Heelch O'Hops - Anderson Valley Brewing Company

BB1313

Ohio

3.54/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

No date. 12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours a clear transparent burnt golden, nice fluffy white head with great lacing and retention. The aromas have a nice amount of pineapple juice, lemon zest and pine needles. There's a touch of grapefruit as well with some caramel malts lingering in the background. Smells nice, but not aggressively in your face. The flavors really do match the nose. This one has a strong malt backbone. Very earthy and rustic flavors. There's a nice dry fruitiness. It's bittersweet and slightly spicy. More pine resin. Slightly soapy. Finishes dry. Mouthfeel is slick, carbonation is on the lower side, but it's definitely there giving it some body. It's on the heavier side of medium-bodied. There's a subtle touch of warm heat, but it's a pretty easy drinking beer.

This isn't bad, I like it. It's not super complex, but it was enjoyable. It's on the maltier side in a good way. I like it better than their year-round Imperial IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2012 23:52:15 | More by BB1313

hansenme

California

4/5  rDev +5%

05-18-2013 03:02:12 | More by hansenme

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

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

22oz bottle.

Pours hazy copper with a tight, white head of an inch-plus. Plenty of tattered lacing and a partial skim coat for the duration.

Aromatics lead off with classic PacNW stylings of pine and grapefruit. Resinous and hoppy with light biscuit malt in the back.

Medium bodied with a crisp, dry mouthfeel.

Pine-rubbed grapefruit with citrus zest starts the palate. Bone-dryingly bitter with extremely light malt character following through. Warming alcohol.

Finishes with lingering pine and grapefruit.

Tasty enough, but the hopping is a bit old-school. The nose could certainly be more pungent and the palate could use some tropical fruit.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 00:56:39 | More by brewandbbq

CaptDavyJones

New York

4/5  rDev +5%

05-17-2013 22:39:23 | More by CaptDavyJones

crewfan1952

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +18.1%

05-16-2013 00:28:11 | More by crewfan1952

wil19b85

Vermont

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-14-2013 01:50:51 | More by wil19b85

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.04/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Anderson Valley Heelch O'Hops Double IPA, 12 fluid ounces, 8.7% ABV. Boonville, CA.

Totally hazed, deep amber/crimson coloring. Long-lasting creamy head.

Aroma: sharp pine, blistering citrus. Orange rind, lemon peel. Slightly fruity, ending dry.

Taste: More of that and then some. Big bitterness meets juicy malt. Good balance, with alcohol staying fairly docile, not intruding too much. Consistent hoppitude. Fairly good stuff. Not quite what I'm looking for in a DIPA, but close enough. I'd rather have an Abrasive or a Myrcenary.

Let's look at what the label tells us: "A color of polished brass with copper tints and a wavy, dense tan head. Aromas of California citrus and aromatic biscuits, with hints of fresh redwood needles greet your nose. An assertive hop bitterness is delivered to your palate, and balanced beautifully with a malty richness and long, warm and hoppy finish."

Tasty, hoppy, bitter, nice and dry. Like it.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:25:04 | More by feloniousmonk

Braz

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

05-12-2013 20:46:25 | More by Braz

leprechaunandfatman

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

05-12-2013 19:58:05 | More by leprechaunandfatman

fearfactory

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

05-12-2013 15:22:07 | More by fearfactory

ystazi

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-11-2013 18:57:01 | More by ystazi

Mullinger1980

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-11-2013 10:52:40 | More by Mullinger1980

TheBadger0289

New Zealand (Aotearoa)

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-11-2013 01:31:34 | More by TheBadger0289

bluckbeyes

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

05-10-2013 01:02:33 | More by bluckbeyes

DIPAFAN

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-08-2013 23:36:39 | More by DIPAFAN

Dave_Treat

Virginia

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

05-07-2013 00:37:06 | More by Dave_Treat

safaricook

Netherlands

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

05-05-2013 16:05:04 | More by safaricook

Jamison85

Indiana

5/5  rDev +31.2%

05-05-2013 05:32:48 | More by Jamison85

endincolorado

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-04-2013 23:41:47 | More by endincolorado

Gatordaddy

Maryland

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

05-04-2013 02:05:41 | More by Gatordaddy

BeerBeast

California

4/5  rDev +5%

05-03-2013 01:22:39 | More by BeerBeast

Hanselpb

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

05-02-2013 09:42:20 | More by Hanselpb

StoutHunter

Michigan

3.58/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I picked a bottle of Anderson Valley's Heelch O'Hops last week for $3.09 at The Lager Mill. This beer caught my eye and I thought I would give it a try since Anderson Valley is a pretty solid brewery, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date, but it just showed up so I think it's fairly fresh. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The label looks real nice, the bright colors caught my eye and I like the design. It poured a nice golden orange color that took on more of an orange hue when held to the light with two and half fingers worth of white head that died down to a thin layer that stayed till the end and left lots of nice lacing behind. This is a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- The aroma starts off with a higher amount of sweetness followed by loads of hops with the citrus hops sticking out the most and imparting a heavy citrus rind aroma with some grapefruit and pineapple showing up with some piney and slightly floral hops aromas in the background. I also get a lighter biscuit like malt aroma towards the end. This beer had a nice aroma, it was very hoppy and heavy on the citrus rind aromas, I liked it.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma and it starts of with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness followed by lots of hops that impart a lot of citrus zest flavors with a little bit of grapefruit in the background along with some lighter piney and floral hops, Towards the end I get a light amount of malts that had a biscuit like flavor along with a slight stale malt flavor. On the finish there's was higher amount of medium bitterness followed by citrus rind like aftertaste. This beer tasted nice, but it was a little one dimensional and it could use some more complexity to it.

M- Fairly smooth, a little creamy, a little rich, on the fuller side of being medium bodied, with a lower amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel was nice, but I wish it had a little more carbonation to it.

Overall I thought this was a solid beer and slightly above average example of a DIPA, it had some nice citrus rind like flavors and aromas, but they were a little too heavy handed with nothing else bold enough to balance it out so it seemed to be a little rough around the edges. This beer had ok drinkability, it was fairly smooth, a little filling, and the flavors just barely held my attention, I think one would be enough for me, I don't have the urge to drink another one. What I liked the most about this beer was the appearance and the aroma, they were both good and fairly true to style. What I liked the least about this beer was the lack of complexity, I wish there were some other flavors bold enough to balance out the heavy citrus rind flavors. I don't know if I would buy this beer again, it was solid, but it isn't hard to find a DIPA that I enjoy more than this one, if I did buy it again it wouldn't be often. I would recommend this to anyone who likes DIPA's but I can't see it being an instant favorite. All in all I thought this was a solid DIPA, it wasn't great, but it sure wasn't bad, I just wish it had a little more complexity to it. Nice job guys, another solid beer from a solid brewing company.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 03:45:49 | More by StoutHunter

NOLANDMAN

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +5%

05-01-2013 03:17:35 | More by NOLANDMAN

rringler

California

4.26/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A: Medium+ hazy dark amber/light copper color. Pours with about a half finger of off-white head, with medium size bubbles that dissolve down to that thin film/edge bubbles. Seems like decent lacing, but I'm drinking this out of plastic, so take this with a heavy grain of salt.

S: Heavy grapefruit zest and malty sweets. Very fruity, zesty, citrusy.

T: Lots going on here. The taste is dominated by the citrus/grapefruit zest start (though it tastes a bit less than it smells) followed by a very biscuity malt backbone, and finished by medium to medium+ hops. I can't really put my finger on the hops; they aren't piney, earthy, or spicy. Maybe they're citrusy and just blending into the grapefruit start? No boozy taste, even with 8.7% abv.

M: Sticky and full like an IPA, but a little bit lighter and quicker than other DIPAs.

O: Nice brew. I could see this beer being a good summer choice for IPA drinkers (it's not that fruity, but most IPAs taste a bit shaded, woodsy, damp, piney, shadowy to me; this one is grapefruit sweet with a bit of hops.)

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 03:09:14 | More by rringler