Hop Therapy - Rough Draft Brewing Company

mbunje

California

4.15/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Bomber poured into pint glass

A - nice bronze, copper color. Very clear. Bone white head settles to just a thin film on top. Lacing is minimal.

S - nice grapefruit smell up front. More citrus than pine. Promising.

T - simcoe. Very bitter on the front and middle of the tongue. Nice flavor. For me this is a little off balance toward the hops. But this is a DIPA. so I like it.

M - Good but not great. Missing a bit of carbonation. Medium body. Close to being great

O - I like this a lot. These guys are new. So some of their batches might be inconsistent. This isn't Pliny, but it is a great DIPA. Get one!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 00:38:52 | More by mbunje

kojevergas

California

2.53/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75

"Hop Therapy Dobule IPA India Pale Ale." Self-identifies as an Imperial IPA. 9.0% ABV confirmed. 22 fl oz brown glass bottle with branded pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are above average. Acquired at Wally's Wine in Westwood, California.

Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

A: Pours a three finger beige colour head of decent thicknesss, okay cream, and above average (~3.5 minute) retention for the ABV. Body colour is a clear translucent copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Fairly vibrant. Spot on for the style, but there's nothing unique or special here. Light thin sticky lacing on the sides of the glass as the head recedes.

Sm: Floral and nectary hop character. Caramel malt and pale malts. Light oily hop character. I get no pine whatsoever. It's rather mundane for an imperial IPA, but it's generally appealing. No yeast character or alcohol comes through. A moderate strength aroma. Hop bitterness does come through - a bad sign for the style.

T: Floral hops and heavy caramel. Light light nectary hops. The malt/hop balance is entirely off. No yeast character or alcohol comes through. It lacks evocative hop notes. It's not bad, but it's far from exemplary. Not all that well balanced. Badly built. Lacks complexity and subtlety.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Carbonation is decent. Okay palate presence; maybe a touch too heavy. Thickness is overdone. Meh. Not quite up to the standards of the flavour profile.

Dr: Drinkable but underwhelming. Rather pedestrian for the style, especially by SoCal standards. This one can be skipped; there's nothing to see here. Not unique or special. Hides its ABV decently. Doesn't bring enough to the table to warrant serious consideration. Imperial IPA fans will enjoy it but most will be underwhelmed. It just isn't all that great. Below average, but not bad per se.

C-

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2013 06:15:42 | More by kojevergas

transbeman

California

1.78/5  rDev -52.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Not much in the way of smell. Decent head but feels flat. Difficult to drink; probably not going to be able to finish this $7.99 bomber, but I'm going to do my darn best. Overall a bad beer.

I tried their IPA (Eraser, I believe) and wouldn't have given this one a chance but for having been surprisingly impressed with their Barrel Aged Freudian Sip. Of course, I also found the standard Freudian Sip almost undrinkable.

This reminds me of that Trader Joes Boatswain IPA if that's indicative to anyone.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 23:15:18 | More by transbeman

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.05/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

I'd never heard of this brewery and was told this bottle was fresh (liars) so I paid the $6.50 and hoped for the best. Unfortunately it was not fresh as the taste quickly indicated old sticky hops. I could tell this was probably three to four months old. Aroma was muted and unimpressive. Overall this might be good fresh but breweries really need to bottle date and I need to start sticking to a hard and fast rule about not purchasing undated bottles of IPA. Live and learn (hopefully).

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 19:11:31 | More by ArrogantB

ThePaleRider

California

4.18/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - Nice amber with an off-white head that disappears pretty quickly, leaving a little lacing on the glass.

S - Tropical fruits, almost a citrus candy scent. Smells very sweet and sugary.

T - Similar to the smell. Super sweet up front. Tropical fruits, mango, passion fruit. Light malts on the back with a nice warming as it goes down.

M - Light feeling DIPA with little carbonation.

O - Awesome DIPA for a warm summer day, or anyone that wants a double without the bitter bite. Much better than their regular IPA. I think this beer is a great addition to the Rough Draft family.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2012 17:29:24 | More by ThePaleRider

swetsastonic

New Jersey

4.58/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I was at the best damn beer shop in san diego and asked for things I can't get in ny/nj. this was one of the recommendations. just popped it open last night (about 2 weeks later).

looks like a beer. nice head on it.

great hoppy, citrusy aroma. has that southern california feel to it.

taste is excellent. nice amount of hops that taste very fresh, more so than you get in most bottles. citrus in the taste that matches the aroma.

I don't use the word mouthfeel.

nevertheless, I will say that this is the creamiest ipa I've ever had. if it weren't for the taste, I wouldn't think it was an ipa. really interesting. I like it.

overall, an excellent beer. very glad I got this recommendation.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2012 19:48:46 | More by swetsastonic

mactrail

California

4.23/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear, orangey tea color. Lovely foam in the tall Peroni glass. Fragrance of orange marmalade and fresh grapefruit juice. Medium body, rather sharp, with mellow maltiness.

Maybe it's the color, but the intense citrus flavor tastes like orange to me. Hot with alcohol plus the acidic splash on the lips. IBUs are listed at 94. Brewery describes this as "a Galaxy and Summer hop bomb." Both, I see, are Australian varieties and Summer has a lower alpha acid content. The combination is plenty fruity with ripe canteloupe coming to mind, along with apricot nectar.

Hope fiends will definitely want to check this out. A big hop load with huge fruity flavors, though the bitterness is somewhat short of toxic. From the 22 oz bottle bought at Krisp, formerly Best Damn Beer Store, aka Super Junior Market.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 05:38:12 | More by mactrail