Hophead Imperial IPA - Bend Brewing Company

daveytheformer

Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice lightly hazy golden orange color with a bright white head that fades to some lacing and lots of spotting.

Leafy hops and pine dominate the aroma at first followed by strong grapefruit citrus smell. This might be one of the best smelling IIPA's I've encountered from Oregon if not ever.

A quick sharp citrus blast upon first sip backed up by a dry bitterness. A mild sweetness in the background balances all the flavors together perfectly. Crisp, a little dry, fruity and very drinkable for the ABV.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with mild carbonation.

Overall is an excellent beer. Solid and easily drinkable. Really stand up to some of the big popular IPA's out there. I went out and bought another bottle the next day after having this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 22:11:44 | More by daveytheformer

ccrida

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber bought at the brewpub last night, poured into a shaker pint, Hophead DIPA is a pale auburn gold with a white head that leaves decent lace.

Smell is tangerine hops, kind of over ripe vibe, maybe a bit of cat pee. I just had the Elk Lake and the smell and flavor are basically the same, but obviously cranked up here. It's robust, but has a similar smell of over ripe apricots or tangerines, right as they've started to turn. Maybe the mix of cat pee I get from centennials with the citrus variety hops, perhaps an English ale yeast ester as well. The ABV is clear here as well, no fusels, just sweet.

Taste is pretty hoppy, big orange creamsicle, accentuated by a clean, but obvious, sweet alcohol note, which is pleasantly spicy on the finish, with a little resiny pine hops on the lingering aftertaste. Betetr the the smell, the hops are still a little too orange tasting for me, but there's just enough pepper and pine to balance it out.

Mouthfeel is sticky with sugars and hop oils, medium bodied.

Drinkability is pretty good, a big ass DIPA, well balanced within the genre, typical PNW style, just not quite to my taste with the sweet, overripe fruits.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 01:40:41 | More by ccrida

flexabull

California

4.53/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Re-review 1/16/2011

Pours a bright orange color with a nice white head that faded quickly, but leaves nice lacing on the glass.

Aromas are of citrus, hard candies, resin, and oranges.

Taste is very refined for a DIPA. Light caramel creamy malt sweetness and slightly bready. Finish has a really complex hoppiness, resiny, earthy, spicy, with slight apricot notes as well. This is flavorful, but not overwhelmingly bitter.

Mouthfeel is good, full, smooth, with good carbonation.

Drinkability is quite good. I am so glad I got revisit this one. I am fairly certain the last bottle had a bad cap because it was barely carbonated. But this good bottle really has let me properly taste this one, and it's excellent. Tasty but not overly strong, well balanced, and is a pleasure to drink. This is an under the radar top notch DIPA.

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Original review. (I believe this was a bad bottle ) 3 / 4.5 / 4.5 / 2.5 / 3.5

Pours a bright and clear dark orange/gold color with no head.

Aromas are nice. There is something in here I can't quite pin down that I like... hard candies, citrus, resin, and almost like sugary oranges.

Taste is very similar to the nose. Thick, and with a general creaminess, some sugary sweetness in the background as well. Foreground is all about the hops, as is the finish. Resin, grapefruits, and a snappy crisp bitterness.

Mouthfeel is full, but there is an obvious lack of carbonation which is a bummer.

Drinkability is good. But man, this beer tastes like it could be great with better carbonation.

Wow, this bottle was all over the map. I think it might have had a bad cap or something, because it was kind of flat. Too bad, I'd love to try it again, it has serious potential to be quite good.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2010 17:05:26 | More by flexabull

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

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

Many thanks to Jeff (Jdense) for gifting me a bottle of one my favorite NW DIPA's during his visit to DC.

The beer pours a glowing, nearly opaque orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose this is all DIPA goodness, showcasing considerable pine and grapefruit rind, but with some noticeable cherry and lemon as well from the light sweet malt. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this well crafted, West Coast all the way DIPA. There is some noticeable sweet malt to balance out the avalanche of hoppy bitterness, but the finish is still long, dry and bitter. There's something of a tongue tingling, peppery flavor at the very end that I quite like. Mouthfeel is full and bitter, with some noticeable alcohol in the mid palate. However, the beer is not the least bit hot, heavy or tiring on the palate, though one can tell the abv. is up there. Still, I would have to rate drinkability as still pretty good, as the alcohol is integrated very well into the flavor profile with this one.

For me, this beer epitomizes the NW style of DIPA, as it showcases considerable hoppy bitterness, but somehow maintains a sense of proportion and balance. An altogether excellent beer... I've been a fan since the first time I tasted this beer on tap many moons ago at Concordia Alehouse during my former PDX life. Just an altogether excellent beer... whether on tap (preferred) or out of the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2010 18:53:45 | More by johnmichaelsen

jdense

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Shared a bomber hand carried from BBC on recent visit, all the way back home to The Big, shared with homeboy during recent Eastern Oregon craft brew tasting 9.8.10, poured into Chimay chalices.

One finger creamy white head, medium-fast dissipation with above average lacing. Clear gold body, multiple trails of carbonation. Nose is tropical fruit, some breadiness, not overly sweet, a bit try on back end. Taste mirrors the tropical fruit aspect of nose, once again not overly sweet, nice balance. Mouthfeel is medium, decent effervescence. Not sure of the bottling date, seemed to have lost a bit of the hop aggresiveness from the last time I had it on tap. One of the PNW's best IIPAs, and certainly one of the hardest (other than Barley Brown's) to obtain. It it wasn't so frickin' hard to get, I'd go pour the other bottle right now. Along with Outback X, a true expression of Tanya Cornett's brewing art. Check it out.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 03:01:11 | More by jdense

beertunes

Washington

3.65/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured into 10oz glass. Poured a relatively light golden yellow with about a half-inch of white head that had moderate retention and lacing.

The aroma was strongly pine hops with some citrus in the background. There wasn't any noticeable malt in the nose. On the tongue, there there was pine and citrus hops. The malt was barely noticeable.

The body was far thinner than I like for the style. Drinkability was very good, far above average for the style. Overall, a very nice example of the style, worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2010 22:14:22 | More by beertunes

Neilbeermaster

Oregon

4.83/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Purchased from the brewpub in Bend, Oregon in November 2008.

This beer has been aging in my 'cellar' for five months.

Pours a dark gold blond, a little cloudy, but still very transparent. Head is a tiny, 1mm ring around the outside, and a patchy, very thin cover throughout the top.

Nose is fragrant, very fragrant of floral hops, and very kind, calming hops with a bit of malty sweetness.

Front is crisp, very sharp, and tingles a little bit after I swallow. Finish is assertive, but not attacking; very straightforward.

Bittering hops are strong, a little bit citric, and a tiny bit piney, but never unpleasant. Sweetness exists on the finish, but overall, the beer finishes like a very pleasant, quaffable 5% pale, but still lingers like an IPA.

It is unfathomable that this beer is 8.7% alcohol. It feels so pleasant.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2008 05:27:08 | More by Neilbeermaster

unklesyd

Oregon

4.08/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bought from the brewery the day after Thanksgiving: my only purchase of the day.

Was a little nervous after opening to hear only a little "phhft" from the growler. Poured it at a good pace to get a finger's head. Very nice color; pale as IPA/IIPAs would go, but to my liking. Not too much caramel color, very nice.

Smell was all hop, obviously, but a very interesting mix. Citrus bite up front with the carbonation, giving way to some real nice floral notes, and as it rests a little bit herbal. This is actually a really nice hop-head nose.

Very well balanced. Flavor is all about the sweet sticky hop, but never abrasive. Somewhat resinous, and not coating the tongue, it does weigh it down a bit. I think this is a good thing for a beer of its size. When it is a little cooler, you can taste a little of the alcohol. It doesn't detract per se, but gives an extra diminsion, though it does impede the "easy drinker" perception.

I'd had this at a fest before and wasn't terribly impressed, but on its own, this is a nice brew that opens up the more you let it. Well done to Bend's "other" brewery.

Serving type: growler

11-25-2007 05:59:42 | More by unklesyd

ElGordo

Oregon

4.43/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Cheers to my co-worker Angelo for bringing a bottle back from his trip to Bend. Pours a bright orange-golden color with a small amount of turbidity, topped by a thin ring of bright white head. Aroma of fresh, zesty floral hops, light sweet malt, and notes of grapefruit and cannabis. Palate is quite tasty - tangy hops dominate up front, mellowed slightly by the mid-palate emergence of some sweet caramel malt. Notes of tart grapefruit and pine are evident, especially before the swallow. Finish is a lingering hoppy bitterness that is quite satisfying.
Body is fairly light for an imperial IPA, lacking the typical syrupy feel. I'm pretty OK with that. On the whole, this is an easy-drinking ale, especially given the amount of alcohol and aggressive hops. Wish I had more than one bottle. Guess I have to go to Bend soon to stock up.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2007 06:36:13 | More by ElGordo