Get To The Hopper - Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port

Arbitrator

California

2.75/5  rDev -25.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Chilled growler into a glass, courtesy of Sideswipe. Thanks, John!

A: Pours a dark golden-amber body with a finger of off-white head. Great retention with some lace down the sides. A little dark for the style, but not bad.

S: Oddly enough, melon (think honeydew) and bananas. Really unique hop profile, though I don't understand how you'd get bananas out of hops. The malt profile is simple but very sweet-smelling.

T: Surprisingly syrupy; it's not caramelly, but there is a noticeable residual sweetness that suggests underattenuation. The banana-melon quality of the hops would probably overwhelm this if they didn't carry an associated wet squash (largadeer called it "pumpkin") flavor to it. Not a great combination. Drinkable in small quantities, but between 6 of us, we couldn't finish the growler.

M: Unnecessarily sweet and slightly boozy for a DIPA.

O: This might have been better if it weren't opened up side by side with 2 Hill Farmstead growlers (Society & Solitude 5, Ephraim), which completely crushed it. But, probably not. I've had fantastic Pizza Port DIPAs in the past; this simply wasn't one.

Serving type: growler

10-13-2012 22:44:42 | More by Arbitrator

Halcyondays

California

3.75/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On cask at Beachwood I, from Pizza Port San Clemente,

A: Pours a hazy translucent yellow orange with a large cap of white foam. Leaves lots of sticky lace.

S: Very fragrant with fresh Citra hops. Gorgeous grapefruit, Meyer lemon rind and pine.

T: White grapefruit and cantaloupe rind. Quite bitter, not as floral as the nose would suggest. A bit more malt here could help. Full-flavoured the hop character is big and in-your-face.

M: Medium-bodied, soft carbonation. Resiny, intense hop character.

O: Aside from the nose, I think this might have been better served to be simply on-tap, as I've found with a lot of IPAs. The cask conditioning isn't really helping it too much. A nice beer, definitely worth a shot.

Serving type: cask

10-11-2012 19:06:30 | More by Halcyondays

Sideswipe

California

4/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Pizza Port San Clemente.

Brewed with all fresh hops.

My pint arrives with a finger of dense, white foam atop the coppery hued brew. Aromas of hemp and citrus fruit dominate the nose. Taste is bitter up front with notes of grapefruit and a bit of melon. A biscuity malt profile makes a half hearted attempt to assert itself mid-palate, but the insane hoppiness of this beer crushes it completely. The finish is dry and bitter with grapefruit rind characteristics which linger for awhile. The beer is full bodied wih a slightly viscous quality. Overall a very bitter, finely crafted brew from the crew at Pizza Port. An excellent fresh hop beer of DIPA magnitude.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Pizza Port San Clemente, 301 N El Camino Real, San Clemente

10-07-2012 01:35:13 | More by Sideswipe