Hop 15 - Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port

Davepoolesque

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Burned orange color, a little hazy.
S: Sweet, Toffee, Citrus, some tropical fruit and pine resin.
T: Big topical fruit and pine. When I was drinking it, I was just thinking how juicy this is. Pretty big malt backbone on this.
M: Thick, coats the mouth, slightly syrupy.
O: This was a really decent DIPA. Reminded me of 90 Minute, but slightly better tasting. The hops made my tongue tickle.

Serving type: on-tap

05-21-2013 16:26:17 | More by Davepoolesque

GuinnessAtRogerWilco

New Jersey

4.04/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

22oz bomber poured into an Ommegang Game Of Thrones chalice.

AP: dark gold colour with a 1" thick sea foam fluffy white head that only dissipated down to 1/2". There's sediment floating which I wasn't expecting. Check the bottle for any dates and it says it was bottled on 3-6-13. Unfiltered Wheat beers, yes, I expect sediment. Imperial IPAs, not so much. Curious.
AR: No funkiness on the smell. I get hay/grass, tropical hop fruits of orange and pineapple with grapefruit and pine underneath.
T: Follows the nose with the addition of a bit of biscuit/cracker and caramel, emphasis on 'a bit'. As with the nose the tropical hops come into play first with the usual West Coast grapefruit and pine following them up.
M: Very juicy and moist and it lingers on the palate. I get a bit of dryness for an instant, but the juicy wet and slightly sticky fruity hops are coating my mouth. Very nice. Not that acidic or bitter with most of the crispness coming from the carbonation.
OV: The flavours are tasty and the juicy lush mouthfeel was very welcomed. I am wishing this had a strong malt base to it, though, and I am still curious why there's so much sediment in it. I see another reviewer below also commented on this.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 04:32:36 | More by GuinnessAtRogerWilco

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

a hazy brew that starts hazy way too fast. retention and lacing are awesome. super hoppy. aroma is mostly piney and a bit of citrus. inviting. body is a bit bitter but balanced by the sweet malt flavor. hoppy. finish has a bit of alcohol in it. mellow carb on a full body. this tastes slightly oxidized to me which sucks considering that this is 2 months old and is conditioned. drink fresh or pass.

22oz bottle into nonic pint. bottled march something 2013.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 03:30:59 | More by Jimmys

jmarsh123

Indiana

2.39/5  rDev -42.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Pours gold/orange with a massive white chunky head. Super carbonated as even a gentle pour resulted in 2/3 glass of foam. Solid lacing down the glass.

Lots of citrus on the nose. Almost candy like with a good dose of malt as well.

Lots of good citrus hoppiness up front. Malts come out in a big way eventually overpowering the hops. Sticky and resiny. Finishes very piney and malty with extreme booziness.

Thick creamy mouthfeel. Booze is way too prevelent and detracts from the flavor profile.

Was not a fan of this one at all. Always wary of higher ABV pales and this one was too extreme. Astrigent solvent like finish sapped anything good that came from the initial citrus burst. Will gladly seek out Mongo or Wipeout over this any day.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 16:28:08 | More by jmarsh123

Lledd

Massachusetts

4.46/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 2 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bomber servied into pint glass:

A 2+ finger head. Lots of suspended yeast, big bits too. Really an inordinate amount of sediment. Medium orange golden color typical to an IPA. Head fades quickly. <2.0>

S: Citrus, orange, hop resin. It smells absolutely delicious. Even a little lemon. This is what I want an IPA to smell like. It has a strong aroma too, its deep, yet refreshing. I hope the flavor follows! <4.5>

T: Delicious. The taste follows the aroma right along, with a touch of grassy-ness. 10% abv? I don't believe it. What a great teasting IPA. It has the hoppiness I look for, and a depth in flavor found in the citrus. The aftertaste is reminiscent of an orange slice. Super refreshing. Even my burps taste great. <4.75>

M: Thick body, fine and soft carbonation, creaminess from residual head. A little wetter than most IPAs this resiny and hoppy. It doesn't leave your lips smacking. Once again, just dtraight up refreshing. <4.25>

O: Great beer. It has the resinous, hoppy, and citrus flavors I love in IPA's. It smells fantastic. It has a unique and thirst quenching texture. I'm going to pick up one or two of these before the season is over. Definitely try this. <4.5>

Serving type: bottle

04-27-2013 01:10:53 | More by Lledd

sjones5045

New Jersey

4.35/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Pour kind of funky. Tons of head, had to wait some time for it to settled down. What is kind of strange is the amount of large sediment floating around which Is definitely unusual for an IPA. At first I thought I had a bad bottle but the date was fresh and the smell was decent. The taste is extremely smooth and decently hopped up. The smell was very piney but the taste didn't bring out as much of the pine hop aftertaste which for me I enjoyed. The only knock besides the amount of sediment and the crazy amount of head is that the hoppy taste is not as grand as some of the top Double IPA's out there. Overall, very good beer that I definitely would buy again. Just shy of being elite but very good beer all the same.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 22:00:20 | More by sjones5045

Brewsephus

Massachusetts

4.69/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Poured from a 22oz. bottle into a shaker pint. Bottled on date: 3/6/13

A-Hazy yellow, bordering on orange. Massive 4 finger pure white head. Head lasts forever and leaves huge lacing on glass.

S-Massive amounts of ripe fruit, honeydew melon, lemon zest.

T- Sweet fruit flavors, Pineapple, Grapefruit, Melon. 10% abv is present, and really comes through on the finish, although never out of balance or hot. Has enough malt to balance our the hops, I get a little biscuit in the background.

M-Resinous, with a good amount of carbonation.

O- This beer is a home run for hop-heads. Buy it when you can find it fresh. It will not disappoint.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2013 01:45:43 | More by Brewsephus

evanforbeer

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass. Bottle date 3/14/13.
Pours rich orange with big fluffy white head. Great head retention and lacing of the glass

smell- I love the nose on this. Some toasty caramel malts, tropical fruit, orange, citrus, fresh pine

taste- taste follows with lots of orange/ sweet tangelo and sweet bready/toasty malt, some grass and piney hops. some nice lush tropical fruit/mango, finishes with slightly sweet maltiness, some booze, pine/resinous hops and a lemony tinge linger on the palate

feel- big, sweet and resiny, boozy

A fantastic beer. I love the breadth of hop flavors that come out in most Port beers, and this certainly highlights that. Well balanced with big, good maltiness, but still a unabashed hop bomb. Warming up for a bottle of Older Viscosity...

cheers

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 00:47:04 | More by evanforbeer

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

650 mL bottle poured into a pint glass.

Appearance - I poured this like it was my first time drinking a beer. Giant head four times larger than the quantity of beer of managed to get in the glass. Hop chunks floating in q cloudy orange body. Sticky lacing.

Smell - Citrus hop. Very orangey. Slight creaminess. Sweet malt quite pronounced.

Taste - Bright hoppiness. Orange hop again. Touch of pale malt sweetness and then the creaminess takes over. Pretty intense. Detracts from the hop profile.

Mouthfeel - Heavy and creamy. Medium bitterness. No alcohol.

Overall - Something is off about this. Doesn't detract that much. Still tasty, just overly creamy.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 23:50:31 | More by Alieniloquium

brotherloco

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Re-review. Bottled 3/6/13. Served in a tulip.

Much happier with this beer than my previous experience. Fresh hops make all the difference.

Tropical and citrus fruit in the aroma, along with some herbal notes. Sweet malt sits behind that.

Flavor is still a little sweet, but floral hop flavors dominate and add significant bitterness. Kind of a saline finish.

Great carbonation and a full mouthfeel.

---

Bomber. Bottled 6/24/10. Wish I had a fresher bottle of this, as I was a bit disappointed with it. Bottle had a lot of floaties in it.

A real sweet caramel malt bomb, which is not what I'm looking for in a DIPA. It's not a bad tasting beer, but it's not the flavor I'm expecting. Like I said, I need a fresher version of it to judge for sure.

Nose is buttery sweet caramel. Taste has a significant bitterness, but the sweetness is strong throughout, and sticks to the tongue. The alcohol emerges pretty quick too. DIPA's don't need to be 10%, I wish this one was less.

I suppose if this was an Imperial Red, it would make more sense, but the heat from the alcohol is still too strong to make it very drinkable.

I feel I'm way off from the average reviews here, so I hope to get a fresher version in the future to review, and I can update my notes.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 04:05:23 | More by brotherloco

Justin_Neff

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bottle dated 3/6/13.

A: Pours a neon orange, cloudy, body. Huge, dense, beige colored head that sticks perfectly thick to the glass. Head settles into a small, fizzy ring on the brew. Tons of sediment floaters hanging around near the bottom of the glass.

S: Malt sweetness. Lemon, Grapefruit rind bitterness, juicy oranges. Very hop forward.

T: Boozy. Lots of hop bitterness. Tons of citrus bomb taste - lemon is most predominant. Some malt character.

M: oily. Boozy. Medium-Full body. Moderate Carbonation. Sticky.

O: A very nice, west coast IPA. Appreciate that I received this one from a good buddy in Seattle. Some malt sweetness, but definitely hop forward. A true citrus bomb.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 21:01:26 | More by Justin_Neff

JordanPhraczek

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A - Served in a Dogfish Head glass on tap at the Gulu in Salem, MA. yellow-copper color lightened by the alcohol. Fluffy white lingering head, very appetizing.

S - Strong pleasant piercing hop odor. Everything you want in a west coast IPA and an alcoholic then some. Makes you want to dive in.

T - Strong hop taste right away, quite sour and high alcohol. Huge bitterness but the smell of the hops cuts right through it.

M - The head was nice and thick for an imperial IPA, but the body of the beer was a bit light. Nice carbonation.

O - Awesome imperial west coast IPA, extremely satisfying piercing bitterness through the nostrils

Serving type: on-tap

04-12-2013 02:15:21 | More by JordanPhraczek

57md

Pennsylvania

4.29/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance is a dark golden with a think layer of head. The hoppiness in the nose is enjoyable, but not overwhelming. There is an underlying malt flavor to go along with the strong hop profile. Of course, the finish was nice and bitter, just like a DIPA should taste.

Serving type: on-tap

04-04-2013 03:20:04 | More by 57md

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

4.5/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Pours a nice, translucent orange/gold. An inch and a half of head leaves some pretty nice lace behind.

Grapefruit, pale malts, caramel and cumquat dominate the smell. Fresh mown lawn shows up near the end. Impressive hop stench.

Caramel is quickly overtaken by lawn clippings and serious citrus hops. Pale malts, pine resin and slight booze and mineral notes finish it. Lemon rind lasts on the tongue for quite a bit. Hop 15 has a nice moderate body, not too thick. The carbonation and booze burn are near perfect.

One of the best DIPA's I've had the pleasure of enjoying. This and their Mongo are two amazing examples of a true "West Coast IPA"!

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 03:31:14 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

McStagger

California

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Shout out to my local Whole Foods for supplying this. Purchased on their recommendation.

A: Hazy orange copper with two finger of momentous head. Minimal carbonation, but with large bubbles. Retention is good. Lacing is stellar. Lot of sediment floating around.

S: Just a beat down of scents. Huge aromas of pineapple and mango, subdued with a certain dank skunkiness. The sweetness of the pineapple is further accentuated by the alcohol. Bit of pine in there as well.

T: One sip, and it's all done. Absolutely amazing. The flavor transitions from tropical fruit to spruce to resin quickly. The alcohol sweetness is very well integrated into the tropical fruit aspects, which brings out the best in both. Bit of alcohol heat in the finish, but this melds with the tropical (mainly pineapple) aspects beautifully.

M: For being a huge ABV beer, the body is surprisingly light. Full bodied, but definitely lacking the syrupy aspect of many double or triple IPA's, especially considering the 10.00 abv.

O: Very nicely done, as far as DIPA's are concerned.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 08:24:56 | More by McStagger

ElSid

California

4.24/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

The Beers of California

#77

Bottled Date: 3/16/13

A: A beautiful, deep golden haze topped off with a bone white head of small bubbles which retreats to the glass.

S: Big and fresh with equal parts tropical, citrus, and earthy sweetness. There is also a faint alcohol tinge in the nose.

T: There is a a great breadth of hops flavors; hints of mango and tropical fruit open to a bouquet of orange rind, pine needles, spring flowers, and freshly mowed grass. The overshadowed maltiness is brown sugar and bread. The finish is spicy bitter with solid alcohol warmth which dies a puckering ending.

M: Medium feel with that classic hop oil linger with supernatural palate coating abilities.
The moderate carbonation supports the palate.

O: I was stoked to see this brew on shelves, which escalated after seeing the recent bottled on date. Strong hop flavors nearly strangle the palate to unrecoverable as 15 hop varieties have there way with your taste buds. A wonderful Imperial IPA most enjoyed by the hop heads out there.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 02:50:57 | More by ElSid

jibbyvonjibb

California

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

bottled 3/6/2013

A: Mandarin color. Slightly hazy. Fluffy billowy head.
S: Sweet fruit, like mango and apricot. Critus fruits as well: tangerine and orange. Not much pine. Alcohol is noticeable.
T: Fairly dry. The finish has a bitter alcohol sensation, which I wish was hidden better (Mongo is more balanced in this way).
M: Medium body, but on the light side considering the alcohol. Still, doesn’t feel thin.
O: Rather a good DIPA that captures many of the exotic fruity qualities I look for in hoppy beers. Maybe Port’s regular offering, Mongo, is more balanced, but I can’t be 100% sure. I'm not convinced that more alcohol offers anything...maybe 8% is the golden point and anything beyond is excessive.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2013 00:23:06 | More by jibbyvonjibb

mactrail

California

3.74/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Very sudsy with a tall foam in the Stella Artois glass. Medium amber color with tiny floaters and a roil of sediment in the bottle. Big, rich malt with loads of hop flavors. Rather sweet with that resiny tang. Hot with alcohol and quite spicy. Aromas of mango.

Really fruity with pineapple, kumquats, cider, apricot nectar, and orange marmelade. Gets quite bitter in the aftertaste, but quite drinkable for most of the trip. The head is still piled up even as the beer gets near the bottom of the glass. A must-have for the hop enthusiast. Bought this at Hansen's Market in San Clemente in the 22 oz bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 05:56:52 | More by mactrail

smakawhat

Maryland

3.53/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from the bottle into a snifter glass, at Smoke & Barrel DC, for the bottle share. Bottle dated?

A very light and nearly crystal clear orange amber body, giving to a faint white collar presented from a small pour.

Odd but interesting and fun bouquet. Pickle brine. Hints of tangerine and orange hop aromas and some nice malt sweetness that sort of comes off like icing sugar. Quite interesting, luckily even with this dominant pickle it comes off more sweet than salty smelling.

Palate comes out a little wet with a slight light grainy quality. A bit prickly carbonated also. Hop angle seems muted with a mild indistinguishable presence but borders to sweet orange. Not much of a malt backbone on this.

This might be old, but unfortunately it's not that memorable either compared with much of Port City's catalgoue.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 18:03:11 | More by smakawhat

WoodBrew

Illinois

4.16/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

The Hop 15 is a good beer with a great label....if only we all can drink beer instead of making war!!!! The beer poued a hazy orange with lots of sediment. A huge thick slightly off white head starts and then finally settles in. The smell is mostly fresh piney hops. The taste is a good balance between malt, hop and alcohol. The mouthfeel is a full bodied DIPA with smooth carbonation. Overall its a decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 01:40:36 | More by WoodBrew

harrymel

Washington

3.38/5  rDev -19.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Bottled 9(?)/9/12

Nice hazy golden ale with a solid two fingers of light yellow foam. Nose is pungent, with pine and resin and some hits of pineapple and grapefruit. The malt doesn't really rear it's head here, which is fine. Bitter and fruity with a good hit of grapefruit rind, some pine needle, some weed resin and a bit o tea. the malts are here, but not sweet and not overkill. There is certainly the taste of alcohol, but it seems to do the hops some good here. The beer is medium bodied and over carbed with a nice off dry finish. Nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2012 05:01:16 | More by harrymel

kojevergas

California

3.93/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served on-draught into a taster glass at Port Brewing/Lost Abbey's tasting room. Cost was $1.00. Gotta love the prices there. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a one finger beige colour head of nice cream, good thickness, and fair retention. Body colour is a clear copper. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Appropriate for the style.

Sm: Fresh floral hops and a touch of oily hop character but little hop bitterness (if any). A mild strength aroma. No yeast or alcohol is detectable.

T: Fresh floral hops. Some light pine, oily character, and citrus. Impeccably balanced, with no hop bitterness biting at you. Flavourful and refreshing. Crisp and clean. I quite like it. Really well chosen hops. Layered with delicacy. Impressive within the style. Alcohol hardly comes through, nor does any yeast. Finish is lightly bitter and cloying to tease the next sip.

Mf: Smooth, oily, and wet. Clean. Perfect thickness to support the flavour profile. Somewhat delicate in its execution. Suits the flavours very well.

Dr: Very drinkable and enjoyable. Unexpectedly good. An incredible beer within the style - one of my new favourites. I quite fancy this one. Nice to see an American brewery that knows IPA brewing isn't a hop dicksizing competition. I'll be revisiting this one. Wow.

B+

Serving type: on-tap

11-16-2012 01:44:39 | More by kojevergas

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.13/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on tap in a 10 oz chalice glass

Appearance – The beer is served a hazy golden-orange color with a one finger white head. The head has a good level of retention, fading over time to give a nice level of lacing.

Smell – The aroma is heavy of sweet tropical fruit and citrus hop. A nice aroma of mango, pineapple and tangerine are complemented well with a bitter grapefruit and lemon smell. With these aromas, is a lighter floral aroma, which rounds out the fruit smells nicely.

Taste – The taste starts out of a bitter grapefruit taste mixed with a bready flavor. While there is a good dose of sweeter fruit in the nose it is not as present in the taste, although there is detectable amount of citrus and tropical fruit flavors on the tongue. Hop flavors continue to strengthen throughout the taste with some pine and earthy flavors mixing with the citrus more toward the middle of the taste. More toward the end, the grapefruit gets stronger and is joined by some floral and boozy flavors to leave a bitter warming feel on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the thicker and chewier side with an oily feel. The carbonation of the brew is on the lighter side, which when mixed with the thicker and oilier feel really accentuate the massive hop flavor profile.

Overall – A rather tasty brew with a good many hop flavors that come and go in the taste. A nice IPA. While strong in hop it is still fairly balanced by malt and a light sweetness.

Serving type: on-tap

11-14-2012 00:35:33 | More by Darkmagus82

argock

Virginia

3.6/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap in a 13oz tulip at Sunset Grill (Boston, MA) for $6.99.

A: Pale yellow with short rim of off-white tightly bubbled head with decent retention and ample lacing around the glass rim.

S: Aroma is not on par even after warming. The aromas that are present include pineapple and citrus. There isn't much in the way of hops intensity. Malts are light but somewhat sweet maple in aroma.

T: The flavor isn't bad at all, but again it's missing on the intensity of very good DIPAs. There are components of pine, lemon citrus, resin, and pineapple. THe maltiness is more sweet than I would look for with some honey-like qualities.

M: Too highly carbonated which gives is a slightly astringent character. THe body is medium-full, which is on target and light enough for the style.

O: Pretty disappointing overall with aroma and flavor both underwhelming and the mouthfeel totally off. WIsh I had tried the Mongo instead.

Serving type: on-tap

11-10-2012 15:41:53 | More by argock

Kromes

Georgia

3.95/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A hazy gold color with a huge "root beer float" head. Webs of lacing all down the glass. Sediment suspended in the beer.

Biscuity malt and a citrus and floral hop aroma. Not an overabundance of caramel and sweetness like other Double IPAs. I like it....love the stronger floral and citrus hop aroma versus the pine.

Yeah, boy. That is one bitter beer. A toasted malt up front with a super bitter citrus hop bite. The flavors are very strong and leave a spicy and tingling bitterness behind.

Full-bodied and oily. The beer is thick and sticky. Great bitterness all around.

One of the strongest Double IPAs I've had. I'm all for over the top beers, this one definitely killed my taste buds. Got better as the tongue was acclimated. Nice DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2012 00:13:39 | More by Kromes