Hoppopotamus - Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.7%

12-17-2011 12:00:39 | More by Oakenator

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.7%

05-09-2013 03:05:12 | More by rolltide8425

millerbuffoon

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -8.8%

10-21-2012 14:34:00 | More by millerbuffoon

PaBeerLover

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +21.7%

12-09-2011 21:54:16 | More by PaBeerLover

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This version is 9.4%!
appears a transparent dark amber with ruby tones and a small off white cap that slowly fades into a gentle cap. Scattered streaks of lacing ar left around the glass.
Smell is of heavy malt, syrup, sugar, bing cherries, citrus, wood, and pine sap.
Taste is of the aromas with a really divine sugar and bitter balance that is in a world of it's own. Reminds me of Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree but toned down a notch.
Mouthfeel is full bodied, sweet, sticky, chewy, and fulfilling. Slight bit of booze but it is expected in this. Well done! Sort of a super hoppy barleywine.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

09-11-2010 20:18:17 | More by weeare138

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap @ Iron Hill Phoenixville on 9/4/10. Served in an oversized mug. This batch came in at 9.4%, which I was informed by our bartender, is a good bit heavier than what it normally comes in at.

Pours a dark dirty amber, topped with a layer of thick and frothy mocha colored head. This retains with a creamy layer of froth, which leaves a heavy looking cascade of lacing down the sides of the mug. The aroma is biting, sticky smelling, and heavy feeling in the nose. The hops gets things started with a dose of resins, spice, bitter grapefruit, and citrus peel, before heading into a big tangy sweetness of tropical fruit and more malty notes of caramel and bread. Alcohol is evident but is mostly relegated to a beefy feel in the nostrils with luckily minimal alcohol warmth.

The taste pretty much mirrors the aroma, with a lot of bitter hoppiness going on, sharp with spice, pine, earth, and grapefruit character. The sweetness of this is VERY tangy feeling, with some rich sweet tropical goodness from the hops mixing with a thick malty backbone of toasted bread and toffee. Resins, spice, and peel all combine to finish this with a bitter dryness that really sticks hard to the palate. The mouthfee is fuller bodied, with a huge prickly sharpness up front that then gets more slick and sticky feeling as you swallow and just coats the back of the throat with heavy sweetness. The high ABV definitely adds some firepower to the body but the rich flavors here do help cover most of it up. As this warms though, some thick warmth does hang on the breath after each sip, ultimately helping reduce the drinkibility of this some.

I'll be honest, I REALLY liked the flavors here for a hoppy Imperial Amber and if this had fallen into its intended 7-8%, I would probably be gushing about it. Unfortunately that little bit of extra alcohol oomph does hinder things a bit. I'd be more than willing though to check out the next (hopefully lower ABV) batch of this down the road.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

09-09-2010 17:15:31 | More by Kegatron

garuda

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Served up in a pint glass, it is hazy dark amber with a thin white head that has good retention, and pretty good lacing down the glass.

S - Not very strong for the style, but there's sweet caramel malts followed by some grapefruit-zest hops, and a touch of booze as it warms.

T - Follows the nose with caramelly malt sweetness, touch of floral hops, then grapefruit hop bitterness through the finish and lingering aftertaste.

M - Medium body, ample carbonation. Smooth across the palate with a semi-clean, astringent finish, with some hop oils coating the mouth.

D - This beer is actually an imperial amber and not a DIPA. Taking that into account, the malty sweetness is right where it should be, but the hop profile seems a bit one dimensional, with grapefruit notes dominating.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

05-22-2010 23:23:32 | More by garuda

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the brewpub. I ordered a pint and it showed up a clear, dark red with a short light tan head. I like the aroma with its sweet piney resin and citrus. The flavor starts with a smooth toffee malts with a hint of dried berries. The fruit flavors dive into dry citrus hop notes that are relatively muted for a beer named "hoppopotamus." This is good beer, but not a great DIPA. There's a good mix of hops, but they need to be bigger.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

10-12-2009 01:02:29 | More by tempest

WesWes

New York

4.2/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours an amber red color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great! It has a wonderful caramel malt scent that is accompanied by a crisp hop aroma. The taste is good. It has a very bitter hop flavor that really balances nicely with the pale and caramel malts. This is a tastey beer. The mouthfeel is good as well. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a very drinkable DIPA. It's well balanced and loaded with hops.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

09-16-2008 23:05:34 | More by WesWes

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.38/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Iron Hill Phoenixville on 9/1/08. This was described by the bartender as a "Double Red IPA".

A - Deep rusty amber body with one-finger rocky beige head that receded to a thin veil but left lots of sticky lace around the glass. Carbonation is minimal.

S - This has an almost berry sweetness paired with a citrus hop profile and complemented by a robust malty backbone with plenty of sweet caramel and toffee goodness as well as a toasted grainy aspect.

T - Huge malty presence up front with a biscuity malt character and toasted grains with a mild burnt caramel flavor. Pretty soon, the hops emerge with a citrus character and an earthy tinge, resulting in an extremely well-balanced and full-flavored ale.

M - Medium bordering on full-bodied with a creamy texture and moderate carbonation, resulting in a smooth mouthfeel. Nice hop kick in the finish that makes a quick appearance and then skedaddles. Finish is semi-dry.

D - 8.2%...really? Alcohol is barely noticeable in this brew. This has bold flavors and a very pleasant hop presence that is pronounced but not overbearing. Overall, while I think the "double" refers more to the "red" aspect (not the IPA), this is still a very nicely balanced brew with tons of flavor.

Serving type: on-tap
@ Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, 130-138 Bridge St., Phoenixville

09-02-2008 12:07:03 | More by ffejherb