Heelch O'Hops - Anderson Valley Brewing Company

macrosmatic

Florida

4.09/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes. Poured from 12 oz. bottle into a Russian River pint glass.

A: Pours a hazy but bright deep gold, with a two-finger white head, and moderate visible carbonation.

S: Pine and citrus hops, plus a touch of grass, tropical fruit and dank. Sweet bready malts - some caramel and toffee aspects.

T: Hops up front - pine and grass with a bit of citrus, and more bready sweet malts with just a touch of caramel. This is much more balanced than expected. Pine bitterness in hang.

M: Chewy mouthfeel, medium body, alcohol is well-hidden, medium carbonation sensation.

O: This was an enjoyable brew, and nice flavors. It's not a total hop bomb; rather comes much closer to being balanced. It's just not outstanding in a crowded DIPA class.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 13:31:04 | More by macrosmatic

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

355ml bottle poured into tulip 10/2/13

A hazy golden orange liquid that almost looks like juice, enough clarity to see some bubbles and there's a very well sustained thumbs width of foam that leaves 3 pencil thin rings and some random lace afterwards, looks pretty solid

S caramel, biscuit, pine and some tropical citrus with orange and pineapple juice.... the juice left behind in the can of tidbits but it works,

T not as juicy and has the faintest lemon vodka thing going on, not a bad thing but not good either, lime rind and vitamin C chewables, a small step backwards from the smell

M just stays on the creamy side of foam, a little booze and slightly sticky on the lips with grapefruit and caramel lingering on the finish

O respectable brew but not the best I've had from this brewer, its easy enough to drink and worth trying but the first impression didn't follow through

There's just so many DIPA's coming out of this part of the world its getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. It's a good beer but nothing to really distinguish itself from the others on the market here in Alberta

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 08:09:04 | More by wordemupg

ocelot2500

Arizona

4.01/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy golden orange color with a big frothy head that leaves rings of lacing.

Smells of light citrus and pine notes.

Tastes of big hop notes up front layered on top of a solid malt base. The nose is misleading as there are a bounty of hops that hit up front with citrus, tropical fruit, and pine notes. Fairly bitter overall, but it is rounded on the end with sweet caramel notes along with some toasted bread. Finishes with a slightly astringent hop kick.

Mouthfeel is medium with a smooth amount of carbonation.

Overall, this is quite good and is worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 02:56:02 | More by ocelot2500

beerpadawan

California

3.41/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Looks nice after the pour. Clear, golden/coppery color. Nice near-white foamy head. Good retention, some lacing.

Not easy to pull aroma, even after a swirl. The bit I can detect: pine, citrus peel, faint bread/toast. But really its surprisingly neutral. I didn't pour it straight out of the fridge--let it sit for 20 or so. After opening up in the glass for another 5, a floral (along with the citrus and pine) aroma has emerged.

There is solid bitterness, and hoppiness comes through slowly. With a swish across the tongue there is more, but one shouldn't have to work at it like that. Tingly pine/mint melds with citrus. It's well grounded by malt; light honey sweetness and biscuit. It finishes clean with lingering bitterness, orange peel.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2013 08:22:10 | More by beerpadawan

lordofstarside

Nevada

3.41/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bomber to snifter, no freshness date. Pretty mediocre ratings, let's see how it is. There is still a bear with antlers on my beer, so far so good.

Pours a very hazy orangish gold with a half finger of foam. Very low visibility on this with moderate retention and lacing. Smells of strong hops, mig malts, some pine and alcohol. Solid, not a bunch going on though. Tastes of earthy hops and a moderate malt. A touch of alcohol is here, not much else. Feel is probably the most redeeming quality of the beer, moderately bitter with a thick medium body. It's drinkable, I'll have no problem finishing the bottle. Overall this beer is pretty week for a double ipa. Of course it'd be tastier fresh, but beside the abv not much sticks out about this

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 03:11:16 | More by lordofstarside

Rizalini

Nevada

3.26/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bomber bottle into my Deschutes tulip...

A - Pours a clear copper color, with 2 fingers of a dense tan head. Spotty lacing as it fades.

S - Aroma is slightly grassy/earthy. Not as hop-forward as I would expect a DIPA to be.

T/M - Once again, not as aggressive as I would expect a DIPA to be, but there is a piney/earthy hop profile on the front. A bready/caramel malt middle, and a resinous hop aftertaste. Medium mouthfeel.

O - If this were labeled as an IPA, it would've gotten a higher rating. I just don't feel that this brew was aggressive enough IMO to qualify as a "descent" DIPA. On the plus side, the 8.7% ABV is very well hidden. It's an OK IPA, but just left me wanting more.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 04:34:42 | More by Rizalini

jlindros

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours pretty much a perfect fluffy head that rises up to tower slightly over the top of the SA PP glass, 2 fingers, any more and it would have gone over the edge, any less and it wouldn't stack up, but the entire bottle poured in, and the head fades slowly as it's reinforced by many bubbles rising up, tons of soapy lacing, over crystal clear slightly amber tan straw colored beer.

NOse brings plenty of hops, grassy and floral at first, before turning spicy, slightly earthy pine, and some citrus as well, a touch of candied orange peel hops, faint hint of tropical fruit, and faint hints of sweet amber pale malts underneath. The malts get slightly candy sweetness as it warms with a touch of booze even.

Taste starts quite bitter right off, slight spicy hops with more grassy and earthy tastes, again the citrus cuts in but not a lot, with some stone fruit, maybe a tangerine and almost apricot. Juicy flavors come through, some of the fruit hops, as well as a light juicy malt flavor, hint toasty malts but mostly slightly sweet pale malts, just enough to prop up the beer. The sweetness brings out the citrus for again that candied orange peel hop flavor, and a light hop syrup like flavor. Finish is quite bitter, spicy chewy hop bitterness, earthy, citrus, hint of pine, slightly dry but some lingering sweet malty flavors, and finally a touch of booze.

Mouth is med bodied, tons of fluffy carb and maybe too much carbonation, hint of warming booze on the finish.

Overall not bad, a decent DIPA, typical flavors, nice hops with candied citrus, spicy chewy hops, faint pine is nice, the booze drinks well with just enough sweet malts to balance the beer and deliver the hops without being destroying or astringent. Not bad, but not earth shattering.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 03:17:40 | More by jlindros

CommanderOfAwesome

California

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Ledgers just got the beer in recently.

Twelve oz bottle poured into a snifter. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BB50q65CcAEMixt.jpg

A: Pours a deep golden yellow, murky as I can't see through it. 2 finger head with some lacing on the glass.

S: Little weak in the aroma department. Hop forward, some pine and citrus. Lingering sweetness. Nothing over powering

T: Lot of bitterness, some sweetness. Little earthy tones like grassy feel. Malt to balance some of it out. But hop forward for sure.

M: Carbonation on the tongue, residual sweetness that coats the mouth and bitter bitter finish.

O: HIGHLY drinkable DIPA that goes that easy. Not a massive hop bomb, and little more hop forward than most West Coast IPAs. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 02:20:55 | More by CommanderOfAwesome

babaracas

Florida

3.68/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear orange with two finger thick white head. Settles slowly to a thin ring, and a big spray of lace is left down the glass. Smell: apricot, pale malt sweetness, mild spiciness and grapefruit. Not much there. Taste: pine, citrus rind, in the back apricot jam on biscuit. Finish is drying but sticky, needly. Ok, nothing special. Bottled in Dec 12?

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2013 04:13:26 | More by babaracas

barczar

Kentucky

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Aggressive pour of a fairly warm beer yields a tad hazy golden copper color with a frothy 2 inch cream head that lingers, eventually leaving sheets of thick lacing.

Skunky, catty hops open the aroma, with toasted caramel malt, fresh cut grass, and dank cannabis rounding out the profile. Grapefruit, tangerine, and mango surface late.

Flavor is fairly dank, perfumey, and finishes decidedly bitter. There's an underlying buttery note that accompanies the toasted malt backbone. Tropical fruit flavors carry throughout. Floral hops emerge in the finish as it warms.

Body is moderate to a touch light, with moderate carbonation and substantial alcohol warmth.

Fairly complex hop flavor, with enough malt to hold things together and a finish that us interesting.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 21:27:41 | More by barczar

harrymel

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Bottled: unk

Golden with a sheet, some soapy bubbles. Smells of sweet malts, some pine, some mango and a little maple. Malty flavor, bitter, some grapefruit and a touch of alcohol. Medium bodied with lower carb and a wet finish. Decent, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 10:03:55 | More by harrymel

elgiacomo

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

12oz bottle, believed to be bottled October 31st, 2012. Served at around 45F.

Pours lightly hazy orange/amber with a three finger foamy white head that leaves gobs of lacing and takes forever to recede.

Aroma is pine, citrus rind, peach, bread, bit of caramel

Flavor is peaches/apricots, citrus rind, grapefruit, pine, some resinous hops, caramel malt and bread in the middle offering a bit of sweetness, finishes with good bitterness and an alcohol bite. Pretty hoppy and juicy overall.

Mouthfeel is medium-plus bodied, sticky, oily, creamy, good carbonation.

Pretty good Double IPA, is this the same thing as their Imperial IPA? Same ABV, similar flavor profile from what I can remember.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 01:46:24 | More by elgiacomo

scottfrie

California

4.1/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12-oz bottle into matching AVBC snifter. Pricey 4-pack.

A: Pours a clear bright golden-amber with three fingers of very dense off-white head that bubbled up softly and took forever to fade. A thick rocky film lasted the whole beer through and left tons of chunky lace cleaning down the sides of the glass.
S: Huge notes of fresh cut grass and conifer needles. Lightly sweet notes biscuit malt beneath.
T: Pine and juicy citrus comes through alongside the biscuit malt and hints of honey. The finish is bitter with notes of citrus rind, and the aftertaste is grassy and sweet. Super hoppy but still a good balance of sweet malt in the finish.
M: Fuller body, hop resin sticky mouthfeel with smooth and easy carbonation.
O: A very solid, freshly hopped and delicious IPA, perhaps ABVC’s best. I thought this way pretty pricey but I guess it’s about the same as two bombers of Hop Stoopid. I’ll buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 01:16:38 | More by scottfrie

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12oz bottle, a single from the get-go, which is a hopeful sign of things to come in this particular jurisdiction. The translation of this cute little sub-dialect of American English is 'a whole lot of hops', which I suppose is as good as any obfuscated description of a DIPA as I've heard to date.

This beer pours a hazy, pale golden amber hue, with two fingers of glistening rocky, puffy, foamy ecru head, which leaves a terrine of fuzzy webbed and imposing iceberg lace around the glass as it lazily subsides.

It smells of bitter nondescript citrus rind, acrid evergreen pine resin, all a tad musty, a semi-sweet caramel maltiness, and some soft tropical fruit notes. The taste is tart, sassy citrus zest, very forward in its hoppy goodness, a seemingly hollow alcohol aura, some floral pine needles, and softly nutty, biscuity caramel malt.

The bubbles are timid, sure, but not out of it altogether, rendering at least the barest of structural support, the body a sturdy medium weight, and generally smooth, the hops not really gaining much ingress here. It finishes just a tad off-dry, which is difficult to discern when the drying agents manifest in the form of pungently fruity, bitter hops, so you'll forgive my equivocation on this point.

Ok, it all ends up damned hoppy, yet well balanced enough to have at least one more, I would imagine, as the booze isn't all that recognizable in its presumed role as the wildcard here, and the overall flavour is hearty enough to cope with any straggling doubts.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 07:00:47 | More by biboergosum

metter98

New York

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is slightly hazy yellow in color and has some hints of amber hues along with a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that died down but consistently left a thin head covering the surface and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of grapefruit and cantaloupe from the hops in the nose.
T: The taste shares some similarities to the smell but also has additional flavors of pine resin hops and hints of caramel malts. There is a moderate amount of bitterness and some hints of alcohol towards the finish.
M: It feels a little more than medium-bodied and crisp on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This Imperial IPA delivers a lot of interesting hop aromas and flavors and isn't that difficult to drink considering its strength. The only apparent flaw is a bit of alcohol that's noticeable in the taste.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 02:56:39 | More by metter98

rapidsequence

Virginia

3.63/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle from Ned's.

Appearance: Hazy golden orange, with a small off white head. Lots of nice lacing.

Smell: Resiny pine and citrus. More of a dirty dank hops aroma than bright fruitiness. Crackery and caramel malt sweetness.

Taste: Very bitter piney hops and a lot of caramel malt sweetness. Its a big punch in the face, with almost aspirin-like bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: I think the carbonation is appropriate. A bit heavy with FG. Very sticky resiny finish.

Overall: Its a solid beer, but for me it falls a bit between IPA and DIPA, and doesn't quite hit with either. I also prefer the more juicy-fruit sweet hoppiness to dirty-dank, but thats my problem.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 02:04:29 | More by rapidsequence

philbertk

Washington

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. Bottle from 4-Pack purchased @ Chuck's 85th Hop Shop, Ballard, Seattle, WA for $11.59 + Tax. Thin lacy off whit head. Clear pretty bright amber gold color.Rich herbal floral hop aromatics. Herbal pine hop resin infused medium textured balanced sweet light caramel crystal malt body. Balanced bitter hop spice clean earthy burpy hop end. 100 IBU's.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 21:22:35 | More by philbertk

JohnGalt1

Idaho

3.53/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz picked up tonight at Bier Thirty in Bown for $3... poured into my slim tulip... good long lasting off-white head.. nice lacing.. the brew is polished dark gold.

Nose shows tangerine zest hoppiness along with a little tropical fruitiness.. some bready pale malts mutes the hops a bit.

Flavor begins with a fairly hefty push of citrus zest and a bit of pine but is quickly muted by too much residual maltiness IMO.. hop bitterness finishes..

Body is standard for the course ... carbonation too.

Nothing to write home about... I probably won't buy again, and am a little upset I have another.

4/3.5/3.5/3.5/3.5

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 06:51:11 | More by JohnGalt1

flagmantho

Washington

3.8/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: medium orange hue with a light haze and a lazy effervescence. Head poured two fingers of frothy ivory foam which is leaving a thorough lace as it dissipates. Attractive!

Smell: hoppy aroma of funky, earthy and dank hops on top of a sweet malt base. Not bad if that's the kind of hop character you like.

Taste: sweet malt with a broad hop flavor focusing on earthy and citrusy components. Bitterness is a slow build to a moderate volume. A bit reigned-in for a DIPA, but not bad and quite smooth overall.

Mouthfeel: medium body and very light carbonation. Unfortunately the combined effect is that there is not much interesting going on here, texture-wise.

Overall: this is a decent beer. It's subtle for a DIPA and its mouthfeel could be a lot better.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 00:16:33 | More by flagmantho

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer looks nice and the nose is great. Flavor profile has a nice bite to it from hops, and there is a biting citric and pine thing as well. The carbonation is high, and I do feel that it is interfering with the flavor delivery, at first at least. Seems to tone down as time goes on. Overall, I like this beer quite a bit. The earthy tone to it might be a turn off to some people, and even for me, I could deal with a brighter profile instead of the darker earthiness. But it's still nice. Can definitely suggest this one.

Nice label also.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 00:56:10 | More by RblWthACoz

hosehead83

Ohio

3.83/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a standard pint glass.
Clear polished gold in color with a nice looking two-inch cap of foam.
Aroma-Subtle fruity hop note
Taste-Fruity hops, pine needles, biscuit malt. Nicely balanced, not a hop bomb or super high ABV. A nice, pleasant, drinkable Imperial IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 22:08:53 | More by hosehead83

JayS2629

Alabama

4.3/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a beautiful, crystal amber color with great clarity, a two finger rich white head that sticks around and leaves nice lacing.

The aroma is full of fruit, tropical notes with lots of citrus and some edgy evergreen hints.

The flavor is definitely West Coast, biscuity malt and dry finish with loads of grapefruit, orange peel, and citrusy notes.

the mouthfeel is medium and smooth.

Overall, a nice beer, but a bit dry for my tastes.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2012 03:55:05 | More by JayS2629

cbutova

Massachusetts

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

Stood out on the shelves, seems pretty new based on the reviews.

A- Poured into a pint glass with a slightly hazy, golden-orange body. A white head forms with the thickest and creamiest texture I have ever witnessed. It looks like someone ravaged a bottle of heavy cream with a whisk for about ten hours. I let a bottle cap float on it and it stayed there for 5 minutes. The head is invincible and has almost endless retention. Massively thick piles of lace everywhere. Probably the most impressive looking beer I have ever seen. It has been a long time since an appearance has really struck me like this. Bravo!

S- Hop forward for sure. A lot of citrus, orange, lemon zest, peach and fruit hops and some pine hops thrown in there too. Caramel in the background.

T- Again pretty hop forward. The hop bill consists of a mix of heavy citrus zest, grapefruit, big pine and some spicy floral hops as well. There is a lot of pine here, almost like resin, it seems spicy somehow like rye or peppercorn. Balance brought on by biscuit, caramel and some malt sweetness.

MF- Ultra creamy feel to a body that is moderately thick. Silky carbonation at a high level but goes down really smoothly. Massive bitterness on the palate in the finish.

Citrus zest and pine hop assault in the flavor which is actually somewhat balanced out by a rich malt profile. Pretty good and not the same as the standard 2012 IPA. I would really like to know if there is rye in this beer, it reminds me so much of a massive rye home brew I made, either that or some crazy spicy hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 03:41:40 | More by cbutova

PeterIngemi

Massachusetts

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

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a duvel glass.

A: pours a very nice clear copper amber with a massive three finger head, think it may have just been a little over aggressive pour, nice lacing.

S: nice aroma, nice citrus hop aroma, over a malty caramel backbone, with a nice bite of dark resinous pine, it took a bit of warming for the hops to really shine through, but they did.

T: much like the aroma sticky citrus fruit flavors along with a good dose of piney resins, all balanced out with a malty caramel malt backbone.

M: heavy medium mouthfeel with lower creamy carbonation, coats the mouth in drying, bitter resins.

O: this is a pretty good dipa, a bit malty, but it deffinatly rounds out the hops on a nice way, great juicy citrus notes and bitter pineyness. Deffinatly worry a try for any hop head.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2012 03:25:48 | More by PeterIngemi

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Snagged a bottle of this at the Vintage Estate (Ohio) for $2.79. Very surprised hasn't got many reviews.

A - Boy that just erupted out of the bottle! A very generous (not hard) pour produced over an inch of fluffy, sticky, white head. Color is a touch hazy compared to most DIPA's but it's still very amber brown.

S - Juicy citrus hops/melon bittering goodness that is just awesome. It must be biscuit balanced because it doesn't smell bitter at all.

T - A touch maltier than I expected but right after the biscuit I get a mild pine assault. Not as juicy of a hop as I expected but it is extremely balanced.

M - Drinking like a bittering IPA it hides the ABV well and has no alcohol taste (which I enjoy in an DIPA)

Overall due to it being only brewed one time this may be my only chance in drinking it but it is unique since it smells juicy but delivers a hoppy bite. Pick a bottle up if your tired of fruit forward DIPA's

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2012 01:40:16 | More by DrDemento456