Essence - Hangar 24 Brewery

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.2/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle opened on 9.3.12.

Thanks Jordan.

A - Pours a slightly cloudy, medium orange with a two inch yellow-tan foamy head. Great retention.

S - Sweet and malty, some citrus on the back end.

T - Oranges and lemons, some malt in the finish. This one tastes like it is not what it once was.

D - Decent carbonation with a sweet medium body.

O - Citrusy and malty. I would love to try this one fresh.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2012 05:34:54 | More by HuskyinPDX

zac16125

South Carolina

3.68/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22oz bottle  into a tulip
no born on date 

Thanks to Redbeeron for sending this one over as an extra.

A: Pours a translucent copper amber color with just over 1 fingers width of off white head, which takes a fair amount of time to dissipate down.  The second glass poured from the snifter yields tons of sedimentation suspended in the glass, Im talking almost heady topper-esque sedimentation.  Leaves a fair amount of lacing.  

S: The aroma is somewhat citrusy which was expected, but there is also a significant amount of resiny hops and booze.  The second glass of the bomber (along with all the sedimentation) also has a different nose, including significantly more citrus aromas, specifically much more powerful orange and tangerine notes.  

T: Maltier on the tongue than the nose implied.   Has an interesting sweetness that is almost like the  banana yeast flavor in belgiums.  Decent amount of piney bitterness.   Significantly boozy.  Nothing at all like I anticipated, I get almost no citrus notes, except a bit of sweet orange which becomes slightly more prominent as the beer warms but even then is still taking a backseat to booze and bitterness.

M/D: Medium bodied, on the heavier side of the carbonation spectrum but not to a fault.  Doesnt do a terribly good job of masking the ABV, although as a fan of boozy beers I dont necessarily mind that.  Drinkability is good.  

O: Overall, not bad but nothing impressive.  Disappointingly lacking on citrus notes, and I honestly couldnt tell it was brewed with added oranges and grapefruits.  I recently had a similar DIPA brewed with added citrus, Westbrook Citrus Ninja, which I thought was far superior to this.  Granted, that one was fresher and didn't endure a cross country shipping expedition in the heat of summer, but still.  This one just came off as a middle of the road DIPA on the boozier side of the spectrum.  I wouldn't seek this one out, but I am glad I got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 00:30:32 | More by zac16125

bnachtig

4.6/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

An amazing double IPA!
A: golden orangish
S: lots of hops some orange and lemon and grapefruit
T: Just like it smells. Not a lot of caramel malts in this one which is nice. Tastes like its ingredients!
M: Can tell it finished on the drier end, very refreshing and too easy too drink. One of the top five double IPA's out there.
O: More please

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 23:27:43 | More by bnachtig

DM1293

California

4.43/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Essence is essentially their DIPA, just taken in less of the honey-blossom direction and full on citrusy-hop flavours. And as a fan of citrus in my hoppy beers, I like this more. Strong without being overpowering, and cuts back on the sweetness. A little sticky on the palate, but enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 02:30:32 | More by DM1293

SubpoenaDeuces

California

4.18/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Mr. Savage and the boys did another fine job with this one.

Appearance is on par for what you are expecting, nice golden hues, frothy foaminess, light brass color. Smells of orange rind, light pine, grapefruit, citrus zest, and orange julius kisses.

Taste is an initial tart bit of hop oil that imparts a resin soaked orange wedge with trailing tears of acidic rage. Grapefruit carries its bindle in tow casting pine cones in the wake. A memorable take on an old chestnut.

Mouthfeel is light and not overly malty, solid base for some hopjumping. Overall, amazing beer for $6.99 and I hope it enters the regular rotation as I feel it is a vast improvement over their current DIPA offerings.

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2012 00:07:16 | More by SubpoenaDeuces

FosterJM

California

3.93/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

1350th Review on BA
Bottle to CCB snifter
22oz

Thanks to Callmecoon and Smarcoly for sharing

App- Really had a hazy orange with a little yellow mixed in. A nice semi clear color with a few bubbles on the bottom. A small head with only a little bit of cling.

Smell- Big lush amounts of orange, zest and whispy fresh alcohol phenols. Not overly boozy but still there. Lots of grapefruit and that stinging blood orange note. Also a small resiny malty note.

Taste- Its a nice beer. Not mindblowing like Subpeona said. A good addition of the fruit but bloodorange isnt my thing. Small grapefruit comes next and lots of pine and hops.

Mouth- A small medium body with a semi medium carbonation. Residual orange and hops.

Drink- It was nice. Coulda been better. Nice effort.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 17:50:44 | More by FosterJM

mactrail

California

2.88/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

The citrus fruit is a nice idea, but it tends to make this beer really acidic. That plus the hops gives an overdose of grapefruit peel. However, it's a interesting concoction and if you like the sharp taste it's worth a try.

Attractive appearance in the tulip glass. More orange than amber with a nice sudsiness. Aroma of orange juice and roast barley. Light malt flavor and not enough sweetness to counter the astringency attack. I have to rate the mouthfeel low for that puckery reason. Out of curiosity I mixed it 50/50 with Hog Heaven barley wine, which seemed to only make it more bitter and sharp.

From the 22 oz bottle. Bought at Best Damn Beer Store in San Diego.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2012 05:55:39 | More by mactrail

GRG1313

California

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I'm trying to only use the "Hads" but this one is sufficiently good where it should have a score so I'd like to help it out.

In a nutshell, I completely agree with UCLABrewN84 whose review is below, although I think it looks pretty darn good, as well.

This beer is, in my opinion, one of the best I've had from Hangar 24 and I've been there and tasted a lot of their stuff. This may be my favorite from them, to date.

Nose is big, full and friendly. Mouthfeel is rich, bold and inviting. Taste is just what you want - rich, bold and very well balanced - one of the best balanced brews I've had in a long while, while still retaining big fresh rich character and flavors.

You may not love it but this is at least one to try.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2012 00:45:18 | More by GRG1313

Halcyondays

California

3.68/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bomber,

A: Pours a murky deep orange, nice full lace, good looking beer.

S: Tons of citrus peel, tangerine and orange.

T: Kumquat, orange and grapefruit. I get what's advertised. Not overly bitter, a lot more straight up fruit, though it's not super intense with flavour.

M: Smooth, medium-bodied, medium aftertaste, resiny, oily citrus.

O: A nice experiment and a good beer. Could be a starter DIPA in a way since it is not overly bitter, but still enjoyable to the hardcore fan of this style.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2012 06:11:34 | More by Halcyondays

UCLABrewN84

California

3.98/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to jmgrub for sharing this one at drewone’s tasting.

Pours a murky honey orange with a beige head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, citrus zest, and grapefruit extract. Taste is very similar with a medium amount of bitterness with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good citrus forward DIPA with some nice aromas and flavors.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2012 01:05:34 | More by UCLABrewN84

womencantsail

California

3.9/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Bruery Provisions

Hazy orange in color with a white head. Nice citrus nose with lots of oily orange and grapefruit peel notes. A bit of pine, some grapefruit and orange flesh, and a bit of sweet malt. The flavor is quite citrusy. Lots of the blood orange flavor with moderate grapefruit and a bit of pine. Fairly bitter for a double IPA. A little sweetness to it and a light perfume. I prefer the regular DIPA.

Serving type: on-tap

07-31-2012 01:30:02 | More by womencantsail

GetMeAnIPA

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - orange, cooper hazy color. If I didnt know it I would think it was a heff. Sligh head, nothing to foamy with moderate lacing.

S - nice citrus, orange, grapefruit smell with a little hop bitter note to it. For a DIPA the smell is a little mild. I think all the fruit masked the hops and alchool. Refreshing smell.

T - similar to the smell, well balanced orange, grapefruit and hop forward not too bitter or overpowering. It makes a great summer DIPA that represents the west coast nicely.

M - nice medium body. Not a light beer but not a heavy body either. Right amount of carbonation to it.

O - first experience with hangar 24. Good beer but not great. A little more citrusy and less hoppy than I prefer. I was stoked to try it and would order it again. It's a rare DIPA that makes for a great summer beer because the oranges and grapefruit make it nice and refreshing. Plus, the high ABV u only need a few.

Serving type: on-tap

07-07-2012 04:22:19 | More by GetMeAnIPA