Hop Head - The Porterhouse Brewing Company

AEK

United Kingdom (Wales)

3.73/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330ml brown bottle poured into a Hobgoblin pint pot.

A. A clear brown beer with a white bubbly head that quickly shrank to a very thin foam.

S. A lovely floral bouquet, quite fruity especially tangerines and oranges, other citrus fruits are floating about in the background.

T. Unfortunately, there is not much happening on the taste buds, some hop bitterness and a little bitter orange citrus taste.

M. Medium.

D. Fairly pleasant beer. A little too carbonated for my liking. Having now appreciated beers with more hops I hoped the name of this beer would reflect the amount of hops in it, sadly not so. Having said that, it is still a good beer if you like an ale with a certain amount of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2011 12:39:54 | More by AEK

tzolandz

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

05-21-2013 20:01:19 | More by tzolandz

gtermi

Texas

4/5  rDev +7.8%

05-20-2013 18:59:34 | More by gtermi

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

05-14-2013 17:10:41 | More by Sunnanek

His_Royal_Hoppiness

United Kingdom (England)

2.75/5  rDev -25.9%

04-30-2013 22:02:37 | More by His_Royal_Hoppiness

KarlMcGowan

Ireland

2/5  rDev -46.1%

04-20-2013 12:06:31 | More by KarlMcGowan

kjyost

Manitoba (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

04-15-2013 00:20:05 | More by kjyost

CwrwAmByth

United Kingdom (Wales)

3.33/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a Fullers snifter glass. BBD Sept '13 - so 7 months since bottling, way past freshness.

Pours a copper colour with a small white head.

Smells sweet and fruity.

Tastes predominantly malty - sweet and caramel-like. Remnants of hops are present by they are mostly faded - pineapple, mango and grapefruit.

Overall a good attempt, great for an Irish beer. Would love to try this fresh and give it a higher score!

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 17:52:56 | More by CwrwAmByth

Eucrid

Ireland

4/5  rDev +7.8%

03-10-2013 18:47:42 | More by Eucrid

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

02-16-2013 03:30:45 | More by Beerstorian

jlipin8622

4.5/5  rDev +21.3%

02-12-2013 03:28:57 | More by jlipin8622

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

01-20-2013 23:59:39 | More by KStark

innominat

Ireland

4/5  rDev +7.8%

12-30-2012 13:01:25 | More by innominat

Bouleboubier

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

12-18-2012 04:05:42 | More by Bouleboubier

wceaton

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

10-02-2012 19:59:06 | More by wceaton

jmtpi

New York

4/5  rDev +7.8%

09-24-2012 21:54:04 | More by jmtpi

mmurphy525

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

09-23-2012 21:34:07 | More by mmurphy525

kgmm77

United Kingdom (England)

3.75/5  rDev +1.1%

09-16-2012 19:18:38 | More by kgmm77

StJamesGate

New York

3.78/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rusty amber with creamy white head that fades to a rim of crust and leaves trails. Nose is some toasted granola but mostly oily orange rind - fresh.
Some baguette crust and burnt caramel quickly overwhelmed by pine resin, citrus peel and wood oil.
Dark toast and tree bark finish and incredibly astrigent powdery linger. Creamy, round, crisp, medium-light.

This has an expiry date of 23.09.13, which I reckon makes it less than a month old - about as fresh as you'll find. And man, does it make a difference. This is as aggressive as anything you'll find stateside, not even pretending to be in balance. That sticky, sappiness is Nugget, I think (reminds me of Nugget Nectar) and it's too heavy, outweighing the citrus from Cascade and Centennial. This plus a slightly ashy finish (why black malt in an IPA?) keeps this from a higher taste score (not problem on tap and definitely not on cask). But to find this kind of hop bomb at this strength is a minor miracle, so I'll take it.

The hoppiest thing in Ireland.

Note: Labelled as 5%.

cask
(4.3; 4.00 4.50 4.00 4.50 4.50)
01/08/2011
On cask at PH Central, Temple Bar, Dublin.
Dark amber with a film of white that holds and rings. Musty, skunky, hop sack nose - pure fresh hop nectar.
Toasted sunflower seed nuttiness with serious resiny, gooey cannabis hops. Candy corn comeback and bread crust and bitter root linger.
Sticky, round, medium and clingy.
Pilgrim, Nugget, Centennial and Cascade, says the poster.
Like chewing hops flowers. The cask does wonders for this. Serious dose for the hop head.

on-tap
(3.7; 4.00 4.00 3.50 3.50 4.00)
11/08/2009
On tap at the Porterhouse on Parliament Street.
Pours bright copper with tight off white head that holds. Nose is sour leaf with some chocolate and earthiness. Candy malts with some hop spice, like kola nut. No real bitterness. Fizzy, light feel. Lemon zest comes out strongly in nose and taste as it warms.
Surely a different recipe from last summer, which was a resiny American IPA. This drinks like an English bitter, at least to start, then the Cascade kicks in and it reverts to more it's stated style. A bit neurotic, but still a good drinker.
Note - a 2nd tasting at a different location was closer to what it should be: sour orange nose; toasted malt notes; woody Nugget hops; a peppermint herbal burn at the end; sticky and tight.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 22:39:40 | More by StJamesGate

newharlemshuffle

4.25/5  rDev +14.6%

08-05-2012 22:05:31 | More by newharlemshuffle

Polasiuss

Ireland

3.25/5  rDev -12.4%

06-24-2012 12:08:06 | More by Polasiuss

ncstateplaya

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +7.8%

05-15-2012 20:26:28 | More by ncstateplaya

Edruil

4/5  rDev +7.8%

04-24-2012 19:37:41 | More by Edruil

spdyfire83

Ireland

3.7/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

201st Review
Served in a pint glass
On-tap at Porterhouse Central

A: Dull, hazy tan/yellow. Single (frothy white) fingernail head.

S: Lots of citrus fruit - grapefruit, lemon, and orange - followed by hops and touch of caramel. Smells quite inviting.

T: Unbalanced hop and malt character here. Might have something to do with the fact that this beer is only 4.5%, but the hop notes are nice nonetheless. Citrus, caramel, and smooth bitterness are decent.

M: Medium body with appropriate carbonation. Not too thick, but just right.

O: This beer smells quite good, but the taste doesn't follow. Quite a bummer as I was excited to try this. Not bad, but there are definitely better American IPAs out there.

Serving type: on-tap

03-19-2012 10:23:18 | More by spdyfire83

Boone1504

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%

01-13-2012 20:16:56 | More by Boone1504