, so have some patience and let it set a few minutes before pouring. There is just enough effervescence to keep the particles suspended.

Aroma reminds me of camping in the piney woods with some lemon in the air.

Taste - have your taste buds ready, they will be in for a shock.

Mouthfeel - The bitters stick around for a while. Thick and heavy.

I bought one bomber the first day it was in Wichita. Then it must have flown off the shelves, and the distributor is out. I found 5 bombers today and paid the $15 ride ticket. If you can buy it, you will enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

07-16-2011 01:05:36 | More by KansasBeerLover

Durge

Connecticut

4.45/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A cloudy deep copper colored brew, thick with particle goodies, big fat ones. The head is healthy, off-white and the lacing covers nicely. The aroma is a deep honey-pine-lemon hops, almost a juniper-pineapple edge to it. Unique, tastefully potent and just plain good. The flavor brings an intense alcohol hop bite with a near syrupy lemon-pine. It’s near full bodied, somewhat cloying with lots of sweet citrus-clover and just hyper bitterness that so satisfies the need within! This is another testament to great brewing where these guys can come out with unique creations like this and do it so well.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 16:22:21 | More by Durge

IdrinkGas

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a clear golden amber with about a finger of white head.

S: Hops, hops, and hops. Piney resinous hops. Some alcohol is also noticeable.

T: I believe this is what they call a hop bomb. Very bitter freshly picked hops and some earthy flavors . Some malt comes out as it warms. Alcohol is hidden by the bitterness.

M: low carbonation with a thick mouthfeel.

Definitely worth a try if you are a hophead. But its$20 per bomber in Pa so this was probably a one time treat.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 20:48:02 | More by IdrinkGas

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.4/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A nice surprice of a great beer.

Pours out of the bottle with a nice caramel color with a great pinky of foamy off white head and very good lacing.

The smell is very nice in terms of hops, it has only what I can describe as a very 'raw' hop smell with lots of earthy grass and weed smells, bitter like raw hops right out of the bag you get from the homebrew store!

The taste is much more complex with the bright fruit and grapefruit hops up front with a toasty, honey bread malt undertone that is quite nice and very appropriate for the style. TRopical fruits are the main hop character here and the beer ends with a great bitter lingering finish with a great thick body like its from a cask at a pub. Some piney hop notes as well as a couple spicy notes, this would go great with spicy food as it's big enough to compete with the spice but also would compliment nicely.

Overall a really nice beer thats surprisingly great. Would buy again if I see it.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2011 01:54:05 | More by Dreadnaught33

BradLikesBrew

Missouri

3.18/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a dark caramel with a thin white head.

Dense hops on the nose. I think it might be too intense to process.

Extremely hoppy. Some boozy flavors, but the hop oils takeover. Its hard to appreciate much of the complexity. Pine cones, tons of pine cones. Very astringent on the finish.

Sticky, oily, full body.

I thought Mean Manalishi was too much of a good thing and this has 50% more hops than that. Overboard.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 22:46:32 | More by BradLikesBrew

scotvega18

New York

3.88/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22 oz Bomber poured into a southern tier tulip

A - Hop Haze? More like Hop Chunks. Lots of sediment floating around, but holy god is what they are floating around in is damn beautiful rich amber colored with yellow highlights on the edges with an off white head. Lacing is only average though.

S - Up front I get a lot of simcoe astringency which makes me think i may be drinking this too late. Caramel malt follows and some mild sweetness. A little worried now....

T - Well, This is different. Any fruitiness is up front and fades fast and then its a snowball effect of bitterness. it keeps building and building until it tops off in a palate destroying blast. I could definitely see not being a fan of this, but I look for these kinds of beers to finish off the night.

M - Think and syrupy, which i didnt expect. You can almost feel the chunks of hops going into your mouth. Cant find the 10% at all, and carbonation is just dandy.

Notes - This is like drinking hop juice. I think what they did was just dump in a boatload of hops at the end of the boil, and made this a palate destroying monster. And i dig it.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 19:48:12 | More by scotvega18

jzeilinger

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - Pours a deep garnet orange color with a 1/4 of creamy foam layered across the top that quickly dissipates to an even layer. No carbonation.

S - This is a very unique smelling IPA with a floral aroma, grapefruit, and pine, all melted together in an extremely pungent, resinous, and acidic type of way. For a 10% monster, there's very little alcohol detected in the nose. Any type of malt that is present in this beer does not come through in the aroma.

T - The booze didn't come through in the nose (at least for me), however, it was one of the first nuances that really slammed my palette. Resinous and vinous grapefruit and pine bitterness, slightly floral, some tart tropical fruit, and alot of spicy malt underneath to hold up the weight of the hops. After the first several sips and shots of alcohol effervescence, the alcohol presence becomes less noticeable and the citrus side of the bitterness comes forward.

M - Thick, that's the best way I can describe this beer - it's thick for a big IPA, but in a very good way. Full body with big lingering semi-dry grapefruit and pine sitting on the palette and a slight coating of spicy malt.

O - I wasn't crazy about the appearance, it looked rather bland. The aroma was good, but where it really shined for me was in the taste and mouthfeel. I paid a small fortune for this bottle (to the tune of $15.50 for a bomber), but it was worth every penny. I would love to pick up another bottle or two of this epic sized hop bomb, but can't justify the cost. If you can find it, it's definitely worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2011 02:56:04 | More by jzeilinger

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.55/5  rDev +14%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer pours out as a copper color, some nice head at first that settles within a minute or so. The lacing is light but decent. The smell is very strong with piney hops. The taste has such a hoppiness to it that it's almost hard to even review. The mouthfeel is thick but smooth with a nice light carbonation. Overall this triple IPA is probably the best I've had as of yet. Aside of the Founders Devil Dancer and Brew Works Hopsalutely. Damn good triple IPA. Really wanna have this one again sometime!

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2011 05:34:55 | More by Knapp85

Preismj

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: nice burnt hue to it...dark amber with a touch of cloud Nice fluffy white head that retreats unevenly and fast. Tons of lacing and sticky sticky look to it.

s: great floral scent that pierces through the half inch head. A sweetness that I can't identify. Smells incredible. Perhaps honey or caramel. Something delicious.

t: okay, not what I expected. HUUUUGE shot of bitter flowers that strike furiously for roughly half a second. Then it is some sort of malt sweetness reminiscent of bourbon. Mixed with bready taste of beer it is almost like a cookie sweetness and caramel/toffee. This is unreal good. I was very taken aback. Initially, the taste is a little bizarre as it isn't what you expect. It goes from Hoppy citrus amazingness to a strange bitter sweet shift, and then butterscotch cookie on the finish. Yum! wish it was solid all the way through though.

m: rich, fizzy, thick and syrupy. Coats well, leaves you dry despite the sweeter finish.

o: I will get this again. And I'll have no problems taking down the bottle on taste alone. There is no booziness at 10%, but Imunna be a mess after this bad boy. Just wish that mid note in the taste was structured differently.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2011 02:22:45 | More by Preismj

output01x

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle (no date) into a pint glass.

A strong pour yields a 1-finger cream-colored head that quickly recedes to a thin dusting and thin foam ring. The body is a clear orange amber color with a small number of slowly rising carbonation bubbles. The final pour from the bottle relases a massive amount of floaties that cloud the significantly. Almost zero lacing can be noticed throughout consumption.

A good combination of citrus hops and pine hops aromas make for a great nose. Notes of orange peel and a spiciness are also detectable.

The smell really does not do this viscious beer justice. A sweet citrus flavor starts each sip but is soon accompanied by a strong resinous pine flavor. As the citrus fades, the standard pine bitterness follows. This pine bitterness quickly builds to a level any hophead would revel in. The bottle claims "High IBUs" but I would certainly agree with a claim of 100+ IBUs. A slight alcohol warmth is noticable as the beer warms, but is never indicative of the 10% ABV.

Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, this beer is an easy drinking sipper. While the intense flavors and extreme bitterness prevents one from gulping this beer, the mouthfeel is somewhat refreshing. The lack of carbonation definitely hinders the drinkability, but it also permits the bitterness to haunt you indefinitely.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 05:19:59 | More by output01x