Hopageddon Imperial IPA - Napa Smith Brewery

Chaz33187

California

2.86/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 3

On tap at the The Loft on the LMU Campus
a- no head- amber
s- carmel malty smell, not really attractive
t- really hoppy, but bitter from start to finish, as the draft went from cool to warm, it got more and more bitter, heavy aftertaste
m- very bubbly and boozey feel
o- not bad for someone who's bat shit for hops, but inescapably bitter. Not my jam. I'd pick a weak unoriginal ipa before this.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2013 02:46:37 | More by Chaz33187

UCLABrewN84

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap at Bier Academy in Canyon Country, CA.

Pours a murky honey orange with a foamy beige head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy rings of lace line the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt and earthy, dank, and herbal hop aromas. Taste is much the same with onion and garlic flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is pretty tasty but has the onion and garlic presence in the flavor that I am not a huge fan of.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2013 23:57:27 | More by UCLABrewN84

Billolick

New York

4.03/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Yardhouse in Yonkers NY

Poise standard amber. Lite tan head, film and leaving impressive and coating sheets of lacing.

Herbal, floral hop nose

Densely hopped and boldly flavorful DIPA.144 IBUs doin their work. Thoroughly enjoyable west coast style all the way. If you are a fan of Ruination you will love this beer

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2012 23:22:13 | More by Billolick

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a tulip glass with a one finger head. This stayed a long, long time providing a solid layer of lace. Orange amber color with a mild haze.

Great pine and floral aroma from the hop. There's ample malt (with a touch of alcohol) to provide balance.

This is a hop bomb. Absolutely no balance. So, unless you are a hop head, you'll want to avoid this beer. Fortunately, I love the bitterness--all of the complexity is within the hop. Plenty black pepper, one might even say there's a touch of hot pepper. Dry-ish finish with long lasting bitterness. Neutral body and carbonation.

If you love the hop, you'll love this beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-16-2012 18:33:16 | More by smcolw

kylehay2004

Florida

3.53/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Quarter finger head with decent lacing on a clear light amber body.

S: very floral and earthy with hops and sour notes.

T: this one is very fruity to the point of being sour and tart rather than sweet. Almost a wet sock hop and pine note as well.

M: this one is really oily and lingers. Medium body and moderate carbonation.

Overall this is very distinct and herbal.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2012 03:52:51 | More by kylehay2004

nickfl

Florida

4/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - poured with one finger of white foam on a hazy, amber-brown body. The had settles quickly and leaves thick lace.

S - a fruity aroma of orange with sweaty pine in the background.

T - pungent, sweaty hop flavors up front. Some caramel and sweet, bready malt in the middle that fades to clove and must citrus in the finish.

M - medium body, moderately high carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish.

D - a fruity, but sweaty dipa, not a top ten beer, but well made and better than average.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2012 03:46:09 | More by nickfl

KickbacksSteve

Florida

3.15/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

On tap at Kickbacks in Jax. Poured into a mini snifter. Clear copper/orange color with foamy, then clear sticky, oily lacing. Aroma is dominated by papaya and mango but there is certainly an element of alcohol heat and vanilla. Or at least at first. Then, I question my original observation and wonder if the smell is more of a buttery smell (diacityl?) As it warms, I'm leaning toward butter, unfortunately. Hop bitterness seems a bit lacking, maybe muted from the barrel aging. An interesting beer, I just feel bad that the flavor didn't really work for me.

Serving type: on-tap

02-09-2012 18:11:49 | More by KickbacksSteve

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Draft at Hamilton's in San Diego.

Pours a dark golden amber/orange color with a one finger white head that quickly fades into a thin ring. Spotty lacing left behind.

Vinous wine barrel aroma with earthy oak and vanilla as well as some earthy pine and sweet citrus.  Good balance of barrel and a complex hop profile.  Hints of orange peel, pineapple and grapefruit counter the grassy/earthy notes without being overpowered by the barrel treatment.

Medium bodied with some spicy hops balanced by a prominent barrel character.  Vinous with dark and light fruit notes as well as some toasted oak.  The dryness from the oak compliments the earthy hops which give off hints of pine a citrus. Decent balance but the hops are overpowered a bit and aren't as complex as the nose suggests.

Serving type: on-tap

02-08-2012 20:01:21 | More by corby112

chanokokoro

Illinois

3.09/5  rDev -16.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into an unbranded nonic half pint glass

Pours orange amber with a bright white two finger head slightly above average retention and abundant splotchy lacing. Dank resinous piney hops, some fruit; apple and pear notes. Pine sap, piney bitterness, and strong caramel malt presence. Finishes with continued caramel notes and more strong piney bitterness accents with some spicy garlic notes and alcohol. Moderate carbonation, heavy syrupy full body that is a bit soapy and a bit coarse. This one is a bit too unbalanced for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2013 03:29:37 | More by chanokokoro

bark

Sweden

3/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

The colour is amber-brown (20 EBC), the liquid is almost clear. The two finger head disappears quickly leaving no traces on the glass.

The smell is juicy, hoppy, and quite sweet. . Fruit candy, some bitterness, quite a lot of toffee and some butterscotch. Thick hoppy notes of pineapples, grapefruits, oranges and bubblegum esters. Hints of alcohol and detergents.

The taste is at first sweet. The, hoppy-fruity flavours emerges: Bananas, figs, grapefruit, pineapples, oranges, tangerines. There are also some notes of matured cheese and rye bread. Peppery alcohol. Medium to full body. More of the alcohol in the aftertaste as well as toffee, unripe fruits and berries and hints of black pepper, it is not very bitter. Alcohol and green plants in the finish.

The carbonation is strong, the small long lived bubbles tickles my mouth. The liquid is thick and a bit dry.

A bit over-carbonated and not enough bitterness. It is OK, but there are better DIPAs.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 19:49:53 | More by bark

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Hopageddon opens to a surprisingly sweet nose for a 144 IBU Imperial IPA, the notes redolent with pink grapefruit, sugary rosewater, rose petals, and a sweet arrangement of fruit esters, including berry, cherry, orange, peach, and apricot, with darker fig and plum beneath for added complexity and nuance. The hops do have some bite, with lemon oil, pine resin, and mint adding bitterness, these notes blending very well with the sugars. Add to that a healthy dose of brown sugar, candi sugar, and even a pinch of super sweet confectioner’s sugar, and that on top of a bed of biscuit, Grape Nuts cereal, and toast, and the result is a tantalizing, highly aromatic beer that, while it does swing heavily toward sugars, smells like the most wonderful piece of hard candy in Willy Wonka’s factory, even the aromas somehow coming off as viscous and sticky (this helped by the fact that the bottle’s open mouth is coated with enough sugar to act like a Post-it note).

On the tongue, the beer is surprisingly smooth, the hops bringing in pink grapefruit, sugary rosewater, and rose hips primarily, with lighter touches of grapefruit rind, mint, and light pine resin, with the faintest note of dandelion stem for bite. These mix with hard candy-like levels of sugar and fruit, with orange, berry, cherry, apricot, and light fig and plum fruit esters, as well as some brown sugar. Subsequent sips are more bitter, the hops bringing in touches of anise and black pepper, as well as a stronger grapefruit rind and pine resin bite, but there’s still a good balance between hops and sugars, and the beer maintains an overall sweet profile, earthed somewhat by biscuit, cereal grain, and toast. The aftertaste is a continuation of the main mouthful, but with an increasing hop presence as the sugars die off, and lingers on the tongue for a long time. Mouthfeel is an oily medium, and carbonation is medium-light to medium, this latter feature lending the beer a somewhat watery sensation.

Overall, this is a very nice beer, and it’s good to see an Imperial IPA that focuses on the more palatable sweet side of hops, instead of trying to burn the tongue off with eucalyptus, anise, and pine resin. The result is closer to a DFH 120 than anything I’ve had recently, especially in the massive sugary rosewater and rose hips overtones that blend so nicely with the hard candy fruit esters. The beer may actually be a little too sweet, however, and feels like it needed a larger bitter kick, or perhaps a bready base for balance. Still, this is well worth trying, since I suspect many people will be surprised at how smooth and palatable 144 IBUs can be.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 16:58:44 | More by jondeelee

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.99/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

We pour a brew of the deepest sunset orange. It holds a two finger head of creamy but big and soapy khaki colored bubbles, showing excellent retention. Thick patterns of lacing are left around the glass. A thick haze permeates the clarity, with no sediment noted. Carbonation appears to be light. The aroma gives tinny metallics, rich caramel maltiness, flashes of white sugar, browned apple and peachy fruitiness, salt water taffy, spicy booze, mild diacetyls, and softer citric hops. The alcohol becomes much more fusel with warmth, as the hops deepen into more earthy and grassy varietals. Our first impression is that the flavoring is heavily malt-balanced, with some bitterness of hops, but not the expected onslaught of the 144 IBUs. As we sip, salty caramel and pale malts mix with floral and citric hops, cane sugar, green grassiness, juicy yeast, cola syrup sweetness, and orange fruitiness for the start. Moving to the peak is more bittered hop earthiness, coin, buttery toffee notes, and black pepper booziness to bite. Pulling to the finish is a bittered raw vegetable leaf quality, powdered yeast, bubblegum esters, basic pale and caramel maltiness, buttered sourdough bread, salt, tannic breakfast tea, and a hint of herbal mintiness. The aftertaste breathes of lemon peel, citric hoppiness, tannins, drying yeast, mineral, root, coin, booze, and cotton candy sweetness. The body is on the full side, while carbonation is medium. Each sip gives big froth, cream, and slurp, with lighter finishing pop or smack. The mouth is left fully coated, with quick tannic dryness all down the hard palate. The abv is appropriate, and the beer sips easily.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this beer was its depth through both the nose and flavoring. At no point did this beer really feel “cheap”, with hearty boldness and sweetness of the grainy backbone, and fighting bitterness of the hops. The flavor is nowhere near the bitterness expected from something with the IBUs advertised, but the blend is decent, leaving you curiously satisfied by the end of the glass.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 01:03:38 | More by TheBrewo

Huffaroma

Montana

5/5  rDev +34.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I am still in shock by this beer in the amount of hop that it contains within it. And being at 144 IBUs it blew me away. The funny thing was my wife and others tried a sip and looked disgusted at me for how bitter it was, while I sat back and laughed.

Appearance, nice roasted orange color with a nice bubbly head that was 1/2" thick.

Smell, great notes of grapefruit and peaches. Some pine notes and roasted grain in the background.

Taste, upfront almost a grapefruit apple flavor and all of a sudden it bites you and doesn't leave with the extreme hop. It was awesome to have something that wasn't so sweet with a imperial IPA and had some good strong bite to it. Its what I look forward to.

Mouthfeel, great carbonation and a little richness add to this beers power.

Overall fantastic and will go back for more. Probably my favorite Imperial IPA so far.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2013 13:30:04 | More by Huffaroma

EnojysAnyBeer

Colorado

4.55/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

An ode to the hop. This beer is probably more like sucking on a hop cone than any I've had before. The color is "fiery" orange and clear with a micro-bead, orange-tinted head on top.

Of course, with a micro-bead head, the carbonation is going to be silky smooth. The body is moderate - light for a DIPA.

The flavor is of hops. If you have ever smelled raw hops, this beer will bring you fond memories of the leafy greens. Hop flavor is almost brought to a peak by the high alcohol content that remains neutral in this brew. Hops range from floral and citric to piney and dank with a focus on the citric/floral hops.

I assume this was bottled 1-5 months ago, but cannot find a bottling date. My first Napa Smith brew and one that leads me to seek out more.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 05:41:12 | More by EnojysAnyBeer

ngeunit1

California

4.16/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Hazy red-orange with a finger of frothy off-white head. Fades normal.

S - Lots of grapefruit, citrus, pine, grassy hops, sweet caramel malts, oak, chardonnay, and some booze.

T - Grapefruit, orange, citrus, pine, grassy hops, lots of resiny bitterness, sweet caramel malts, oak, chardonnay, with a bit of biscuit malts and some booze.

M - Medium-full bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a dry, bitter, and warming finish.

D - Great hoppy DIPA. Good overall balance.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 06:59:36 | More by ngeunit1

Treyliff

West Virginia

3.13/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a snifter glass

A- pours a murky looking brown upon pour, but when held to the light, it looks like more of a copper shade. Small white fizzy head reduces to just a thin patch floating on top with some good, thick lace.

S- sharp spruce hop with some sweet bready malt, twizzlers candy, and some alcohol. Surprisingly the malt profile is as strong if not stronger than the hops. Tropical fruit comes out as it warms.

T-doughy bready malt gives way to some caramel, hops suggest a tropical fruitiness, some pineapple and guava. The hops are there, but are overpowered by the bready malt. Can't really taste the alcohol but it is a bit warm on the back end. Not as complex of a taste profile as others that I've had of the style.

M- thick and sticky, almost syrupy body, low carbonation which leads to a pretty slick mouthfeel. Finishes a bit hot with just a touch of cream on the back end, I would like to have seen more carbonation to give it a creamier mouthfeel.

O- this one has a few months on it, which may be why the malt is so dominant, but this one seemed to be lacking just a bit. Worth a try, but not one you'd want to hold onto for a while.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 01:42:32 | More by Treyliff

kojevergas

California

2.4/5  rDev -35.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Picked this one up at Bevmo. It was something like $5.00. 651ml brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into an Oskar Blues pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average; I believe this is me second beer from this brewery and I like to be optimistic. After all, I love beer.

Served straight from the refrigerator. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a one finger beige-khaki colour head of nice cream and thickness, and good retention for the high ABV. Body colour is a transparent copper-auburn. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Abundant carbonation bubbles are present. Lacing is decent.

Really though, the head holds up for a good 3 minutes. Not bad at 9.2%.

Sm: Floral hops and oily, piney hops. Sticky, nectary, and wet. Lacks the dry must that some IPAs possess. Diverse and evocative. There's a spectrum of hops in the aroma here, not just a focused blast. I'm really curious where this beer is gonna take me. I'm not great at picking out individual hops, but I definitely get amarillo.

T: Pale clean malts form the foundation upon which pleasant floral hops sit. Pine and oily hops make an appearance, as do more nectary plantlike hops. Bitterness comes on the backend, but it's decently concealed. I get bright vaguely tropical fruit esters. The spectrum of hops I mentioned earlier is present in the flavour, but it's not as pleasant as it was in the aroma. The climax features hops competing rather than collaborating. Not a rewarding beer. As it warms, that cloying bitterness emerges more and more, lowering my opinion of the beer. Surprisingly, little alcohol comes through. No yeast comes through. It could use better handled malts to conceal the bitterness. The hops need more focus and direction.

Mf: Sticky, nectary, wet. Little cream but plenty of rolling smoothness. It's smack-your-lips luscious, but it lacks the assertive carbonation to make it crisp. Decent thickness and presence, though it does seem unnecessarily heavy on the palate. Oily. Far too coarse and dry up front and on the finish; only the body of the beer is as it should be.

Dr: It's not very drinkable for the style, mainly due to its mouthfeel. That coarseness really dries my mouth out, which makes it impossible for the beer to refresh. It's priced alright, but I wouldn't get this again. It started out well but once I hit the taste, it started dropping off. A decent effort from Napa Smith, but it needs to bring more balance to the table. Suffers from the usual problems of American brewed IPAs. I wouldn't recommend this to friends. Too damn bitter. What happened to balance?

D+

A poor candidate for aging. Drink fresh.

True to its label, it would pair well with spicy buffalo wings. Fish tacos might be a stretch.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 05:54:30 | More by kojevergas

ThickNStout

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

22oz bottle from Sherlock's (Marietta, GA). 6.98. No bottling info- unless the cryptic code followed by 198 is a Julian date, in which case it's from 7/16/12. Served in a Terrapin snifter.

Pours cloudy pale washed out orange with a finger and a half of thick off white head. Nice clingy lacing the whole way down.

Smell is a tad faded. Faint turpentine, muted lemony grapefruit and bready. Not bad at all but it doesn't really "pop".

Taste pretty much follows the nose. Piney, citrus, sweet bread and peppery with a noticeable booze nip. The 9% abv doesn't wallop me I can tell this is no light session ale. Like the smell, the flavor is nice but just doesn't have any zing.

Oily slick medium feel with moderate carbonation. Lingering "hop muffin" aftertaste.

I wouldn't think that the muted malty imperial IPA I just drank is what the brewer intended but with no clue how fresh this is, I'm can't be sure. There are hops-a-plenty present but they don't dominate. This is pretty tasty but drinks more like an imperial red. If I ever see it on tap (or if I can ever be sure that a bottle is fresh) I'd like to try this again to see how it is.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 20:49:30 | More by ThickNStout

Cobrito

Georgia

2.15/5  rDev -42%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Appearance and smell are nice; lots going on in both in terms of lacing, aromas, etc. Taste is a crazy-quilt mixture with malts winning out in the end and nothing coming together very harmoniously. Tempted to use the word monstrosity to describe this. Could not disagree more with reviewer who suggested Ruination fans would like this; this is so much wetter and maltier and kitchen-sink unsubtle as far as ingredients go. And where are the bitterness and pungency that to me are the defining characteristics of an IPA? This is a poster child brew for the kind of DIPAs I don't like, but unfortunately there are many others, too.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2012 02:54:01 | More by Cobrito

croixian1

2.35/5  rDev -36.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Dark amber, almost muddy in color. Rep at a beer tasting says they do not filter their beer, so there is a cloudy residue. Mouthfeel is soft and inviting, but taste left something to be desired. There is almost a kind of sourness in the finish that I found off-putting for an IPA. Initial hops taste very up-front, but fades quickly. Not an overly impressive beer, glad I only bought one bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 20:05:48 | More by croixian1

travolta

California

3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Tan, light, little frothy head, nice retention. Pale apricot in color, sticky lacing.

Nose: Sweet vanilla, raisin, candy and sugar, pineapple and tropical fruits.

Taste: Malty, syrupy, with carbonation that is very light. Plum with some dark fruits. Tiny bit of citrus notes.

Notes: If you are going to call it an imperial ipa, make it crazy. This is an excellent ipa, but perhaps not imperial.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 00:25:50 | More by travolta

Cyberkedi

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Strong aroma is quite hoppy, grassy and hay-ish rather than evergreen, with hints of malt and grapefruit. It pours a slightly hazy dark copper with a fairly thick light light yellowish tan head. Mouth-filling, lip-smacking flavor has a strong, somewhat bitter hoppy core and notes of grapefruit, malt and caramel. Smooth texture is rough around the edges, and firm tingle leaves a hoppy, bitter finish with a caramel hint.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 15:29:16 | More by Cyberkedi

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

No freshness info. Poured in to HF stemmed tulip.

A - Medium to dark orange colour with a half finger of off-white head.

S - A big sweet caramel malt aroma up front, followed by some citrus and floral hop aromas. The malt profile takes centre stage in the nose.

T - Sweet caramel malts are dominant and the supposed 144 IBU of hops get lost in the background. Fairly sweet overall with with some toffee and bready notes accompanying the caramel malt flavours. There is definitely bitterness present here, but it is not intense at all and some very light citrus and earthy flavours come through from the hops but are barely detectable beneath the sweet caramel malts.

M -Medium body, creamy. Light carbonation.

O - This one drank more like a barley wine than a DIPA. Was expecting a big hop bomb but this came nowhere close to that. Disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 14:31:38 | More by TheSevenDuffs

ccrida

Oregon

3.08/5  rDev -17%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bomber poured into my Heretic Brewing shaker pint, Hopageddon is bright auburn with a small off-white head leaving scattered lace.

Smell is lots of citrus hops, big lime notes, lots of doughy malt.

Taste is hoppy for sure, generic west coast hop blend, more lime than pine, but it's really about the malt here, lots of bread. Alcohol character is sweet and spicy.

Mouthfeel is dry, medium+ bodied.

Drinkability isn't super high for me, this is too malty and strong. There is some pretty robust hop flavor, but it's pretty one dimensional with the lime. One and done here.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2012 00:43:05 | More by ccrida

TrappistJohnMD

Mississippi

4.03/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours amber color in Teku glass. Lots of white head that lingers well with nice lacing along sides of glass.

Smell is heavy with honey and citrus hoppiness.

Taste follows the smell well. Lots of honey and pine. Tagerine bitterness is prominent. Very nice.

Mouthfeel is creamy and medium bodied. Good carbonation.

Overall this was very nice. Good example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2012 23:38:01 | More by TrappistJohnMD