Hop Therapy
Russell Brewing Company

Hop TherapyHop Therapy
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From:
Russell Brewing Company
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
9%
Score:
91
Avg:
4.1 | pDev: 9.51%
Reviews:
19
Ratings:
37
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 22, 2015
Added:
Dec 02, 2012
Wants:
  17
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Rated: 3.59 by Tmappin from Canada (NS)

Sep 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.58 by Kmat10 from Canada (AB)

Aug 04, 2015
Photo of CalgaryFMC
Reviewed by CalgaryFMC from Canada (AB)

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
650 ml bottle poured into a Red Racer pint glass. A fairly clear bright peach color with two fingers of eggshell-white creamy/frothy head that becomes more compact over time but never goes away.

Aroma is the expected pungent hops, lots of grapefruit and orange rind/juice with a dollop of tangerine for added seasoning, pine boughs and sap, a resinous spice that vaguely recalls fresh pepper. A touch of cracker-like malt that lets the hops shine forth. Minimal tropical or orchard fruit notes. Palate largely showcases these citrus and pine flavors, along with a little herbal magic (sage?) and nice tannic flavors that recall strong green tea and a little spliff. Impressed by how dry this is. There is little overt sweetness like in some DIPAs, where there seems to be a need to provide some malt firepower to "balance" things. All that said, my mouth isn't numb either. Not yet. Oh, wait ... Yep, tingling a little now. The hop bill here emphasizes the citrus and herb/spice sectors of the hop palate. Again, little in the way of obvious tropical fruit flavors. I am getting some peach and apple late, and the booze is becoming more prominent.

I am finding this to be quite accessible from a body standpoint, drinkable and light considering the ABV and big hop flavors. Moderate carbonation. Finish is persistent, resinous, dry ... Some biscuit-like malts and tons of tannins.

Russell... Where did you guys come from, man? I'm digging it. The sheer hop resin power is top tier. Hits that sweet spot between caramel and citric/resinous, a feat that only a precious few DIPAs can manage, at least in this neck of the woods.
Mar 24, 2015
Photo of TheSevenDuffs
Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

3.44/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - Poured an opaque hazy bright orange colour with a finger of cream colored head.

S - A massive pine aroma with some grapefruit and a fairly prominent caramel sweetness. Overall, the aroma was fairly muted.

T - Big pine as citrus flavours with a big caramel sweetness. The advertised 100 IBUs are masked by the sweet caramel malt bill, which is a bit disappointing. Fairly plain for a double IPA.

M - Medium body; full of sticky hop resin. Light carbonation.
Aug 04, 2014
Photo of Phyl21ca
Reviewed by Phyl21ca from Canada (QC)

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle: Poured an amber color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some good lacing. Aroma of citrus and pine is pretty intense with light caramel malt notes also noticeable. Taste is also pretty heavy on the citrus notes with plenty of piney hoppy notes with some lightly sweet caramel malt that can be detected and a bitter finish. Body is quite full with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Enjoyable but unfortunately a tad too sweet for my taste.
Jul 04, 2014
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
650ml bottle. Nice to see more of the small batch Russell offerings making it to Alberta - from East or West, I do not know, though the label does proclaim 'brewed in BC'.

This beer pours a slightly glassy, pale bronzed amber hue, with two fat fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and mostly bubbly ecru head, which leaves some streaky coral reef lace around the glass as it gently recedes.

It smells of musty pine and resinous leafy hops, orange and grapefruit rind, biscuity and crackery pale malt - with nary a trace of caramel or toffee to be found, really - subtly spicy yeast, further tropical fruit, a flinty mineral astringency, and more minty, grassy hop notes. The taste is more sharply bitter pine and leafy hops, bready, and now somewhat caramelized malt, toasted, and unbuttered breakfast biscuits, wet stone, a further drug-store minerality, thoroughly denatured grapefruit pith, and oh so little evidence of anything approaching 18-proof alcohol.

The carbonation is pretty understated, just a minor, if sassy at times frothiness, the body a plain Jane medium weight, and not particularly smooth, especially if you go looking for such a thing. It finishes generally dry, a bit of biscuity caramel persisting, I suppose, but in the end, this is really a showcase of big west-coast US hops, rendered through a Canuck filter.

A pretty decent big-ass IPA, the alcohol's whereabouts still more or less unaccounted for, while the hops fulfill their '100' IBU contractual obligations. Edgy, and enjoyable for it, the hops doing well in aping yer typical Yankee west coast IPA wankery (full disclosure: I am said sort of wanker), and making for a strangely drinkable version of the style. Good stuff.
Jul 01, 2014
Photo of oakbluff
Reviewed by oakbluff from Canada (MB)

2.87/5  rDev -30%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Bomber- cloudy tangerine with a very fluffy white head. Nose- tropical fruits, slight pine. taste- fairly astringent, woody hop flavour with some peach. Not as sweet as expected, drinks quite cleanly just too astringent for my tastes. Not boozy at all for a 9% beer so has that going for it at least.
Jun 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by kjyost from Canada (MB)

Jun 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by jrenihan from Canada (ON)

May 29, 2014
Photo of SebD
Reviewed by SebD from Canada (ON)

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: It has a nice clear golden/orange color to it. It has a nice off-white head that dies down moderately slow and leaves some nice lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of citrus (mostly grapefruit) resiny pine, toasty malts and some sweet caramel.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has some grapefruit, bitter pine resins, toasty malts, light toffee and some caramel.

Mouthfeel: It has a low/medium carbonation with a very nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with good flavors and aromas. Definitely doesn't feel like a 9% beer.
Apr 25, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by berley31 from Canada (NB)

Apr 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Erik-P from Canada (BC)

Mar 18, 2014
Photo of LampertLand
Reviewed by LampertLand from Canada (BC)

4.19/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Russell Brewing's limited release 'Hop Therapy' Double IPA with 100 IBU , @ 9.0% , served from (quite a lot) of 650 ml bottle's purchased for around $9 each (ouch!)
A-pour is a pale gold from the bottle to clear dark gold in the glass with a medium size white head leaving a streaky lace along the pint
S-not as overpowering as some , big pine presence
T-big tasty , piney , double IPA , tad rough on the swallow at first ,
MF-ok/mild carbonation , nice big body (ok I've had a few)
Ov-well worth it's 'cred' in Canadian beer , a must try !!
prost LampertLand
Dec 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by schopenhauerale from Arizona

Dec 08, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by marvmoreno from Philippines

Nov 10, 2013
Photo of leaddog
Reviewed by leaddog from Canada (AB)

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance- Pours a light copper with a finger of bubbly white head.

Smell- Caramalts, leafy hops, pine resin, touch of tropical fruits.

Taste- Caramalts, leafy hops, and some pine resin. Caramalts and hops are nicely balanced. Finishes with a clean bitterness.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

Overall- A DIIPA that is nicely balanced between malts and hops. Overall, a pretty solid DIIPA.
Jul 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Ivanhoes_Backpack from Canada (NB)

Jul 16, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by CurtisD from Canada (NB)

Jul 15, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by Geoffeweizen from Canada (BC)

Jun 24, 2013
Photo of dirtylou
Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
22oz bomber, split

Purchased @ Brewery Creek in Vancouver - Knowing there was a relatively new batch on the shelf, I was excited to grab this one. Lots of sediment and a bit of a stale aroma :( Malty, pineapple juice, peach candy, heavy pine. Perhaps past it's prime, perhaps just a bit malt forward. A dissapointment.
Jun 17, 2013
Hop Therapy from Russell Brewing Company
Beer rating: 91 out of 100 with 37 ratings