Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA - Fat Heads Brewery & Saloon

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

4.2/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Received in trade from cpetrone84, thanks for the opportunity.
Pours a clear deep golden color with a decent white head that slowly dissipates to a ring on top. Smells of citrus, pine, resin, dankness, and a hint of green onion with a solid bread and light caramel to back it up. The flavor sweet enough to remind you that this is beer with hints of brown bread and light sugar and a boatload of dank hoppy goodness. Resinous pine with hints of garlic and green onion and a light bit of citrus with a moderate level of hop bitterness. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet resinous mouthfeel. This is a really nice IPA, I'm glad I got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 00:49:15 | More by johnnnniee

twiggamortis420

Texas

4.35/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 oz bottle courtesy of mgbickel pours a hazed gold color with a large, sticky cap of off-white head. Awesome lacing.

You can smell this bitch just pouring it into the glass from a foot away! Citric hops galore with maybe a kiss or two of pine and tropical fruit. No malt is getting past this lupulin bomb.

Good balance of bittering and flavoring hops with a light, biscuity malt backdrop. Pretty west-coasty, and I could imagine it would be even better straight from the bright tank. It really does have a smoothness to it that is rare for a bitter IPA, it flows flawlessly from floral/citric hop flavor to a crackery malt then finishes nicely bitter. When the beer is gone before the review is finished...thats when you know it is good!

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 23:50:38 | More by twiggamortis420

stewart124

Ohio

4.39/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into my new DFH IPA glass.

Orangish yellow with a thin head. Nice lacing as this goes down. Piney nose.

Sharp bitterness but a very nice malt character throughout blends beautifully. Big carbonation really makes this shine. Great citrus notes, tropical fruit, and piney resin notes. Lingering background bitterness but nothing that makes this unpalatable. Drinkability is very high on this IPA.

Delicious but everyone knows this. Finishes very dry and it would be easy to put away a few of these.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 01:09:10 | More by stewart124

barczar

Kentucky

4.24/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Aggressive pour yields a chill hazed light copper body with a frothy 2 inch cream head that slowly dissipates, leaving spotty lacing.

Onion, pine, resin, and citrus dominate the initial aroma. There's a slightly bready malt backbone underlying notes of grapefruit, lime, and tangerine.

Flavor initially brings instant memories of sweettarts, becoming resiny and fairly bitter at the finish. Grapefruit, melon, papaya, pineapple, and mango are party of the fruit salad of hop flavoring. Slightly sweet initially, but bitterness dominates in the end. Grassy tones emerge in the aftertaste. Bready malt is an afterthought.

Body is moderate and slightly creamy, with moderate carbonation and slight alcohol warmth.

Yummy hop flavoring, and just enough bitterness to not totally overwhelm. Fairly complex.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 21:37:05 | More by barczar

basickness

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

best ipa ive ever had - better then the elder, zombiedust, etc... i love it. ive had it on tap and in bottle. i live in pittsburgh, where we have a fatheads, but i say definitely worth the pain to get it. it is 100% over the top and aggressive. not for fair weather ipa fans.

Serving type: on-tap

04-20-2013 14:02:13 | More by basickness

emyers

Illinois

4.04/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a Dogfish Head IPA glass.

Appearance: Pours a crystal clear gold color with a two inch white head.

Smell: Bursting with citrus and grapefruit along with some floral hop notes and just a hint of mango. Excellent.

Taste: Keeps the same hop profile as the aroma with citrus and floral hops. A bit of grassiness as well. Bittering hops come through in a big way. Honestly, the bitterness overpowers the hop flavor a bit - The citrus seems muted compared to the aroma. I think a little more malt backbone would benefit this beer - there's really nothing to hold up to the bitterness. Still a very solid IPA.

Mouthfeel: Extremely dry, very crisp. Bitterness lingers on the palate big time.

Overall: A very good IPA that could be truly incredible with something to hold the bittering hops in check.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 01:15:20 | More by emyers

larryi86

Delaware

4.51/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to tommyguz for this one!
12 oz bottle poured into a DFH IPA Glass

A- A clear golden copper with a four finger white head.

S- Pine, resin, grapefruit, mango, some spices, very hoppy.

T- Piney, grapefruit, citrus, some pineapple, resin, very, very hoppy, light malt backbone.

M- Smooth, crisp, medium body.

O- A great IPA that I would love to have again, so hoppy that it tastes like a DIPA. Really hope this comes to MD or DE soon, really good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 01:34:13 | More by larryi86

MNishCT77

District of Columbia

4.28/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at the Fat Head's Pittsburgh location, served in a typical British-style pint glass, drank 4/9/13 over one hour.

A: 4.5 - amber-brown coloration, good clarity for style (impressed that it's unfiltered!), white one finger head lingers for a while eventually dissipating into glass lacing, moderate alcohol legs

S: 4.5 - lives up to advertisement...lots of grapefruit, pineapple, pine cone, etc....really great smelling mix of West and East Coast qualities in the aroma

T: 4 - as excited I was after the fantastic smell, there is a huge slap of bitterness on the anterior tongue that I personally find unpleasant, especially because it lingers (this is also my major complaint with Bell's Hopslam); very dry with minor bready/biscuity malt flavors subtly admixed with alcohol notes

M: 4.5 - full-bodied, creamy, mild-to-moderate carbonation --> excellent for style

O: 4.5 - I was really looking forward to drinking this beer after hearing and reading all the hype surrounding it, and, albeit I enjoyed it, it didn't live up to expectations; however, I think that this is really personal taste more than anything; as I drink more IPAs and imperial IPAs, I realize that my favorite aspect is probably the big hop aroma and flavors with minimal bitterness; this is definitely a bitter IPA really tasting those 87 IBUs, and there was a more tropical DIPA on tap (IBUsive) that I preferred (see that review too if you'd like); suffice it to say, if you like Bell's Hopslam, you'll like this one too and don't let my bitterness hold you back

Serving type: on-tap

04-10-2013 02:59:32 | More by MNishCT77

Groomsy

Kentucky

4.35/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip.

Beautiful dark gold color that is crystal clear and topped by a frothy, unrelenting 3-finger head of froth that leaves sticky walls of lacing all over the glass. Classic-looking IPA. Excellent stuff.

Tons of tropical fruit out front – pineapple, mango, orange zest and citrus peel, namely grapefruit. Also a big whiff of piney/resiny/floral bitterness. Hops are absolutely front and center in this brew. If you're not a hophead stay away. There is just enough caramel/bready malt to keep this from being a hoppy mess. No alcohol noticeable. Truly beautiful boquet, very bright and refreshing.

Big fruity hop flavor on the front of the tongue – think mixed fruit cups. The pineapple, mango, and grapefruit just explode on the front of the tongue. A slight malt sweetness balances on the middle of the tongue with bready and caramel flavors to prepare for the next hop onslaught. Some well-measured floral, dank/resinous and piney bitterness cuts in on the finish and finishes dry without a hint of alcohol. Definitely not a training wheels IPA, but this is very refreshing. A hophead's dream for a “normal” IPA.

Refreshing mouthfeel with soft carbonation and a medium body that just right for this beer. Dry, sticky finish from all of the hops.

Absolutely wonderful. World-class is a correct designation, though I may be biased since this is from my home state. But for the style of the American IPA, this is about as good as it gets before getting into DIPA territory. Totally worth seeking out. Excellent stuff, refreshing, and powerful all at the same time.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 01:17:36 | More by Groomsy

sleuthdog

Illinois

4.26/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured into Bruery tulip

Thanks out to rpbuckeye for this one

Pour: Hazy cloudy orange with a gigantic four finger puffy, fluffy off white head on an overly aggressive pour. Lacing all over the glass as the head recedes. Soft pillow remains in the center of the glass.

Smell: Grapefruit, mango, pineapple, orange peel, with a real nice sweet bready malt backbone.

Taste: Grapefruit, pineapple, orange zest up front. There is the bready malt sweetness mid palate and a bitter pine bite in the aftertaste. Not to simplify this at all but that sums it up.

Mouthfeel: Light in the feel with a fruity easy drinking taste. Carbonation seems at medium.

Overall: This would be one hell of a refreshing hot summer day treat. So refreshing and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 02:10:43 | More by sleuthdog

davey101

Connecticut

4.19/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass. No date present anywhere. Huge thanks to Atomicskis5 for the bottle!!

A - Pours a hazy amber body with some very small floating particles of what I can only presume is hoppy goodness. Two fingers of dense off white foam forms settling down to a patchy cap. Excellent lacing.

S - Very flowery and grassy with loads of resinous pine and just a dash of citrus. Bit of a caramel malt backbone to bring it all together. Rather sweet.

T - Tons of pine and flowery hops which get cut by a wave of bitterness. A bit of malts are present on the finish. Very little fruit or citrus present, maybe just a bit of grapefruit "pith". There it is...I finally used the word pith in a review...but otherwise a pine bomb.

M - Medium bodied and quite creamy. The level of bitterness is damn high on this beer.

O - A refreshing pace from the fruitier IPA's I tend to gravitate towards. Just a delicious pine forward beer with some light flowery notes and a HUGE bitterness Damn good stuff, OH is no chump in the hop department.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2013 22:33:46 | More by davey101

MatthewPlus

Florida

4.45/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to pschnei3 for this in a trade!

Poured a beautiful deep golden color with a foamy 1 finger off white head into a Cycle Brewing snifter.
Smells resinous and piney. Lots of hop with a hint of underlying sweetness.
Tastes freaking delicious. follows the nose pretty well, with sappy pine and grapefruit. i bit of maltiness, but i wouldnt go so far as to call this beer balanced. pretty much a hop bomb, which i dig.
Excellent mouthfeel, decent carbonation and weight on the palate. fantastic, lasting bitter finish.
Overall, an extremely enjoyable beer, i would recommend it, and wuld seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 13:57:41 | More by MatthewPlus

boilermakerbrew

Indiana

4.33/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.5

A- Pours a brilliant, deep gold with a medium, 2 finger, frothy head. Retention and lacing are great. Very slight haze, but clarity is very high for the most part. Just a beautiful looking beer in the glass.

S- Huge hops upfront and throughout. Hops are almost entirely in the pine-scent flavors with small hints of citrusy notes. Just pure resin all the way through.

T- Just like the scent, with hops dominating your taste buds the entire drink. Starts very pine like, then smooths out a bit with a few hints of citrus flavors. Hop bitterness doesn't allow any recognition of malt and persists until the very end. The hops even continue in the aftertaste, with a huge bite on the end.

M- Highly carbonated, but smooth and slick across the tongue. More smooth and creamy than most IPA's. Very drinkable for the 7.5% alcohol, but the hops will destroy your palate.

Overall, if you love hop bombs, this is for you. Hops are unforgiving throughout, but very high in quality as far as flavor goes. I prefer a more balanced IPA, but still, you have to recognize a quality beer no matter your style preference.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 22:23:18 | More by boilermakerbrew

sommersb

Tennessee

4.38/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Tasted On: 03-24-2013
Freshness: Not indicated
Packaging: 12 oz. brown bottle, pry-cap
Glassware: Globe glass
Purchased: Received in a trade

I've been on an IPA kick of late; here's another gem from Ohio courtesy of trader Chad.

Appearance is very nice, starting with a sizable off-white head on a hazy orange/amber beer. Head retention is excellent, as is the lacing.

Smell is spicy and big on hops, of citrus/grapefruits plus pine and tropical fruit.

The taste is first of big hoppy bitterness with grapefruit and pine notes, but there's also some malt background with caramel flavors.

Prickly mouthfeel due to the high carbonation, with a medium body. The finish is dry and bitter, but has some balance from the malt bill.

Overall an excellent American-style IPA that I'd recommend!

Thanks to buschbeer for this!

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 23:47:49 | More by sommersb

KickbacksSteve

Florida

4.64/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

12 ounce bottle poured into a Unibroue tulip. Off white head, low to moderate retention. Clear lacing on a clear, light copper body. Aroma is dominated by intense, resinous, piney, grassy, hoppy goodness. Taste is biting and bitter, intensely hopped, I'm sure the malt backbone is in there somewhere. Totally out of balance and totally delicious. Delivers on the promises made on the label. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2013 03:41:12 | More by KickbacksSteve

JG-90

New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle into glass

A - Pours a clear straw color, with a moderate head that recedes to a ring around the edge. Really great lacing.

S - Pineapple, grapefruit, slightly stale white bread, and a little pine

T - Very citrus forward, great flavor that is balanced out with bread/malt and pine

M - Medium/heavy mouthfeel with low carbonation, a touch of creaminess in the finish

O - This is a great IPA, would drink it any day.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2013 23:14:49 | More by JG-90

RickS95

Indiana

4.4/5  rDev 0%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance is good and bad. The bad is that while it's a light copper color, it's extremely clear and very translucent...only slightly darker than ginger ale, so points off for that. However, the head is gorgeous and fits the style to a T. Three fingers of bright white, foamy meringue sits up top this clearness in a glass. Great retention as there's still a finger of froth after several minutes and a thick, sticky lace left behind.

The smell is amazing as the pineapple is the key player, and how can you go wrong with that. It's a citrus bomb with faint notes of pine.

The pine and some malt characteristics show up in the taste as the hops start to assert themselves. Crackerlike up front with earthy flowers taking over soon after. Pine is prevalent and grapefruit makes an appearance late.

It's a bit tame for the first few drinks but then the bitter simply explodes on your palate. There's a slight burn about midsip and then the bitter just attacks the tongue, coating it so it's bitter well after the swallow. While it's an aggressive bitterness, it's good for the style and not just crappy beer, which is welcomed.

I'd heard rave reviews about this beer and it didn't disappoint. While potent, it's enjoyable for the style and dare I say, easy to drink. Sure, you won't feel your tongue after a while, but it's so worth it.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 03:18:23 | More by RickS95

secondtooth

Indiana

4.48/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Clean and beautiful amber in appearance, this West Coast-style IPA pours with a huge head of off-white foam and an exquisite amount of detailed lace.

Aroma is stunning and intoxicatingly hop-forward. All the floral, citrus, and pine loveliness you can imagine.

Taste is pure West Coast, as in big heavy hops resins with plenty of acidic bite and notes of sour grapefruit and pine.

Exquisite and a sure winner for serious hop-heads.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 21:08:15 | More by secondtooth

rlee1390

Indiana

4.31/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A-Clear orange, nicely carbonated, two finger head.

S-Hops, citrus, grass, grapefruit, slight malt as well. What you want out of an IPA.

T-Wonderful well balanced IPA. Has a strong malt presence but but earthy and citrus hops. Ends with a nice bitterness.

M-Medium bodied, nicely carbonated and hop resins.

O-A great IPA, one of the best out there. Balance and the range of hop flavors was great.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 20:43:49 | More by rlee1390

WillCarrera

Illinois

4.34/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle, generously shared by someone at Hunahpu Day 2013.

A- Pours a clear golden color, topped with a finger of white head, leaves spotty lacing.

S- Huge hop aroma with tons of fruit, grapefruit, orange, tropical fruit, as well as lots of pine resin, as well as a bit of caramel malt.

T- Very bitter, lots of pine resin and grapefruit peel, the citrus and tropical fruit are still present but are slightly toned down, malty sweetness is subtle.

M- Medium-bodied, smooth with a dry finish.

O- Despite its huge bitterness this is still a pretty drinkable beer, the hop profile is very nice and this is a very solid IPA overall.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 20:10:57 | More by WillCarrera

jvillefan

California

4.14/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

A: The body is a deep golden yellow with a one finger off white head.

S: Very potent. There is a dominate pine aroma with subtle citrus and caramel.

T: Good not great. It is an unbalanced hop bomb. Heavy citrus, pine and hop bitterness. There is almost nothing tasted from the malt background.

M: Nice heavy body with sharp carbonation.

O: This is an good IPA. Not worth actively seeking out, but if you can get it thrown in as extras then go for it.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2013 01:32:52 | More by jvillefan

brewskis

Indiana

4.45/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Pours a classic sunset orange color with a finger length white head that goes down slowly and leaves a thick lacing. Pretty good carbonation comign off the glass. Smells like an ipa should. Lots of resinous pine, grapefruit, pineapple, mango, maybe some papaya. Tiny bit of a bready malt presence. Pretty dry. Taste starts with the resinous pine, grapefruit, and orange. Then there is a decent malt presence that brings some carmel and breadiness to balance it a little. Very resinous, dry finish with more pine, grapefruit, some pineapple, papaya, along with some sweetness to cut the hops. Almost like a bubblegum flavor. The hops get more abrasive as it goes down. Pretty hefty body for a single ipa. Creamy and surprisingly clean mouthfeel for such a hoppy beer due to the lively carbonation. Extremely well done ipa that lives up to the hype in my opinion..

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2013 02:19:49 | More by brewskis

brian44556

Kentucky

4.94/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

Poured a 12 oz bottle into a tulip. Served at 45 degrees. Picked this one up at Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. Fathead's just started distributing to Indiana, so I will have access to this all of the time!

A - Dull orange, with a 1/4 inch white head. Nice lacing where the head once was. The smell makes the beer look better.

S - As I'm admiring the look of this beer I get a strong whiff of tropical fruit. I'm catching the smell from 3 feet away. Wonder what this was dry-hopped with? Simcoe? Columbus? Pine cone, tropical fruit, heavy citrus.

T - Pineapple, grapefruit, awesome bitterness. Simcoe, Columbus, and Centennial is a great combo. Perfectly hopped with a great malt balance.

M - Crisp and extremely drinkable at 7.5%, watch out!

O - Great beer. Now I know what all of the hype is about. Thanks Fathead's for making such a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2013 23:23:59 | More by brian44556

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.41/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Served in a bottle at Lola Bistro in Cleveland, OH

A: Pours a very slightly hazy golden orange in color with moderate amounts of visible carbonation and some bright orange and yellow highlights. The beer has a finger tall dense foamy off-white head that slowly reduces to a thin film covering the majority of the surface of the beer and a thick ring at the edges of the glass. Significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Strong aromas of citrus/grapefruit hops with some much lighter notes of pine/resin hops and tropical/pineapple hops. There is a very light hint of caramel malts as well.

T: Upfront there is a light amount of caramel malts with some light to moderate amounts of sweetness which is quickly overtaken by the strong hop presence - citrus/grapefruit dominates with some much lighter notes of tropical/pineapple and just a touch of pine. Moderate to heavy amounts of bitterness which linger for quite a while.

M: Medium bodied with slightly more than moderate amounts of carbonation. Moderate amounts of dryness in the finish.

O: This is a very enjoyable American IPA (possibly just on the edge of being a DIPA in my opinion) with very pleasant and strong grapefruit/citrus hops, which is a hop aroma/flavor profile that I like. I found the alcohol to be well hidden and this to be a pretty easy beer to drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2013 04:29:58 | More by dbrauneis

tectactoe

Michigan

4.3/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thanks to cneville for this local extra! Pours a very nice, almost perfect looking amber and copper color with pretty decent clarity. A big, foamy white head mounts itself slowly and leaves some fat lacing as it slowly crawls back down.

The aroma begins with a solid installment of heavy, heavy tropical and citrus fruits - at first, it's almost all you can smell. Pineapple would probably be the biggest, followed by some grapefruit and tangerines. The fruits induce a subtle sweetness on the nose as well as a mild, pith-like bitterness. It doesn't take long for the hops to come alive; pine, grass, and some light and spicy white pepper. Pretty West Coast-ish just from the aroma - and that's certainly a good thing. Malt is very light and subdued, I'm not really picking much up at all.

Upon the initial sip, the beer is just a touch more watery than I would have guessed, but it's not bad by any means - perhaps I just set my expectations a bit too high after that monstrous aroma. The hops hit first on the palate; white pepper, herbal, grassy, earthy, and almost a bit dirty. Pretty raw and in-your-face - I like it. The hops aren't left alone for long; citrus makes its way into the mix, coming in more so on the bitter side of things - citrus peel, pith, skins - you name it. Oranges and tangerines jump out more and more with each successive sip, and finally add a bit of sweetness - though some of that may be from the underlying malt, which also brings a mild bread and cracker flavor to the mix, albeit cowering in comparison to the hop profile. Bitter 'til the very end with just a hint of sweetness as it fades out. Slightly sticky on the palate with a medium body and medium-high carbonation.

Damn, how did this fly under the radar for so long? This beer is fantastic. Any IPA fan will go nuts for this - very tropical and fruity aromas coupled with bitter and hoppy flavor profiles make for some of the best IPAs out there. Hopheads rejoice!

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 21:46:30 | More by tectactoe