Hop God - Reserve Series Aged In French Oak Chardonnay Barrels - Nebraska Brewing Company

Megahertz

Missouri

4.53/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL bottle. At Wolfbrau House of Beer in St. Peters, MO.

A: Hazy golden with big-bubbled head that dissipated immediately.

S: very complex aroma. Serious chardonnay notes. Slightly tart on the nose.

T: Layer upon layer of flavor. Intense chardonnay like character. Initially, I thought, "where are the hops?," but they quickly follow at the end. Slight tartness noted in the finish. Bone. Dry. Finish.

M: Medium to light body - surprising at this level of ABV.

D: Complex, definately a sipper. Avoid if you do not like chardonnay. Share the 750 with friends.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2012 23:30:36 | More by Megahertz

LambicPentameter

Kansas

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%

05-19-2013 04:17:08 | More by LambicPentameter

drgonzo2k2

California

4/5  rDev -3.4%

05-18-2013 14:23:21 | More by drgonzo2k2

swtchuck

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%

04-27-2013 18:22:01 | More by swtchuck

jondeelee

Massachusetts

3.99/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hop God opens to full Belgian nose, bursting with bananas and cloves, and supplemented with a bevy of fruit esters, including white grape, apricot, berry, cherry, kiwi, and even touches of pineapple. Smidgens of confectioner’s sugar add a super sweet edge, with brown sugar and vanilla bringing in more sweet textures. Grains bring in bits of toast and baguette, as well as faint remnants of wet wheat and whole wheat dough, but the breads are quite faint, and mainly serve to help bring the sugars into relief. The oak barrel aging adds oaky notes, and bits of the Chardonnay have also seeped into the beer, adding fruity grape notes, like sparkling sweet champagne. For all of the beer’s 101 IBUs, what is noticeably missing from the nose is the expected hop bomb; instead, the hops add delicate rosewater and grapefruit overtones. As a whole, the beer smells delicious, and in many ways is far closer to fruity champagne than beer, with the banana and clove Belgian notes being the main detractor from this impression. What is mostly apparent is the intensity of the sugars, the bottle rim not only sticky, but the fruit esters more full and complex than in several lesser beers combined. The beer is perhaps overly sugary, or at least in need of a stronger secondary aroma to help balance things out, but is still alluring.

On the tongue, the hops are out in full force, attacking the tongue with an unexpected ferocity, pink grapefruit, grapefruit rind, pine resin, and dandelion stem mixing with citrusy pineapple, fermented apple cider, and berry vodka to burn the tastebuds and singe the nosehairs. The intensity of this initial impression cannot be overstated, especially after the delicate and sugary-sweet nose: this beer singes and curls the toes, not only with massively bitter hops, but tart fruits and heavy swaths of alcohol vapor. Rarely has a beer been so different from aroma to taste. Subsequent sips reveal more sugary fruit esters, including cherry, orange, apricot, and the expected banana and clove Belgian notes. Toast crust, wet wheat, and rising wheat dough also add further complexity, as do touches of oaky white grapes. But it is the massive hop/citrus/alcohol blast that easily wins out, dominating the other flavors and occupying perhaps ninety percent of the flavors, and continuing to eat away at the tastebuds long, long after the beer has been swallowed. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high.

Overall, if the taste of the beer had more closely resembled the aroma, this would have been an amazing beverage. However, on the tongue, the hops simply overwhelm everything, and combine with the high ABV to produce a hop-and-vodka martini overtone that so heavily dominates the beer as to make most of the other flavors quite difficult to detect. The beer is definitely out of balance because of this, to such an extent that even hopheads might have a problem.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 18:15:32 | More by jondeelee

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Very thick, rich head, almost like it had nitrogen rather than carbonation. The head settles slowly, leaving a dense dome in the center of the glass. Chunky but spotty lace on the glass. Cloudy liquid with a dirty gold color.

Complex aromas of creamy (lactose?) pale malts. Some Belgian yeast nose. Peppery hop, too.

Starts with a rich barley flavor. Holding the liquid in my mouth, a subtle carbonation shows up preventing the beer from getting coy. Just prior to the swallow, the alcohol is notable, oily and warming. The swallow and aftertaste is all hop and alcohol. The hop portion is bittering without any strong spiciness. In a word: Complex.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 00:34:30 | More by smcolw

CelticAleMan

California

4/5  rDev -3.4%

04-15-2013 22:09:39 | More by CelticAleMan

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%

04-11-2013 16:43:27 | More by DaPan

WanderingFool

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%

04-07-2013 23:23:59 | More by WanderingFool

fortheunheard

New York

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

04-04-2013 21:42:27 | More by fortheunheard

weonfire

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

04-03-2013 01:48:51 | More by weonfire

BMart

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -9.4%

03-14-2013 20:35:09 | More by BMart

12owls

California

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

03-04-2013 03:36:18 | More by 12owls

muskiesman

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -3.4%

03-02-2013 01:06:57 | More by muskiesman

KetchumSuds

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

02-13-2013 09:41:19 | More by KetchumSuds

Cstromberg57

New Hampshire

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

02-11-2013 02:28:42 | More by Cstromberg57

notdriving

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -33.6%

02-04-2013 03:21:49 | More by notdriving

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.36/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I had this on tap at Holy Hound, hesitated to enter a review, but had 5.5oz in a snifter and enjoyed it so, why not?

The color is deep amber like an apricot with thin ring of beading ,there is no lace stickage. The smell is floral and phenolic with mild vinous odor. The feel is mildly tannic with high bitterness and slight spice from the yeast and semi-high carbonation.

This is a very interesting blend of Belgian IPA with some wine-barrel influence adding to the complexity in general, very phenolic and bitter with some mild tropical and vinous elemments. Overall I was more than pleased with the flavor and intensity, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys hoppy Belgians, not over the top with bitterness to the extent that you can't get the wine barrel in the flavor profile, highly enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

01-14-2013 19:52:41 | More by Slatetank

spycow

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%

01-13-2013 22:00:22 | More by spycow

threeviews

New Jersey

4.73/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a hazy golden from a 750ml bottle into an Odell goblet/tulip glass with about a 1-2 finger frothy, white head.

S- Chardonnay grapes, lemon, fleshy citrus (pineapple, pear, green apple) and vanilla/oak

M- Strong carbonation allows Hop God (barrel aged) to seep into the taste-buds nicely and allow all of the flavors to titivate the palate.

T- This is where the barrel-aging shines. Huge amounts of everything: bitter citrus (grapefruit and orange rind, fleshy tropical fruits (pineapple, granny smith apple, apricot)...and oh yeah, you'll also get a heavy dose of bitterness.

O- Redefines what a beer can be...this brew is unique and squarely bridges the chasm between (white) wine and beer...this is exceptional.

Although primarily a Brewpub, they do things right...If you are passing through...try it, if you can get it, buy it! Tyson Arp and Co. are doing really great things with beer!

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 03:02:13 | More by threeviews

VaTechPhilly

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -27.5%

01-10-2013 23:41:12 | More by VaTechPhilly

miadw3

California

3.75/5  rDev -9.4%

01-10-2013 07:48:00 | More by miadw3

hollywood_15063

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

12-21-2012 03:26:17 | More by hollywood_15063

IPAchris

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +8.7%

12-21-2012 03:03:12 | More by IPAchris

APB

Nebraska

4/5  rDev -3.4%

12-18-2012 07:41:52 | More by APB