Hop Dog Double Wheat IPA - Midnight Sun Brewing Co.

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #45 (Oct 2010):

As the styles blur together, should we even worry about putting them in one? Pale amber with a mild haze, thick curtain of lace is draped on the glass. Bready aroma is heavily slathered with citric rind and pulp from the hops. Wheat malt scrapes the palate, while the sharpness of the hop bitterness stings; seriously hoppy with an unyield- ing character. Exotic fruitiness from the alcohol and perhaps even hops weigh in against the bready maltiness. "Why not!!"--that is what this beer screams at our taste buds. Its not like we expected any real balance at 100 IBUs, right? Only for serious hop junkies.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 23:22:28 | More by BeerAdvocate

popery

California

3.61/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

From notes, 9/4/10. Chocolate and grapefruit pith. This is an interesting beer - you don’t come across super hoppy imperial stouts all that often - but it’s not really an enjoyable beer. The underlying stout seems really nice, but it’s almost completely overshadowed by the citric bitterness of the hops. This is more a problem for the taste; the aroma actually blends nicely and is quite nice. Mouthfeel is a bit astringent. The beer is black with a small tan head.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 07:34:12 | More by popery

dtx00

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

12-26-2012 20:06:23 | More by dtx00

Mosman445

Utah

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

11-24-2012 15:14:53 | More by Mosman445

Gmann

New York

3.48/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a slightly hazy straw color with a honey hue. The pure white head is short and kinda disappointing; settles into a light ring.

The aroma is bright. Some floral hops, mixed with a tropical fruit hop that leads to a candied apriot scent. The malt is neutral and brings nothing to the aroma.

The taste is of hops. Starts with a tropical fruit and apricot flavor but then transitions into a more piney flavor. Not a big fan of the tropical fruit/apricot hop flavor so the pine flavors were welcome. The wheat malt doesn't bring much to the table, just some extra sweetness and more of a crispness.

The feel is light with prickly carbonation. Definitely sweet but the piney hops quickly balance that out. FInishes slightly bitter, not too much of a lingering bitterness which is a plus.

Decent beer, nothing remarkable. I enjoy the pine notes but not much else of the hop profile.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 03:11:35 | More by Gmann

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A-Pours a cloudy orange color. Body is supremely illuminated. It absolutely glows. Head dies off to near nonexistence, but it leaves a thick coating of fuzz along the glass.

S-Significant wheat character with a bright candied orange aroma. Zesty. The wheat is very concentrated. The hops are one-sided. The nose has two blatant sides to it and little in between.

T-Sweetness sets in quickly. Sweet cereal. Caramel glaze. The sweet wheat then gets ear-holed by a fiery gust of bitterness. This brew is very bitter. The actual hop flavors are mostly sweet and citrusy. Doesn't offer a ton of depth. Bittersweet to the end.

M-Carbonation chops away at my taste buds. Intense dryness. Even more intense bitterness. Not exceptionally high in drinkability.

O/D-My first from Midnight Sun. Far from blown away. Will obviously try as many as I can from Midnight Sun, but this wasn't the best first kiss so to speak. Those 100 IBUs really bend your flavor receptors over. Still, I am quite happy to have tried it.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 04:25:23 | More by VelvetExtract

brentk56

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy goldenrod with a suitably impressive head (I would expect no less from the wheat) that leaves clumps of lacing behind

Smell: Citrusy, though the aromatics are less grapefruit and more in the direction of tropical fruit, particularly pineapple

Taste: Sweet tropical fruit and citrus, at the outset, with pineapple, papaya and touches of grapefruit, lime and lemon; a hint of wheat bread underneath, but I never would have guessed it had I not known of the malt bill; finishes all hops, all the time

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation

Overall: Hard to distinguish this as a Double Wheat IPA from a classic DIPA, though if you look for it, you can find the wheat; still, quite tasty

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 22:11:59 | More by brentk56

t0rin0

California

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

10-29-2012 01:03:39 | More by t0rin0

thebouch01

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +18.7%

10-08-2012 02:25:32 | More by thebouch01

SPRichard

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

10-03-2012 00:52:33 | More by SPRichard

rudzud

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Lakersfan for the trade. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

A - Pours a crystal clear coppery orange with a massive three finger creamy, sudsy head that slowly, very slowly fades to leave sticky lacing and a thick creamy blanket. Wonderful..

S - Very light orange aromas along with some sweet malts and wheat. Nothing crazy here, just run of the mill.

T - Lots of up front bitter citrus (orange) here with more strong wheat. Hops and wheat definitely outshine the The finish is nicely intense orange peel bitterness and flavor with strong orange marmalade notes.

M - Mouthfeel is quite nice. Alcohol hidden well, medium bodied with lower carbonation.

O - Overall this wasnt a bad beer. Good orange flavours and finish. The aroma was rather plain and pedestrian though.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 21:31:24 | More by rudzud

CoryR

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

07-22-2012 17:22:55 | More by CoryR

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Growler poured into a pint glass.

A - Pours a dark slightly cloudy orange with a smaller off-white head that is gone pretty quickly.

S - Citrusy and malty. Not much to grab your attention.

T - Citrus and malty again. More orange in the finish.

D - Good carbonation and a heavier body. A touch bitter.

O - A nice little IPA. Nothing really stands out, which is a shame.

Serving type: growler

07-19-2012 03:44:47 | More by HuskyinPDX

mfavoino

Washington

3.83/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance: Hazy golden orange with a big head that receded quickly. Lots of lacing along the sides of the glass.

Smell: Strong wheat aroma with citrus hop aromas. Orange zest is distinct.

Taste: Citrus flavors quickly overtaken by a wheat and bready malt character. Finishes with a lingering hop bitterness that gives me a bit of earthiness and grassy flavor.

Mouthfeel: Medium mouthfeel with adequate carbonation. Hops give a fairly significant bitterness to the mouthfeel.

Overall: An interesting combination of styles that I enjoyed as a thirst quenching, but still flavorful and higher abv beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2012 03:56:52 | More by mfavoino

baybassboy

California

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

03-18-2012 04:47:34 | More by baybassboy

seeswo

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%

01-27-2012 01:51:31 | More by seeswo

dbmernin83

California

3.88/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A wheat IPA? awesome!
Pours a hazy golden straw with fizzy head and good lacing.
Big citrusy hops on the nose. Orange and lemon come through.
Nice hop bitterness tamed and highlighted by the wheat at the same time. The wheat pushes the citrus notes forward and mutes everything else.
Big sudsy mouth, but still light and refreshing, especially for a DIPA.
I shouldn't be drinking this in January, It should be the middle of July. A great summer DIPA this is.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2012 10:14:39 | More by dbmernin83

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.98/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle, snagged at The Hoppy Brewer in Gresham, OR a few weeks ago. Notching on the right side of the label is befuddling: strikes at both 'J'(uly) and 'A'(ugust), Week '4'. Poured to a pint glass.

A: Butterscotch-y golden hue, a fine fuzziness that enlarges and distorts fingers through glass. Not much carbonation, a few large ones percolate here and there. Not quite a finger's worth of sudsy white cream on top; sturdy coating

S: Huge aroma, citrus (orange!) almost explodes from the glass. Pithy scents and a healthy dash of dry spice. Sweeter and more 'tropical' with some warming and familiarization.

Cute-sy label, a grinning cartoon pooch wearing sunglasses, tongue lolling. A hop cone centered in the 'o' in 'Hop', a paw print in the 'o' in 'Dog'.

T: Like the aroma, lots of citrus in the mouth: zesty lemon and tangier grapefruit. Spiced bread, strong lemongrass and varied herbs. I guess a beer called 'Hop Dog' might be expected to err on the side of hoppiness, but ~wow~ this is more imbalance than I typically like. Flavorful certainly, but not quite equitable on the hop/malt scale.

M: On the smoother side, with less carbonation than may have been present a month or three ago. No loss of mouthfeel whatsoever where it really counts - lasting bitterness, medium weight (bordering on 'thick'), hints only of the hearty 8% weight. A thirst-quenching DIPA? Almost...

O: Tasty DIPA, hoppy bitterness has held up wonderfully, even 5 or so months since bottling. Likable for me, not quite lovable. Midnight Sun continues to do stellar stuff; an interesting twist on a strong IPA, thanks to a great big 'wheat' backbone. Nicely done.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 03:33:19 | More by msubulldog25

AlaskanYoung

Alaska

2/5  rDev -47.2%

12-05-2011 10:04:50 | More by AlaskanYoung

twelveinches

Washington

4/5  rDev +5.5%

12-04-2011 06:55:14 | More by twelveinches

djrn2

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +5.5%

11-30-2011 18:01:05 | More by djrn2

projhex

California

4.25/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap @ The Davis Beer Shoppe, Davis CA.

A: Straw colored and cloudy. Not as cloudy as a hefeweizen, but nearly so. A full two finger head which you could float a bottle cap on top if you were so inclined.

S: Hop forward. Smells like a fresh hop beer. Very citrusy.

T: Citrus and hops. Tastes like a grapefruit and lemon mash-up. Possibly the most citrusy beer I've had outside of a herfewizen containing lemons. Not boozy or bitter.

M: Foamy and malty. A fairly heavy mouthfeel similar to most unfiltered hefeweizens.

O: A great IIPA. I would put this on part with most light IIPAs currently on the market. It's not a 'big beer,' but goes down easy with a lot of flavor. Exactly what I look for in a west-coast IPA, even if it's a wheat beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-28-2011 19:21:38 | More by projhex

jenray

Texas

3/5  rDev -20.8%

11-28-2011 03:59:07 | More by jenray

cbutova

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottled week 4 of August.

A- Very cloudy yeast/wheat filled ale with a fluffy white head. About two fingers in size with pretty good retention. Some fine spots of lace.

S-Hop forward but not a huge blast of aroma. Comes off with nice peach, pineapple, tropical fruit and general citrus fruit feel. A bit of grainy toast malt and caramel.

T- Follows the nose pretty nicely with hops lending peach, citrus fruit, tropical fruit and pine. Malt backbone is there with light caramel and a somewhat sweet grain feel. Wheat bread flavors round it off.

MF- Very creamy feel, wheat worked well with a smooth high foamy carbonation. Finishes nice and bitter for a IIPA.

Solid Double IPA with a nice mouthfeel from the wheat. Good fruit feel and a nice clean bitterness to finish it out.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 18:52:38 | More by cbutova

Chico1985

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bomber shared by cbutova, mad props to him, finally trying some Midnight Sun. This was bottled in August.

Pours hazy orange, white head retains well as a ring and good cap, some lacing.

Slightly weak scent, some herbal and grapefruit, lots of malt.

Taste is much better, grapefruit, grassy and herbal hops, some citrus. Good hop flavor but bitterness is restrained big time thanks to the "double wheat", but it makes for a nice malty backbone - big wheat and caramel.

Good full mouthfeel, lots of malt but good flavors coming from both sides, no booze taste.

Good stuff overall, big malt backbone as expected but nice flavor, pretty easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2011 22:59:08 | More by Chico1985