HopDevil Ale - Victory Brewing Company

Jason

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A bit dryer and crisper than on-tap, the clarity is a shade clearer but still hazy with a frothy sticky head. Quite aromatic with lots of semi-coarse hop, lightly toasted grain alcoholic esters. The flavour is a mirror image of the aroma with lots of hops in the bitterness and flavour. I prefer it on draft though, probably because I usually drink it our of a 32oz mug at Bukowski’s Tavern.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2002 11:39:48 | More by Jason

LarryV

Massachusetts

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice reddish amber color. Virtually no head, minimal carbonation. Nice balance of malt ands hops. I think I would have liked a bit more carbonation, this particular pouring seemed almost flat to me. Still tasted delicious though.

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2002 03:20:06 | More by LarryV

Thrasher

Oregon

3.7/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Overrated, to be sure, and completely off-balance, but still worth drinking. With a name like HopDevil you should know exactly what you are getting into. What is surprising is the generous malt profile this beer contains. A real caramel sweetness with hints of butter, nuts, honey, molasses, provides the sturdy foundation for this beer. But of course this is all to make room for the insane hop element, although I drank Victory's Prima Pils before this and was thrown off by the amount of hops in that beer. Only in that context can this one seem tempered. Otherwise, you'd damn well better be in the mood for hops. (You could say the same about Prima Pils, which I found out of whack for the style.) Delectable, sticky on the tongue, with lasting lingering floral & spicy notes. Drinkability low due to unbalanced hop element. Not my fav and certainly not worthy of its overwhelming acclaim, but when a beer is this degree of quality, why should I complain?

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2002 15:53:35 | More by Thrasher

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4.88/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Gorgeous copper body. Nice rocky off white head. Disipates too soon. Very good lacing. Fine (as in very small) carbonation rising. Aroma of floral hops is intense at arm's length. Bittering hops come through nose up close, with strong dose of citric. Strong malt presence balances hops until delightful hop tingle in aftertaste. Taste is so good it is actually difficult to keep from chugging the entire glass. Victory has several remarkable beers, but if this was their only product, they would still be an outstanding brewery.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2002 21:53:59 | More by RonfromJersey

Murph

Arizona

4.78/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a bright copper color with a good sized rocky head that fades a little too quickly but leaves a great lace. Smell is tons of floral hops, bitter hop oil, and hop leaves with some sweet malt in the background. Very floral and slightly citrusy hops own this beer making it very bitter and hoppy. For all the hops though there is just enough smooth maltiness for this to remain well balanced. The malt combines with the hops to produce an almost fruity taste at times. The brew is fairly creamy from the malt but is nicely crisp and refreshing at the same time and it is extremely drinkable as well. This is one great brew and yet another amazing one from the boys in Downington.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2002 23:40:12 | More by Murph

ElGuapo

New Jersey

2.95/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

she's got some kick, but it is a little spicy for me. as far as ipa's go, this one is definitlely one of the best. You will get a load of hops with this brew. It is a pretty intense beer because the hops and carbonation team up to give you a kick in the pants.

The aromas are also wonderful as you are engulfed in an array of spices that makes you want to leap into the glass. I will definitely have to get this one again now that i have some more IPAs to compare it to.

After I have developed a love for IPAs, this one has to be sampled again.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2002 10:01:50 | More by ElGuapo

MTMugs

New York

3.53/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Love the hops! Looked good, poured nicely and the first taste was great - nice and dry. But it had a funny finish - a little too fruity for our taste. But for a bottled IPA, not too bad.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2002 05:25:32 | More by MTMugs

DarthMalt

Virginia

2.25/5  rDev -45.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Ouch! Hop Devil deilivers, as promised. There's definitely a time and place for beers like this. Hopefully, I'll find one or the other, so that my tongue didn't writhe in vain.

"Would you like some malt to go with those hops?"

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2002 11:00:48 | More by DarthMalt

BeerManDan

California

4.93/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

One of my favorites. Great tasting and well balance of hop's and malt's. It has the right balance of sweetness/bitterness. This would be a great beer to introduce to your friends. For the price, very good friends. It was well balanced in a sweet/tartness that I liked. A very complex beer with loads of fruit and flavor!

Serving type: bottle

06-20-2002 19:51:47 | More by BeerManDan

marble

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

About as good as an IPA gets! Not too strong on the alcohol that it takes away from the ale, but a couple of these will do for a night. Victory is a solid brewery.

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2002 17:59:35 | More by marble

CharlesRiver

Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is by far one of the best IPA's that I have had. A small head with a cloudy appearance made it great to look at. A nice balance of bitter and sweet made it great to drink.
I wonder if it is this good in the bottle?

Serving type: on-tap

06-07-2002 08:53:27 | More by CharlesRiver

IrishRedRock

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is THE ultimate session brew. As a hophead, I am in love with this beer. I like the Wallop more overall, but I could drink these for the rest of eternity. The hops are combined perfectly with everything else in this tasty brew. So well balanced. Crisp maltiness, fruity, hoppy, yeah. Smooth initially, and finishes with some killer hops at the end. Looks very nice...a cloudy amber, almost orange. Not the best tasting beer I've ever had, but arguably the best overall beer there is.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2002 16:19:47 | More by IrishRedRock

jreitman

California

4.6/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I do not consider myself a hop man at all, but this brew was a very pleasant experience. The beer is orange, almost amber in color with a very hoppy nose. While very hoppy and bitter, the beer still had some nice malt sweetness to it which was a pleasant surprise. Fairly complex IMO and I enjoyed every sip. A great beer indeed.

Serving type: bottle

05-27-2002 17:26:56 | More by jreitman

AaronRed

New York

4.33/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had to try this beer due to it's massive following in BA. I do love hops, so I knew I would love this beer. Almost like a red beer, hops beyond belief that never seemed to let up at any time. However, it was very easy to drink. I was not dissapointed.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2002 18:55:36 | More by AaronRed

esprit

United States

4.95/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Just tried my first Hop Devil and, boy, was I impressed. These guys really know what they're doing and they are a hopheads dream come true. Incredible hop aromas and flavour...enough to satifsy even the most virulent hopead.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2002 16:28:04 | More by esprit

proc

Michigan

4.97/5  rDev +20.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

As my beer knowledge grows, I have found that I have gone from a newbie a few years ago who would cringe at the taste of hops to a seasoned pro, who craves a hoppy beer. I compared this to my beloved Bell's Bell's Two Hearted and found it to be just as good, excellent even. Pours out to a beautiful copper, with a slight head. Taste and smell is that of grapfruit and other citrus. The hop taste is fantastic, but doesn't overwhelm the beer. I believe this is due to my palate digging hops, someone who is new to beer would probably make a face. Unlike one of the other reviewers who said they probably could only have one or two, I believe this could be a session quaffer. It went down that easy. I still give Bell's a slight nod over Victory ONLY because Victory isn't available in Michigan and Bell's cloudy, golden give it just a slight appearance grade higher. But, if this beer were available here...it'd be a tie.

A big thanks to pbrian for sending this my way!

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2002 09:14:31 | More by proc

sponberg

New York

4.03/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled: 12 oz. bottle, in pint glass. Beautifully coppery color that screams "DRINK ME!!"

Aroma: Intensely florally hoppy. Starts out with a hop hit that would normally have me saying "Uh-oh..." and reaching for a grapefruit knife. But it remains in balance - the Cascade hops just are there, pronounced, throughout the swallow. The background flavors that peek through are bitterness and a rounded caramel maltiness.

If you were to graph the flavor profile of this beer, it'd be a straight line - no switchover between hoppiness and maltiness, bitterness and sweetness. It retains its predominantly floral hop flavor throughout at about the same degree of hop-malt balance. A very nice American IPA.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2002 21:00:08 | More by sponberg

aracauna

Georgia

3.9/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Rerate 9/14/02: Had some great hoppy beers since this and it's sad to say but I have to drop my rating a bit. Not quite as floral as I remembered. More pine aroma and flavor. Nice appeareance, amber with decent head. Nice sweet malt really balances the hops. Just not the great earth-shattering experience I remember after Terrapin Rye PA and Stone's IPAs.

5/6/02: I have to admit that this beer surprised me. I'm usually kind of iffy on IPAs and other hoppy beers, but I really liked this one. The aroma is very floral/perfumy. The taste is definitely hoppy, but not so bitter as to overwhelm the rest of the flavors in the beer. My fiancee described it as like drinking perfume, and it did have a powerful floral quality to it. I really enjoyed this beer, but I'm not sure if I could drink more than one or two in a sitting.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2002 18:20:58 | More by aracauna

mickeymac

California

4.33/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sierra who? I finally got my hands on a sixer of Hop Devil and will be going back for more. The hops are definitely there, but they're not overwhelming. The color and head are more or less typical for an IPA, but the taste is really remarkable. I only wish more places on the west coast stocked it. I'm an instant fan.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2002 16:02:43 | More by mickeymac

Jdiddy

Rhode Island

4.22/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Holy Hops! Wonderful beer. After a few, I need to change to something else (the hops are very intense!!!), but the first two or three are amazing.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2002 12:27:06 | More by Jdiddy

Suds

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Forcefully hoppy, but very well balanced. As often as I've had this beer, it always seems to suprise me. I've seen this beer convert many friends into hop-heads. Simply wonderful!

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2002 12:06:43 | More by Suds

Bighuge

Minnesota

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

Pours a deep copper color with a slight head. Nice pungent/oily/flowery mix in the aroma. This is a decent brew. Pretty solid caramel malt backing. Good hop flavor, but again, I'd prefer more bitterness. Easy drinking for an IPA. There's no signature taste here that really stands out. This is another IPA that everybody else seems to die for and I just think it is plain good, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2002 23:13:01 | More by Bighuge

inebrius

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

It seems the folks at Victory have perfected mouthfeel. This brew is muy smooth. Loaded with hops and a rich malt spine, HopDevil is a world class beer.

Cheers to frank4sail for the sample.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2002 13:10:22 | More by inebrius

ADR

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Clear ruby red amber, great color. Head is small with a trace of of thin foam after 40 seconds, upwelling occasional bubbles. Citrusy sweet aroma. Very nice hop bite, grapefruit including some bitter rind flavors. Malts are clearly in the background. Hops are pronounced but not overbearing, settles to a mild bitterness at the back of the mouth with just a touch of sweetness. Refreshing. Probably my favorite American I.P.A. to date.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2002 07:45:08 | More by ADR

StevieW

Florida

4.85/5  rDev +18%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The hop devil lives up to the hype. Nice red-amber color, darker than I expected. Very big hoppy nose. Nice easy taste, lingered on the tongue.Big spice flavor, florals, hops, is there cinnamon in there ? It sure tasted like it to me. Strong bitterness at the end wakes you up and demands another taste. A proven winner and worth the wait. I have been trying to get it in Florida for a while.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2002 17:10:35 | More by StevieW