Hop Slayer - Onion Pub & Brewery / Wild Onion Brewing Co.

WastingFreetime

Wisconsin

2.98/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes.

A. Darker murky orange-amber in color with a two fingered white head that lasts for a minute and a half, some medium levels of lacing left behind on the glass.

S. Smells of pine resin and pineapple in about even amounts. Caramel malt aroma also comes around as the brew warms up towards room temperature.

T. Caramel malt, pine resin, and a boozey warmth rearing up in the finish. Both the aroma and the flavor hit the appropriate volume levels for a DIPA but neither has the complexity levels to really stand out in a craft beer market already full of great DIPAS.

M. Slightly too thick and sluggish for my tastes due to undercarbonation.

Serving type: can

03-10-2012 03:02:27 | More by WastingFreetime

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 12oz can into Globe glass.

A. Pours 3 finger head. Thick lacing. Really good retention. Color is a dark amber orange.

S. Nice hop smell. Has some kind of funky off aroma to it though. Caramel malt. Piney hop aroma. A little bit of alcohol aroma. I'm guessing the off smell is coming from the yeast.

T. Taste is interesting. Has hop bitterness and caramel malt sweetness. Not a lot of hop flavor, but pretty good bitterness. Not extremely fresh tasting. A lot of the malt has taken over the flavor profile, leaving a somewhat sweet caramel malt tasting beer.

M. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. Finishes with a bit of bitter sweet flavor.

O. Seems to be a pretty average DIPA. Not sure how fresh it is as there is not a lot of hop aroma or flavor. Strange smell going on in the aroma. Will see if the other can in a different glass produces the same smell. All in all pretty average for a DIPA.

*Edit* Second can lost most of the weird smell. Also didn't have as much hop aroma.

Serving type: can

02-26-2012 22:33:45 | More by siradmiralnelson

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A CAN, A GLASS.

King Paddy Hop Slayer comes out the can a nice bright orange with some amber glaze in between. A nice billowy inch of off white foam up above, recedes to a nice cap. Leaves some small splotches. Smell is pretty ripe with dank ass aroma hops with juicy fruit appeal, pineapple, papaya and some pine. Some sweetness. This smells great. Taste kinda falls off a bit. Everything stated above comes out but I get pineapple the most. Not really bitter at all, the pine is nowhere in the taste. this becomes sweeter over time, yet not cloying. This is so close to being a very enjoyable DIPA, but does not quite reach it. Feel is medium and is a bit syrupy, the carb is pretty light making this really easy to go down fast. This is a decent stab at the style and is right for the price, I would drink again when it comes fresh in the area.

Serving type: can

02-07-2012 05:37:14 | More by onix1agr

rmcnealy

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Went to the brewery a few months back wanting to try this one and they were out. Finally picked up a 4-pack of 12oz cans to sample the hops in aluminum.

Poured a very dark, non-translucent amber brown that appeared to be totally filtered. The tightly laced head faded to a slight layer. There is a bit of hop smell present which is definitely on the darker pine end of the spectrum. A hint of malts is very much existent. The tastes are not very robust. The hops aren't clear and discernable. They mend together with the malts and create an marred, uneventful tasting experience. Not much bitter bite here. There is just an ever so slight carbonation to it and it tastes every bit of the 8% abv. A decent beer. A very stark contrast to the 'Captain Lawrence Imperial IPA' I just reviewed. I'm currently looking forward to sampling 'Heady Topper', the acclaimed dIPA in a can. I hope it's better than this one!

As a side note, the brewery provided a great time and worth checking out. Their pumpkin beer in a can is decent as well in the early fall.

Enjoy!

Serving type: can

01-28-2012 03:13:06 | More by rmcnealy

JohnnyChicago

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12oz can into a tulip.

A: Pours amber and syrupy with a cap of off-white head.

S: Piney and dank hops upfront. There is some toasty malt and pepper as well.

T: Nice West-coast style dank hop assault. Sweetness from the malt is only slightly apparent and provides the minimum balance.

D: Goes down easy and quenches the thirst. It does have a bit of a more-oily-than-usual mouthfeel, but that doesn't detract from the flavour too much.

Overall: Its a decent DIPA in a can. Not sure if the price justifies it, but a drinkable and tasty beer with few faults.

Serving type: can

01-28-2012 00:34:22 | More by JohnnyChicago

seeswo

Ohio

3.2/5  rDev -14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Blind Beer #1, finally doing my job. Figured if I was going to take a day off of my brief hiatus for hopslam, I can open a blind beer. Poured from a 12oz can into the sweet Half Acre tulip like glass and alongside a water and some smoked pulled pork with a bourbon-mango bbq sauce.

Pours a hazy, translucent slightly orangish brown color with a sizeable tan head that leaves lacing all over the place. Looks pretty nice - 4.0

Smells like mango and bourbon - no I kid. It smells very hoppy in the bitter end of that spectrum with a decent malt backbone. - 3.5

The taste is extremely bitter with malts that are trying their best (and failing) to balance out the extreme and generic hop bitterness. It only is tamed in the finish where the lightly caramel malt flavor rounds off the bitterness, leaving a reasonable finish. I do have a bias for more distinct hop flavors (pine, resin, orange, tropical). If anything, this may be a bit floral. - 3.0

The mouthfeel is dominated by the bitterness, but the body is average with a medium-high amount of carbonation. - 3.5

Overall, I know I haven't had a beer in 10 days, but this beer is too bitter for me. I rarely if ever say that, so there may be some palette refreshing here confounding my opinion, but this is not nearly my favorite. I assume its an IPA, but it could be a DIPA, which is a strange distinction in craft beer these days (with 8% meaning both IPA and double IPA at times). I have no guesses - 3.0

Reveal - Wild Onion Hop Slayer DIPA. Hilarious that I couldn't tell whether it was an IPA or DIPA, but somehow nailed the ABV (8% on can). ...and this is fun. Thank you Kristian (pellinore1)!

Serving type: can

01-16-2012 13:06:10 | More by seeswo

Tucquan

Pennsylvania

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

Had this on 2012-01-09 in Columbia, PA

A - Cloudy brownish-orange with a 3-finger eggshell head into a nonic glass with good lacing.

S - Pine, grape taffy, caramel malt, flowery.

T - Big and sweet caramel and bready malt, pine, grapefruit flesh and rind, earthy spice, herbal/medicinal. Alcohol is apparent but not over-the-top. Finishes moderately dry with a lingering sweet malt, pine/herbal and rind bitterness.

M - Medium+ body and light-medium carbonation. Viscous and prickly.

O - A nice DIPA. I enjoyed it. It's heavier on the pine and malt than bright citrus but there's enough bitterness to compensate.

Serving type: can

01-09-2012 23:00:40 | More by Tucquan

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I have been off of The CANquest (TM) for too long! It is time to saddle up and go for a ride and what better way to hop on my high horse than with a CAN from my boys at Pinocchio's in Media? I CAN't think of one, unless it is a CAN from the Wild Onion outside of CHI. Wait, I may be getting ready to hit the CANfecta with this gem! CAN you dig it?

From the CAN: "Sink your senses into this hop bomb and you'll soon be singing the praises of the harvest. Cruise the hoppy roads with our Ranchero wrangling amigo and you'll never want to return home. From the moment you pour this treat into a glass, the floral notes will greet you in a most sensual way, followed by the soul-warming blend of malt silkiness and hop bite[.] So what are you afraid of? Hop in and Get Slayed tonight. Alc. 8% by Vol. Enjoy!"; "Come visit our pub, located 45 miles northwest of Chicago[.] We brew a variety of year-round ales & lagers, along with an ever-changing lineup of seasonal beers available only on tap under the massive Douglas Fir timbers." The hood of dude's car reads "Viva el Lupulo" and he has license plate # 420. What does that mean? ;=)

Been there, done that, loved it! It is not a hard jaunt from the Lake Barrington METRA station and definitely worth a visit.

My Crack & Glug netted me better than two fingers of foamy, tawny head with great retention. Color was a hazy deep-amber. Nose smelled like a lot of hops had been put to death in its creation! It had the pine forest smell of a clear night in the winter, out on the hunt of the elusive hops. The lacing that had begun to appear was going to require a jackhammer to remove. Fortunately, I bought one cheap and used through another website and I find it comes in quite handy. Mouthfeel was medium, but I was not feeling it in terms of silkiness or sensuality. Instead, it was more like a rough pine board, oozing with resins. That's okay, too, but it does not strike me as "sensual". Hell, that application of the word "sensual" would mean that every encounter that I have had with Philly fans has been sensual. That was NOT the case, believe me! I did not get to be this handsome naturally. Maybe they meant tongue in groove Douglas Fir pine boards, which is how the lesbians built their house - with tongue in groove only, no studs. My tongue was in the groove, or maybe my foot was in my mouth, but either way, I was incurring a beat-down off of this beer. Zounds! The hops were unabating and as a Hops Junkie, it satiated my Jones and stopped the monkey on my back from his screeching, but I have an afternoon of football in my future and I a feel like I have been slain by hops already. Finish was breathtaking, like a shot to the solar plexus or to the breastbone, both of which I have experienced. There was nothing wrong with this beer, but it should come with a piece of yellow Caution tape around it. Yow!

Serving type: can

01-08-2012 18:04:34 | More by woodychandler

wrycon

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark orangish-copper, almost brown. Pretty dense with a slight glow on the edges. Smells good. Very heavily of squeezed oranges and some slight bready tones. There's a hint of lighter, tropical fruit as well. Very smooth at the outset - no real bite. Reminiscent of a strawberry-banana smoothie. The malt grounds the middle and a thick, piney bitterness grows. The end is slight bread and a lot of bitter. Could be sweeter, but it's good. Not very carbonated, at all.

Like it? Sure.

Serving type: can

01-02-2012 02:08:34 | More by wrycon

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev -5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Wild Onion Hop Slayer Double IPA. "Sink your senses into this hop bomb and you'll…" Eh…I don't want to do it, this time. Blah, blah, blah…puns, bad jokes, ridiculous references. sad….."hop in and get slayed tonight." (sigh) 8% ABV. Blah.

Deep reddish coloration, nice off-whitish head, long lasting, attractive.

Malty aromatics, big time hops, over-the-top, …roaring, loud and alive.

Taste: huge, again…gigantic, enormous, and….boring. This is one of those gargantuan hop/malt monsters that overdoes everything.

Juicy malt, rich and deep, huge and hoppy. Then, the hoppiness roars over it. And the malt roars back.

Unfortunately, there's nothing distinctive about this, nothing sophisticated or exquisite. Big, big, big, but…nothing special. It delivers hugosity, and alcohol, and there you have it.

Serving type: can

12-24-2011 06:44:23 | More by feloniousmonk

vicsju1991

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +27.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from can into pint glass
A - pours a hazy dark ambery brown, with a two finger head,
S - very citrusy and grapefruity
T - delicious hop bite, some malt sweetness, citrusy as well
M - very smooth and drinkable, kinda creamy
O - very very good double ipa

Serving type: can

12-17-2011 21:44:26 | More by vicsju1991

biggred1

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Dark, pumpkin orange with a big lumpy alabaster cap that leaves scraps of lace on the glass. Citrusy hops, pine resin and caramel malt in the aroma. Candied orange rind and caramel cube sweetness with a nice wave of hop oily bitterness. This is a good DIPA but not quite on par with the very best examoles of the style. The carbonation is a little too bright for my tastes and the finish is hop oily. A pretty tasty beer.

Serving type: can

12-10-2011 02:32:30 | More by biggred1

jsh420

Illinois

2.63/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

pours muddy brownish orange with a huge 2+ finger head that left lacing

smells of lots of pine and grape fruit

taste just too damn bitter for me and that was all it had bitterness and a little heat from the booze - no malt and no other flavor from the hops

mouthfeel medium light good carbontion

overall - not a good beer imo and i would never buy this again

Serving type: can

12-07-2011 02:35:09 | More by jsh420

JayQue

Virginia

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

Nice but not spectacular DIPA. Obtained in a trade with TMoney2591. Pours a hazy orange with a medium size delicate, bubbly white head...not the frothy cap you usually get with a DIPA or IPA. Head retention is fairly good and there are solid rings of lacing on the glass.

Smell is fairly mild...piney and citrus hops....Very pleasant but I have experienced many more powerful IPA aromas.

Taste is good, even better as the beer warms up a bit. Good piney hops bite with enough bready malts to balance things out. Still primarily a hoppy beer, just nicely constructed and accessible to others besides pure hopheads.

Mouthfeel appears a bit light at first. More rich as the hops numb the tastebuds. In any case this is crisp and refreshing.

I would gladly drink another one of these. There are better DIPAs out there but this one is pretty good.

Serving type: can

11-28-2011 02:59:26 | More by JayQue

qthompso

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Deep, hazy orange/copper pour into a Summit EPA glass. Thin off white foam with lots of lacing.

Smell certainly lets you know that the beer is going to be big, strong and bitter. Lots of floral and resiny notes with a bit of caramel malt backbone.

Lots of floral notes up front, chewy resin that hangs around on the tongue for a while and looms on top of the decently malty backbone.

Good carbonation with a pretty dry, rather crisp finish.

Overall, a pretty decent DIPA. The hops are certainly prevalent but don't stand up to the malt quite like my favorites in the category.

Serving type: can

11-28-2011 01:01:51 | More by qthompso

ChugginOil

Illinois

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On the house @ the Onion Pub.

Pours a hazy orange/amber color with a fingers worth of white head. Plenty of lace covering the walls.

The nose is full of light biscuit malt and pine-like resin that is warning me of a very bitter brew. Bring it on.

The taste is indedd quite bitter and is bringing out those pine-like notes that I observed in the nose. There is a light malt bill that is influencing some balance.

The mouthfeel is very crisp and has a very dry finish. Light-medium body with ample carbonation.

Overall, tasty dipa that has a great dry feel and pretty hoppy offerings. It could ve cranked up a notch though.

Serving type: on-tap

11-26-2011 20:40:03 | More by ChugginOil

BrewerB

California

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

dvelcich hooked me up with this gem in a recent trade. This was an extra which gives me a chance to sample a beer I've never had from brewery I've not even heard of. Thank you again, Dan!

Pouring into a Jester King sniffer. It's an amber/copper, hazy. A thin off-white head formed atop with partial retention. Lacing clings all sides of the glass as the foam recedes.

Big floral in the nose up front with an understated hint at honey and cinnamon in the background. Fermentation character is fairly neutral and clean. Alcohol is noticeable but isn't at all harsh.

Somewhat sweet floral hops intertwined with dried herbs. Prominent hop presence. Mild toasted malt presence that also offers pleasant counterbalancing sweetness. Moderate-high level of bitterness. Medium, dry finish leaves a lingering lavender-like floral character.

Medium-light in body with a moderate level of carbonation. Smooth bitterness.

Overall this beer offers up intense floral hop flavor offset by modest but firm toasty malt. Slight sweetness helps keep the bitterness afloat.

Serving type: can

11-07-2011 02:44:21 | More by BrewerB

Bierguy5

Ohio

3.55/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz can, 8% abv. Cloudy, dark copper color. Off-white head fades to a thin layer rather quickly, but does leave a nice patchwork of lace. Some sediment floating about gives a dirty look. Perhaps I should have poured better.

Juicy hop aroma with a big caramel malt aroma. Stonefruit, and citrusy hop aroma. A hint of pine.

Caramel malt backbone. Grassy and herbal hop flavor. The nose and the mouth seem really different. A good amount of sweetness. Bitterness lingers, but balances the sweetness well.

Medium body, good carbonation. The hop character really seems to have faded since I picked this up a few months ago. Not bad, but sort of a mess now.

Serving type: can

11-06-2011 22:43:26 | More by Bierguy5

Blakaeris

Iowa

2.08/5  rDev -44.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours hazy copper-amber with a thick creamy head.

Aroma is surprisingly yeasty and funky - almost sour.

Taste is initially very oxidated, toasted caramel malt. There is a hint of apple, then the metallic, minerally quality takes over. Finishes with a sour then tart quality that is not pleasant.

Mouthfeel is light-medium.

A mild light brew. I won't bother with it again.

Serving type: can

11-06-2011 14:07:09 | More by Blakaeris

drabmuh

Maryland

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a can into a DFH glass. Extra from kbutler recently, thanks!

Beer is almost brown, really hazy, nice two finger head, small bubbles, some lacing. Moderate to low carbonation. Looks fine but pretty dark.

Aroma is nice though, mildly malty, mildly sweet, decent hop presence, good throughout. Grapefruit and pine.

Beer is medium in body and rather sweet on the palate but not overly so, moderate bitterness at the back, pretty good DIPA overall, not great but solid. The hop flavors are balanced well with the bitterness and the malt. I'd have it again but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Serving type: can

10-29-2011 00:47:59 | More by drabmuh

bashiba

Iowa

2.88/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured a dark and cloudy Reddish Brown color with tons and tons of fluffy white head, a solid 4 inches in my snifter, very sticky and long lasting.

For a double IPA the smell is very faint, just a light bready malt note with a touch of light pine bitterness.

The flavor unfortunately follows the nose, a very mild double IPA, has a light bready backbone and a sharp hop bitterness, but nothing as far as actual hop flavors, just a bit of pine.

The mouthfeel is thick with a bit of resin.

I was excited to see a local Double IPA in a can, even if its the ugliest can in the history of beer, but this one didn't come close to full fulling those hopes with hops.

Serving type: can

10-23-2011 22:10:38 | More by bashiba

alexgash

Connecticut

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

12 oz. can. No discernible freshness or drink by date.

Murky dark copper to burnt sienna body. Finger of tight, dense, dirty khaki head. Plenty of hops on the nose. Notes of resin, pine, Scotch tape, and mint. Sugary, caramely malt comes through as well.

Toasted malts up front lead into a rather fruity-but-caramelized palate. Herbal hop bitterness glides in stealthily and soon turns more citrusy, resinous, piny, and dank. Malts turn more butterscotchy toward the finish. Plenty of residual bitterness, piny-ness, and fruity malt in the end. Full-bodied, with a thick, creamy feel. Somewhat surprisingly balanced for the style, and the fruity/butterscotch malt works very nicely with the hop flavors.

Serving type: can

10-22-2011 21:04:30 | More by alexgash

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very nice doughy head after the pour of about three finger thickness. The foam is thick after every sip with good lacing. Slow, but numerous bubbles lazy make there way to the top of my glass. Thick, almost hazey dark copper amber hue.

Hop cone and resiny orange peel permeate the nostrils. The back bone is a pretty perceptable malty biscuit and toast.

Very toasted, citric orange and grapfruit peel bitterness upfront. The palate adds a syrupy bitter citrus feel to the mouthfeel from start to finish. The middle shocases some mediocre malt flavors, then back to a slow and warming (from the alcohol) hop bitterness finish.

Not a bad DIPA for this local brewery, but it could use some better balancing between the hop and malt flavors.

Serving type: can

10-15-2011 16:45:42 | More by scruffwhor

ncketchum

Wisconsin

3.75/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served in a sierra nevada imperial pint chilled

A = pours a hazy copper, two fingers of off-white head which dissipates to leave minimal head with a good amount of lacing

S = Hoppy, citrusy, kind of faint even as it warmed

T = Basically this tastes like liquid hops, very bitter, with a hint of grapefruit and then a tiny bit of alcohol burn at the end

M = Bitter, not much carbonation, alcohol is fairly well hidden

D = fairly high drinkability in this one, another good offering by Wild Onion. Definitely one I would try again.

Serving type: can

10-12-2011 03:35:02 | More by ncketchum

RoamingGnome

Wisconsin

3.8/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Dr. K for bringing me another IPA to try out. I never heard of this one. The can is pretty cool looking though. Okay, let's give this a go....

Poured out of a 12 oz can into a Stella chalice.

A) This is a kind of hazy copper, with easily a two finger head. The head is a bit rocky looking and has a rusty tint. There was very nice retention and lacing.

S) Not as strong on the aroma front initially, but this picked up as the beer got to optimal temperature. A light amount of pine. The citrus and pineapple were more prominent on the nose.

T) A good balance of malt and hops. There was citrus and sweetness upfront. A bit of caramel, maybe honey. The finish has a bitter, zesty bite. It's like boozy orange rind. The aftertaste lingers for a bit with this one.

M) Medium body, with the right amount of carbonation for me. This is somewhat creamy, and really sticks to your grill.

O) Perhaps a peg or two lower than some of the IPAs I've had the pleasure of drinking recently, but this is a really good brew. Glad I got the opportunity to drink one, and would certainly recommend.

Serving type: can

10-12-2011 00:45:04 | More by RoamingGnome