Hop Wallop - Victory Brewing Company

deliriumtremens

Illinois

1.6/5  rDev -61.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Hmm... interesting smell, I thought. A sweet lager-type of aroma, with just a hint of something that reminds me of macro adjuncts. Then I tasted it. This is one of the few beers that I have ever poured out for any reason other than being too drunk to finish it. The sticky-sweet canned pineapple taste is overwhelming, and nearly made me retch right there, but then the hops came rumbling in. Normally when I think of hoppy beer, I think of Sam Adams or Goose Island or Sierra Nev PA - a little harsh and painful on the jaw after drinking several, but overall well-balanced and non-offensive - they taste good. Hop Wallop doesn't have that kind of hop flavor. The hops are bitter, aggressive, and overall very nasty.

The best thing I can say about drinking this is that it tastes like Pineapples smothered in salt and Crisco.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2005 00:15:03 | More by deliriumtremens

jujubeast6000

Texas

1.73/5  rDev -57.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Reviewed 11/26/2006 (12oz bottle):

Pours a semi-cloudy yellow colored body, with a foamy white head, with big bubbles. Has a very hoppy, somewhat tempered aroma. A bitter hoppy taste. Acidic. No flavor except the acidic. Too much for me, unbalanced hoppiness, no sweetness to offset the bitter.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2009 07:07:00 | More by jujubeast6000

ShamasUVA

Connecticut

1.8/5  rDev -56.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Imperial IPAs are one of my favorite styles... and Victory is an excellent brewery, so when I saw the Hop Wallop for sale I was extremely excited.
Unfortunately, this is the worst IIPA I have ever had!

The entire problem with the beer lies in the total lack of any malt flavor. The beer is yellow and fizzy, like a german lager. I don't know how they got 8.5% ABV in this thing, because malt-wise, this tastes like a strong pilsener. Even in very blonde IIPA's I've had (The Blonde Hop Monster from Paper City comes to mind), there was a very solid, if simple, sweetness to it, to balance out the hops. This beer had nothing of the sort.

On the bittering front, yes this is very bitter, but lacks the serious hop complexity of the better IIPAs such as the 90 minute IPA and the Ruination.

Incredibly dissapointing. I'll stick with the Storm King and the Hop Devil when I am choosing Victory brews.

(UPDATE: I have had this beer since this very old review, and I find it to simply to be inconsistent. I have had awesome examples on draft. Had fresh bottles from the brewery which were good, not great. But I also encounter bad bottles from time to time.)

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2006 19:52:06 | More by ShamasUVA

JMBSH

Colorado

1.83/5  rDev -55.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Let me start by admitting that I am not a "hop head". But I never let that stop me from trying a new beer. The color is a light orange with some bubbles after a hard pour in a pint glass. No real head is formed and just a hint of foam remains for the tasting. The scent is so faint that I wondered if the beer was bad. Hardly any scent of hops that I have smelled in other hoppy beers. With first taste, I find the beer is very bitter. After making sure the mouthfull touches my whole mouth, I get a faint citrus/herbal taste. But before I can identify the flavors, an incredible aftertaste comes from the back of my mouth and seems to reach to my throat. An almost medicine taste that makes me forget about the first sensations. It coats my mouth and seems to want to not want to go away. I take some time for the taste to leave. I take another taste. and another. With each one the bitterness seems to deminish a bit each time but just a little of the medicine flavor of an aftertaste remains on the very back of my tongue. I have tried most of the Victory's beers and I think I will have to stick to their other fine creations.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2007 02:29:33 | More by JMBSH

jeremyd365

Michigan

1.83/5  rDev -55.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Quite disappointed--

Poured light/copper, which I felt was way too light for an IPA.

Color aside, the taste was awful. It was quite sour, despite a decently obvious amount of hops. Tasted like a domestic, light beer that they tried to infuse with hops.

Would not recommend.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2008 22:29:58 | More by jeremyd365

carlosd74

Pennsylvania

2.15/5  rDev -47.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

I am a Hophead. That said I thought this 2005 release at Grey Lodge was disappointing. Maybe I was kidding myself since this is an Imperial IPA. I thought I'd give this one another chance since the only other encounter was with an expired bottle.

It was so offensive to my taste buds that I didn't even finish it. Even in light of the fact that the beer came with the purchase of a pint glass & t-shirt. I found it was eating my stomach up. I do not have a weak gut.

It was all hops and nothing else. It didn't even pour a nice head. Wallops your senses so that all you can detect are hops. It is so harsh I could not even tell what type of hops. It was simply caustic!

I'll take a Alpha King or Tuppers anyday over this loser from Victory.

These guys are much more capable than this!

Serving type: on-tap

11-06-2005 23:15:04 | More by carlosd74

MrSnrub

Pennsylvania

2.2/5  rDev -46.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I had high hopes for this beer: it's my favorite style, it's plentiful and relatively inexpensive in my area, it has excellent reviews on BA, and it's got a cool name. I thought this might become a go-to beer for me.

What a disappointment! It sure didn't look like an IPA, its pale yellow color more befitting a pilsner. It didn't smell like an IPA, either - more like straw. Its taste resembled that of a failed IPA: quite bitter, but with hardly any hop flavor or malt presence. Had you told me I was drinking some kind of bitter macro lager I would have believed you.

I'm honestly baffled by other reviews that describe this beer as hoppy, flavorful, etc. Could I have simply gotten a bad bottle? Seems improbable, as there are several other reviews that describe what I encountered. Nonetheless, I hold out hope that I'll be able to edit my review next time I try this beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2010 20:41:03 | More by MrSnrub

TheBigBoy

Pennsylvania

2.23/5  rDev -45.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Big fan of Victory beers but this one was below average for me. For me, I see no reason to stray from Victory's own HopDevil beer (a very solid IPA) for this one. I can't put my finger on why this one didn't do it for me. I guess this one is just too much of a beer for my liking.

Serving type: bottle

11-28-2011 04:44:36 | More by TheBigBoy

liddytime

Maine

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

I had high hopes for the Hop Wallop, perhaps on account of the slobbering, cartoon, 49-er character on the label. That guy is awesome!

The brew poured a straw-yellow with a healthy, cloud-like head around the glass-rim.

The aroma was hoppy - but not the piney-citrusy-fruity hoppy I was expecting. It was more of an earthy-grassy-sour-pungent hop aroma.

The taste was also disappointing. The hop oils coated my mouth and reminded me of the orange-blossom oil they put in your water at middle-eastern restaurants...not in a good way... It also tasted "soapy" and acrid, almost bilious, not pleasant at all. I thought I might have gotten a bad bottle so I tried another. Same result. I suppose I could have gotten a bad six-pack. The mouthfeel was thin and I didn't get any of the bready, maltiness I was expecting.

I love IPA's so I was more than disappointed with Victory's Hop Wallop. I may give it another shot at some point because my sixer really didn't taste quite right.

Serving type: bottle

10-15-2010 23:57:16 | More by liddytime

Salo

Michigan

2.3/5  rDev -44%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured a dark gold with minimal carbonation. Smell was slightly fruity with a little grain in the background. The taste came across as bitter and the 8.5% alcohol bit through. Reading the other reviews makes me want to get another from a different store to make sure I just didn't get a bad one.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2007 12:52:23 | More by Salo

oracle

Indiana

2.33/5  rDev -43.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Maybe I got a bad bottle, but this stuff is not nearly as good as I've been led to believe.

Beer poured clear light yellow with minimal head. Looked almost like an adjunct lager, but the yellow was a little more intense.

Smell was perhaps the strangest I've ever come across. I know it sounds bizarre but the smell reminded me more of canned pineapple than anything else. Not particularly pleasant.

Taste was strange, harsh and unforgiving. If that was hops, they were like no other hops I've ever had before.

I need to try this again, preferably on tap, but until then, I recommend against this one.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2005 15:52:09 | More by oracle

JAZwara

New York

2.33/5  rDev -43.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1.5

A: very light gold, very transparent; almost looks like a pilsner

S: hoppy, a little vinegar-y, not much citrus or spice scents

T: while the initial taste is not bad, nice and hoppy but still pretty smooth, the residual taste is awful; tastes like vinegar, absolutely no malt taste

M: fairly smooth with some hop bitterness

D: very poor, could barely finish just the one; glad I got this one as a loose 12oz bottle and not a whole six-er; while the initial hop taste is okay, it has no other characteristics, no malt, no citrus, no spice; just a quick hit of hops with a vinegar-y remainder

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2010 23:51:43 | More by JAZwara

dafizzif

Virginia

2.35/5  rDev -42.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance: Gold with a creamy off white head.
Smell: Malty, especially with caramel notes. Not too hoppy, save a little grapefruit and citrus.
Taste: Opposite of smell basically. Hops. And it is not a very balanced. Almost a cough syrup like taste, sadly. Not very good imo.
Mouthfeel: Mild carbonation that leaves the mouth dry.
Overall: Good on all fronts except the one that matters most. This is a very unbalanced beer that I probably will not buy for a while. Not recommended by me unless one is a very large hophead.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 01:07:46 | More by dafizzif

pdoran10

Minnesota

2.38/5  rDev -42.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Reviewing this after a second tasting. The first time i tried it I thought it might not be fresh. Here goes.

Pours a dark golden color into a standard pint glass. Decent amount of head, not much lacing. The smell is hops, and a a bitter musty smell that is present a bit in Victory's Prima Pils too. The smell works much better in the pilsner than it does in this IIPA. The distinct bitter mustiness that seems present in Victory beers just doesnt work for me in an IIPA. The hop presence is good, but the skunky musty taste detracts a ton. The mouthfeel is good, not too thick, but has some substance. The taste and strength of taste makes me think the drinkability is pretty poor.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2010 01:02:42 | More by pdoran10

BusyNinja

New Jersey

2.4/5  rDev -41.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

First of all, let me start out by writing that I AM a hop head. I count as my favorites, Pliny the Elder, Pliny the Younger, and Rogue's Hop Heaven. And let met add, that I almost always love Victory's products. But this one is a major disappointment.
The best thing about this brew is the bottle appearance (the cute little label) and the slightly cloudy golden appearance as it is poured. It's fizzy, but virtually no head retention. This is all hops. While I didn't expect balance, I did not expect a total lack of malt.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2006 00:35:02 | More by BusyNinja

commis

Massachusetts

2.4/5  rDev -41.6%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

Bottle into a SN tulip.

Very pale. Yellow/orange with just a touch of haze. I enjoy ipa's that look like this, I dig the straw color. Makes it look crisp.
Pineapple, peach and plenty of pine. Smells a bit mild and also a bit one dimensional.I want IPA to really hit the nose hard and I can't say that this does that.
Kind of harsh in that the alcohol is very present and also the balance between bitter hops and aromatic hop is too far toward the bitter. I'm not getting the lush, fruity and floral flavors to balance the massive bittering additions.And I love huge bittering additions, they just didn't do it right. I would accuse this of not being fresh but the bottle reads: enjoy by aug 2011, so I figure unless they're dating their IPA at a year... Either way, this isn't very good or very bad.
The mouthfeel I like. Carbonation is perfect and the body is right where I think it needs to be.
Given the spot-on mouthfeel I think this had real potential for higher drinkability in a beer at more than 8%, but it's lack of huge aromas and hop flavors does more to allow the alcohol and bitterness to shine and that makes it less than enjoyable.

Won't give this another chance unless I find out that Victory dates their bottles a year out in which case this bottle is 4 months old. That would be really stupid, though.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 17:10:02 | More by commis

redmagik99

California

2.42/5  rDev -41.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

OK i dont know if this is a bad bottle or what but this beer has gone horribly awry. DIPAs are normally my favorite style but this beer just doesnt make sense to me. i knew immediately from the smell that it was gonna be funky. its not oxidation. its kind of like some weird hard candy. Or the taste of advil when u let it stay in your mouth too long? Definite medicinal qualities. The alcohol is not hidden at all. The taste is just alcohol and some hops with cough medicine. Its bitter as fuck and not in a good way. im not gonna denounce victory because i know first hand that they are a more than respectable brewing company, and it may just be that i got a bad bottle, but this hop wallop was just not up to par.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2007 06:30:39 | More by redmagik99

Blybloke

Minnesota

2.45/5  rDev -40.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Did you ever have to chew an aspirin as a kid? Just wondering...

Pours a pale yellow with less than a finger of white head. Disappointing to say the least. The clarity is nice, but most of the other DIPAs I've tried have a more amber tone to them.

The smell is a somewhat acrid mix of alcohol and citrus - some earthy scents in there too (dirt?). This too was disappointing as I LOVE the nose on most IPAs and DIPAs. Avery's Maharaja, Bell's HopSlam, Tyranena's Hop Whore, DFH 90 Minute and Arcadia's HopMouth all have much more inviting aromas imo.

This stuff tasted like pure aspirin with a thin coating of pineapple. Bitter with little to no balance. Bitter for bitterness sake. I'm a hop lover at heart but this was too much.

Mouthfeel was too thin for the style. Again the pinch of bitterness rears it's head. The carbonation was good though but the overall texture left a lot to be desired.

As far as drinkability, I couldn't have more than one of these at a sitting. It's not a drain pour as there are hints of what makes the style great, but at least for this drinker, there is way too much bitterness to fight through to get to the goods.

Overall a disappointing beer - to each his own I guess.
I'll stick to the Hop Devil and Storm King. Victory will still get my business, but I doubt I'll be purchasing this one again.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2006 15:25:52 | More by Blybloke

SacoDeToro

California

2.45/5  rDev -40.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured a pale straw yellow with a small white head.

The aroma didn't really have any hops in it. I was surprised that it smelled mostly of pilsner malt with some light grainy notes.

The flavor of the beer was pretty hoppy. Mostly floral hops - not the typical citrusy/resiny Pacific NW flavors. The maltiness was light and biscuity. There didn't seem to be any fruity flavors that are typical of ales.

The mouthfeel was light and the carbonation was good. This beer was remarkably dry for being 8.5 percent.

But overall this beer didn't taste like a double IPA. In fact, it had few characteristics of any American-style ale. If this were a blind taste test, I'd peg this beer for an imperial pilsner, and not a good one at that. In fact, this beer sucked. What a disappointment from the brewery that makes my favorite pilsner.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2006 05:03:51 | More by SacoDeToro

LukeD23

Delaware

2.48/5  rDev -39.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours- very golden pilsner-esc color. little to no head. with a haze

Aroma - very little hop aroma for a double ipa, I get alot of grainy aroma out of this with a slight but present marijuana note. citrus peel and pine in backround. Aroma overall is very unimpressive to me. I love DIPA and this is just lacking in that huge nose I expect. I don't know how old this bottle is, no born on date.

Taste - ok hop flavor, but it tastes more like an imperial pilsner to me. Very little in the way of big west coast hop flavors.

Mouthfeel - thin and dry

Drinkability - 1 and done for me, not worth the 8+%abv

Overall - Maybe this is just an old bottle or a bad batch because I love DIPA's and IPA's of all sorts and this one is just lame. I have to believe I am missing something cause this beer is so well rated on this site....confused

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2011 22:58:22 | More by LukeD23

rowingbrewer

Massachusetts

2.48/5  rDev -39.7%
look: 4 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a magners glass

the beer pours a nice golden color with a slight amount of haziness to it. there is a big 1-2 inch head that falls back to about 1/4 inch and statys.

the smell is a slightly fruity and mild hop aroma.

the taste is just a mild malt backbone with some hop bitterness, with no apparent hop flavor

mouthfeel is light and crisp

drinkability is lower than normal due to lack of hop character

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2011 23:02:36 | More by rowingbrewer

Yesac

Georgia

2.5/5  rDev -39.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A - Pours a crystal clear golden yellow. Small/medium size white bubble head that is pretty organized.

S - Big fresh hop smell and a nice malt balance presence as well. Small sourness smell at the end.

T - Whoa big spice punch up front, to much for my taste. Whatever this spice is, it's way to much. Maybe this is a bad bottle? Anyway there is also a bready/wheat taste on the finish. The 8.5% is absolutely no where to be seen, awesome job in hiding that.

M - A spice tang is left on the back of the palate, but its an overall clean feeling.

D - I hope this is a bad bottle because this is way spicy and very hard to get through the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2008 01:28:04 | More by Yesac

adamette

Ohio

2.53/5  rDev -38.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Review from notes taken while I enjoyed this beer last night at Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in North Olmsted, Ohio. Poured from tap into a clean, clear glass.

A A little surprised to find a lager look a like in my glass with a nice head and good lacing. The body is very, very clear. 3.5

S Again, a slight surprise in that the smell was not very strong. After a few sniffs I picked up some sweet grapefruit bitterness but it was not obvious like I thought it might be. I liked the smell, though. 4.0

T Sweet malt actually hit me first and then the promised hops kick in and, well, I got walloped with them and they were so bitter that they were to the point of being acidic. This turns me off very frankly as it drives down the drinkability quite a bit. It is difficult for me to enjoy this level of bitterness. It felt as if the surface of my throat was deteriorating with this bitterness that lingered well into the aftertaste. I had to take several sips of water while trying to drink this. 2.0

M Well, huge with the bitterness, elevated ABV and even the sweet malt beginning. This time, though, I did not like the feel due to the spike of bitterness that lingered far too long. 2.5

D Again, driven down by the acid soak of hops bitterness. 2.0

Notes: I realize that the point was to have a very hoppy beer but this is too much for me. I found it to be too unbalanced.

Serving type: on-tap

11-08-2009 01:12:03 | More by adamette

joerodiii

New York

2.55/5  rDev -38%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer is yellow and doesn't keep it's head, but there is some lacing down the glass. It smells of a blend of malt and mild citrus. The flavor is fairly one dimensional - hops. Unfortunately, the beer is missing the malt to back the hop flavor up. It's just a bitter, fizzy liquid.

I'm far from a hophead, but I try judge IPA's and the like fairly. This one just didn't work for me.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2009 01:21:40 | More by joerodiii

SirDrinxAlot

Massachusetts

2.58/5  rDev -37.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Best by Jan 2010 on bottle

Poured a hazy golden yellow with a 1 finger head and some sudsy lace.

Smell was musty, grassy, straw, wheat with light citrus. Also what I would describe as a cat piss smell.

Taste was grassy, wheat and some citrus with what another reviewer said best "farmhouse, horse funk". Good bitter hops.

Not terrible but that "farmhouse, horse funk" is something I could do without. Really took away from this brew for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2009 02:56:17 | More by SirDrinxAlot