Hop Box - Joseph James Brewing Inc.

Flounder57

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz can was poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: This beer poured a one finger head that reduced to a thin layer and left some nice lacing on the glass. It is a pale orange color with great clarity and slow moving bubbles coming up through the glass.

Smell: Piney, resiny, and citrus hops with some caramel and bready malts in there too.

Taste: Same as above with the hops a little faded than what I smelled. Nice mild hop bitterness that is balanced out by the caramel malts.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, a bit dry, medium bodied, tingly hop bitterness, and low to medium carbonation.

Overall: Pretty nice DIPA here folks. Weird to see anything from NV here in New England. Especially since I found it outside of Portland, ME. Might have to grab me more of this brew.

Serving type: can

04-28-2013 23:29:16 | More by Flounder57

GallowsThief

Florida

3.99/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured out of a 12 oz can into a pint glass.

A – Poured out a golden yellow with two full fingers of fluffy, creamy white head. Impressive in the glass. Nice lacing.

S – Big hop smell, piney, citrusy with some malt mixed in.

T – Nice smooth but not aggressive hop taste. Evens out with a bit more malt then expected. Citrusy and piney in the taste. Bitter but again now overwhelming. Has a little bite. Touch of caramel and alcohol at the end.

M – Mildly carbonated. Medium bodied. Left a nice light sweet flavor on the palate.

O – I liked this one. Hop Box is a nice brew. It is certainly not a hop bomb but it is a real pleasant drinker with some good taste. Winner for me.

Serving type: can

04-16-2013 23:52:29 | More by GallowsThief

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.61/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Big soapy off white to light tan head just sort of sits there above a clear copper-golden colored beer.

Citrus to piney hops aroma pretty much drowns out a light caramel grain malt in the nose.

Light dryish citrus and pine taste with just a touch of caramel malts sneaking through.

A dryish aftertaste with a little bitterness sticking around on this medium bodied beer.

A decent enough hops taste, definitely worth a try.

Serving type: can

04-12-2013 21:05:33 | More by LXIXME

Billolick

New York

3.55/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce can w/o freshness info

Pours lighter amber, hazed golden. Off white fine head leaves ample fine sheeting

Resin infused hop nose with some citrus

More citrus on the tongue,along with hop resins and a slight alcohol burn

Middle of the road IIPA - a wee bit thin and lacks the depth of favors of the all stars of the style.

Serving type: can

03-27-2013 02:00:50 | More by Billolick

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This poured out as a clear looking orange color with a white head head on top. The lacing is decent with a thin retention on top. The smell of the beer is moderate, it's can smell good at one point but the. Way too earthy at another. The beer has a decent taste to it. There is a bitter citrus blended with the malt sweetness. The mouthfeel is a bit too carbonated, would be better is the carbonation softer and if it had a more oily texture. Overall it's an average brew, could be better but it is drinkable. Was nice to try.

Serving type: can

02-24-2013 17:22:03 | More by Knapp85

klkatz

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

smells - fresh floral...

appearance... slightly hazy,

has a good bitterness for IPA lovers... mouthfeel is a bit light - but is assertive upfront... good initial taste, but quickly fades.

what it lacks in mouthfeel it makes up for in taste and smell... they need to find a better balance...

good beer... would have another,

Serving type: can

02-22-2013 04:25:38 | More by klkatz

woemad

Washington

2.59/5  rDev -22%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12oz can purchased at J.B.’s in Spokane for $2.99. This is the first beer I’ve consumed that was brewed in the state of Nevada.

Poured a bright, clear golden shade with a huge, rocky white head. Said head took forever and a day to drop, leaving lots of lace.

Bitter, herbal hop scents and a surprising amount of malt aroma. Not so sure about this one.

Egad! Big, withering herbal hop blast accompanied by an equally large malt maltiness. Yes, it seems appropriately balanced, but what does that matter when things taste this unpleasant?

Couldn't finish this one, so it is currently travelling towards a rendezvous with the Spokane River.

Serving type: can

02-20-2013 02:30:24 | More by woemad

drabmuh

Maryland

3.43/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Can enjoyed on my recent Arizona vacation, served in a shaker pint, the only glass on hand. Beer is amber and hazy with a nice white head, pretty hazy, some lacing, moderate retention, low carbonation.

Aroma is piny with a lot malt.

Beer is a malt bomb through and through, it is heavy, sweet, mildly bitter, light on hop flavor, not a repeat for me.

Serving type: can

01-06-2013 21:52:38 | More by drabmuh

SerialHiker

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a bright deep orange…tons of bubbles making it look cloudy initially, but I expect that to calm down and make this beer much more transparent…tons of off white head formed upon pouring and is slowing receding…(4/5)

Smell: Tons of hop aroma during the pour, deep earthy, piney hops…after things settle a bit, there’s that initial deep earthiness still very much in the forefront…citrus hops and earthy/caramel malts follow...like a sweet damp forest…faint pineapple back there…way more malty than I would have expected, this thing is full of sweetness and caramel…there’s a light robustness about this…(3.85/5)

Taste: Lots going on here…sweet malt beginning, followed by caramel malts…very malty for a “hop box”…strong, robust earthy and piney hops highlighted by citrus hops come through in the middle phase, but the sweet caramel malt flavor never really leaves…hop bitterness shows late in middle phase and lasts through out after taste…it’s got a good, solid, robust flavor that attacks my tongue…(3.99/5)

Mouthfeel: Medium body, medium to lots of carbonation…fluffs up a ton bring out sweet caramel malt taste…earthy bitterness (not citrusy or flowery, very earthy) left way back on the tongue in the finish…chewy, wet, flavorful…(4/5)

Overall: A very good beer…I’m not sure how many of these I could drink in one session, the higher ABV would definitely knock me off my ass after about 2…a very drinkable beer though, solid hop flavor and definitely lives up to the “hop box” label…it’s surprisingly well balanced by strong sweet caramel malt flavor and actually hides it’s ABV pretty well…this would be a great beer paired with a board game where there’s some strategy but is ultimately more luck based, something like Settlers of Catan…I wouldn’t want to have to put a puzzle together right now, but I could figure out how to defeat you with all my rock and lumber…(3.75/5)

Serving type: can

01-03-2013 03:13:51 | More by SerialHiker

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

3.48/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz can into Globe glass.

A. Poured a 3 finger head. Color is golden orange. Good retention. Pretty thick lacing.

S. Smells hoppy when first poured, but a bit off. Smell is citrusy hops with some musty earthy maltiness. Get some grapefruit and some breadiness. Overall the smell is of an average DIPA. A bit more musty and malty than some.

T. Pretty weak. A little bit of hop flavor and bitterness. Some grapefruity and other citrus hop flavor, just very little of it. Has a bready biscuity malt flavor with just a touch of sweetness.

M. Light/medium body. Pretty thin. Finishes with a bit of bitterness. Medium carbonation.

O. Really thin body, not much flavor, decent aroma. Nothing is overly bad about this beer, other than what is missing. For what is there it is an easy drinking DIPA with not much flavor.

Serving type: can

12-29-2012 22:37:44 | More by siradmiralnelson

snaotheus

Washington

3.63/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz can poured into a large snifter

Pours with a giant white head, fades slowly, seems to leave thick lacing. Cloudy, orange in color. Smell is pine and orange.

Taste is creamy with a weird twist, lots of hops but a more than equally large quantity of malt sweetness. It narrowly avoids cloyingness.

Mouthfeel is creamy and full. Overall, it's pretty good, but not amazing.

Serving type: can

12-23-2012 03:50:57 | More by snaotheus

yemenmocha

Arizona

2.75/5  rDev -17.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Well, it does have a very nice apperance on the pour with enormous jiggly spongey head, plenty of lace, hazy golden color. Nose is somehow light and weak with melon aromas and light pine. Low carbonation on the palate, really mild flavors, fruit rind, some malt, and more melon on the finish. Hides the alcohol really well but I'm struggling to see why I should have my liver labor through this high octane disappointment.

Serving type: can

11-19-2012 01:19:21 | More by yemenmocha

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The Hop Box is a big beer...no questioning that. The appearance is clear orange peel with creamy off white head that is lacing slightly. The smell is a fresh hop leaning towards pine and malt. The taste is a bitter to start then brief zip of alcohol followed by a sweet malt finish. The mouthfeel is full body with smooth carbonation. Overall its not too bad....certainly would not be sessioning this bad boy....glad I tried it.

Serving type: can

11-13-2012 01:03:41 | More by WoodBrew

TheBeerCarl

Idaho

4.18/5  rDev +25.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Hop Box

Appearance: The beer pours with a cream colored head with tiny bubbles and okay retention. The body of the beer itself is a nice golden yellow orange and slightly opaque. The reason it received a four and not higher is due to the fact that imperial IPAs should have more of a deeper amber coloring with a thick head and great retention.

Smell: the first note is a combo string piny hop and caramel character with a decent presence of heat right after and then some lingering floral notes.

Taste: an almost perfect balance of citrus hops, piny hops and caramel flavor. Not too sweet but It could use more bittering hops.

Mouthfeel: medium body beer with light, sharp carbonation. Could use a little more body in my opinion.

Overall I was very impressed with this beer. For the price, it was an extremely well done imperial IPA. I would definitely recommend this beer to any imperial IPA fans.

Serving type: can

10-25-2012 23:28:03 | More by TheBeerCarl

DoubleJ

California

3.38/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Canned beer from Henderson, NV. This beer was bought as a single can at the Tustin Total Wine for less than $2. For a DIPA, that's a great deal, right? Ok, before I get ahead of myself, let's pop open the can and go on to the beer:

An inch of sturdy foam sits above this burnt orange beer. Eventually, the head drops and leaves polka dots around. The aroma has notes of a DIPA, with some pine and pineapple. However it looks that there's a lot of resin relative to the pine and pineapple. It's alright.

It's not as explosive as your typical hop bomb, but squint closely and you will find something develop. There's enough candied pineapple and orange to give you the DIPA experience, and yes, there seems to be some faded hops in the form of resin. Caramel is touched on. It's a full bodied beer which has a smooth texture and a modest kick of alcohol felt.

It's not the best DIPA to hit my lips, but its value is unquestioned per style.

Serving type: can

10-20-2012 03:46:38 | More by DoubleJ

mactrail

California

3.93/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Rich, murky, sweet hop bomb. Pours an medium amber in the Stella Artois tall glass. Bubbly and nicely foamed. Huge aroma of flowery hops.

For some reason, this is totally likeable to me, even though I don't seek the whip of the Hop Mistress. Rich and mellow along with the insane amount of hops flavors. It's powerful and boozy, it's rich and crazy, it tastes like something pulled from the garden, it's sweet and nasty, it's like a big wet dog jumping all over you. Hops! more hops!

From the 12 oz can bought as a random oddity at Total Wine. Nice thing about IPAs in cans-- you get that big poof of hops up your nose when you pop the top.

Serving type: can

08-31-2012 05:47:57 | More by mactrail

womencantsail

California

2.9/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Clear golden orange with a fluffy white head. Brown sugar, mild pineapple, citric hop notes, and a touch of grass. On the finish there is some noticeable alcohol. Quite sweet and sugary on the palate. Some pine bitterness, grapefruit peel, and a hint of orange. A little bit boozy, maybe some bread and toffee. A touch of perfume as well.

Serving type: can

08-23-2012 15:33:27 | More by womencantsail

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a Black Raven pint glass. Pours a slightly hazy orange amber with a massive off white head that dissipated quickly to a nice half finger layer, leaving very little lacing. Aroma is sweet malt and pineapple with slight citrus and faint hops. Very little hop aroma for an IIPA, but smells good anyway. Flavor is sweet malt with slightly piney hops that present themselves mostly in bittering rather than flavoring. An unusually flavored IPA, but surprisingly balanced. Unfortunately the flavor does not cover the high ABV and there is a bit of boozy punch to the otherwise pleasant citrus hop and malt finish. Medium bodied redeemed by pleasant active carbonation. I enjoyed this for its eccentricity, but it is not quite to style for an Imperial IPA.

Serving type: can

07-26-2012 03:24:55 | More by LiquidAmber

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Another of Pinocchio's latest CANtributions to the ongoing madness known far and wide as The CANQuest (TM). My hat's off to you guys!

I recently hopped in a fox's box and we not only enjoyed it immensely, but we had lox and cream cheese for breakfast before watching the Red Sox at the White Sox. We then headed down to the dox to watch a ship on the rox while resetting the clox. Neither of us had chicken pox but she showed real moxie. Nox it off, I am told. Dr. Seuss lives!

The Crack reveled yet another beer anxious to greet me like an excited puppy, bubbling out through the opening. It was another brimful CAN and then the Glug was underway! I prefer to employ the dreaded invert-a-flow pour in which the CAN is held upside-down above the serving vessel and gravity does the rest. I was getting a massive amount of head, initially, and backed off. Once everything settled out, I had a finger of dense, tawny head with good retention. Color was a slightly hazy orangish-amber. Nose had an evergreen hoppiness underlain by a pleasant maltiness and my mouth began to water. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full and the mintiness of the hops was immediately evident, followed by the the sweetness of the malt. Finish was literally breathtaking as the hops seemed to suck the air out of my mouth. Yeah, let me take some of this to the beach!

Serving type: can

07-05-2012 02:39:24 | More by woodychandler

FanofHefe

Illinois

3.23/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Can poured into a Duvel tulip. No apparent dating on the can (was hoping for stamping on the bottom like Oskar Blues), but my local beer guys says it's a fairly new arrival so hoping it's fresh.

Looks very good. Pours a slightly hazy amber color with a slight tint of orange. Huge 4-finger tan head that has excellent retention and leaves loads of lacing.

The aroma is malt-forward with very rich caramel malt. Just a slight notice of some pine and citrus hops in the background.

Uh, oh. Malt bomb. The malt is tasty but for a DIPA, I was hoping for some hops. Like the aroma, only a very slight notice of pine and citrus hops in the background.

I can't argue about the mouthfeel too much; medium thickness and it's not totally unpleasant to drink. If they could keep this rich malt mix and find a way to bring out the hops, this beer has potential. Not too great as is.

Serving type: can

07-01-2012 23:39:28 | More by FanofHefe

augustgarage

California

3.65/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz can into my Dogfish Head shaped pint glass.

The liquid is a tangelo to tangerine gradient topped by a fist of dense creamy ivory. Immense tendrils of rocky lacing threaten to climb out of the glass. Superior retention.

Deep caramel notes are joined by a bracing herbaceous citrus-laden hop bomb in the nose. Faintly soapy, but inviting.

Bitter, pine-like palate entry is accompanied by grapefruit along with candied ginger and light caramel. The flavors are strong but could be better integrated. Malt seems a little excessive. Finishes medium-dry, earthy (pine-y), and bitter.

Rich, nearly syrupy mouth-feel, with a bit of heat from alcohol. Well carbonated.

A little rough perhaps, but a good beer none the less.

Serving type: can

07-01-2012 23:12:28 | More by augustgarage

PintOHops

California

2.85/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Glass - Tulip

A - An amber colored brew with a slight haze to it, and lots of tiny bubbles rapidly rising to the top, similarly to champagne. It produced a 1-2 finger head that looked somewhat creamy, and the beer left some very nice lacing on my Tulip.

S - Big grapefruit and papaya upfront. Lemon and orange juices as well. Caramel and some pepper like qualities. It smells like it's gonna be pretty darn sweet, which I don't like. I picked up some pie crust or cookie dough as it warmed.

T - The first thing I get is alcohol followed by dark fruit like flavors consisting of plum and cherry. Sweet caramel and cookie dough flavors come through in the middle. It finishes with lots of bitterness, and alcohol that lingers on the tongue long after you finish swallowing the beer. It's pretty drying as well.

M - Moderate crispness with a smooth/creamy feel and a full body.

O - Well, I was hoping that this wouldn't be too sweet but it is. I thought the malt flavors were too pronounced, and compete, if not dominate the flavor profile. It almost makes the flavor profile muddy as well. I'd probably only drink 12oz of this in one sitting, it just gets too sweet and cloying too me.

Serving type: can

06-01-2012 23:30:18 | More by PintOHops

JosiahS

California

2.83/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

glass: Tulip

Appears with a deep slight cloudy, amber-colored body. Lots of bubbles and a frothy, tan 2-finger head. Smells sugary, with caramel. papaya and lemon.

Taste has a bitter punch upfront but is quickly dominated by sweet papaya, caramel and generally reduced, caramelized tropical fruit. The alcohol isn't hidden and adds the the sugary flavor. Finishes with a touch of bitterness, lots of caramel, alcohol and a bit of dryness.

Mouthfeel is lively with a semi-syrupy feel. The alcohol becomes more noticeable as the beer warms and along with the growing sweetness, this is just a bit too much to enjoy. It was ok at a colder temperature but as the true flavors show, it becomes tiring and just not enjoyable.

Serving type: can

06-01-2012 23:28:11 | More by JosiahS

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

2.18/5  rDev -34.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

12 oz can courtesy of steepH20. Thank you, Chris!

Pours a yellowish light orange with a thin skim that doesn't hang round much. A little mutiny of fatter bubbles puddle to the edge like confused hooligans.

Nose is very light and highly malt focused with a soapy biscuit vibe. Where are the hops?

Meh. Big caramel maltines leads to an earthy, soapy, try-and-find-me-if-you-can unimpressive hop profile. Baby aspirin with a dash of Palmolive and weird aftertaste seal the deal.

Creamy and soapy and just, well, a bit out of focus.

At least the abv is hidden well, because the rest of this package should be sent for retooling. A below average double IPA for sure.

Serving type: can

05-11-2012 00:32:01 | More by BarrytheBear

flagmantho

Washington

3.58/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz can into a pint glass.

Appearance: rich orange-amber hue with a good effervescence and the minutest touch of haze. Head is two fingers of frothy orange-tinged tan foam. Quite good.

Smell: rich malty aroma with some piney, vegetal hops present. There's also a mild soapiness which is a tiny bit off-putting, but is strangely not entirely unwelcome.

Taste: right off the bat starts off with a big, sweet malt flavor but this quickly grows into an all-pervading mustiness. Hops are citrusy and earthy in character, and pretty well-balanced, I'd say. The mustiness doesn't bother me too much, but some might really disagree with it.

Mouthfeel: big body with a good carbonation and a very nice creaminess. Good stuff.

Overall: an interesting and imperfect beer. I think they are on the right track with some of the flavors they've got going on here, but the soapiness and mustiness have got to go if they want an A-grade product.

Serving type: can

04-27-2012 19:09:45 | More by flagmantho