Hoppelganger IPA - R & B Brewing Co.

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Cloudy copper appearance with thick, but minimal, head which disappears quickly. Has a caramel, maple syrup smell with a hint of citrus and pine. Very earthy.

Taste is malty and earthy with a hint of barley, citrus and hops. Taste is very smoky. Medium bodied with low carbonation. Aftertaste is bitter and smoky.

Overall, a different and enjoyable take on IPA's. Has a blend of tastes that seem to work, worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2011 16:43:36 | More by CrazyMike

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -0.8%

05-28-2013 14:09:50 | More by KStark

Danomeister

British Columbia (Canada)

3.31/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

Enjoyed while listening to some.blues in a small Vancouver bar.
A- a fine looking beer, clear and light copper hued. Definitely been filtered.
S - not picking anything up here, no no humulene, no mrycene, no nothing. I detect more malt on the nose than hops. The most disappointing part of this beer, but it might just be an old keg
T - if IPAs were super smash bros characters, this beer would be Mario. Its well-rounded with a crisp delicious bitterness and a subtle sweetness, it nails the style, but fails to distinguish itself as anything more than middle-of-the-pack.
M - solid, slightly chewy

Hoppelgangers a pretty decent beer. Its nothing to lust after, but its definitely better than a GIB winter ale and I'll sure as hell be drinking more of it tonight.

Serving type: on-tap

01-27-2013 05:57:53 | More by Danomeister

bumchilly25

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -0.8%

01-21-2013 03:51:13 | More by bumchilly25

rhiesa

3.55/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I've tried a few hundred different brews that call themselves indian pale ales, this is the first I would call an easy drinking brew of good quality.

A nice amber colour with a decently thin head, it poured well.

Honestly I can only smell a pine scent, but that is pleasant and not overwhelming.

I enjoy a hop taste without too much bitterness and this brew absolutely delivered on that front. It has a great malty taste, not too much bitterness, with some of the more complicated notes you would expect from an english ale but not quite approaching on that kind of sweetness and complexity.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this to a person looking for the greatest IPA that they could find, but I would recommend it for a person that wants a good IPA at a fair price.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 02:30:41 | More by rhiesa

fizzyted

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -0.8%

10-08-2012 17:49:47 | More by fizzyted

Molson2000

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +20.4%

09-13-2012 00:48:04 | More by Molson2000

MAB

Alberta (Canada)

4.48/5  rDev +26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'm very impressed.

Nice color, tending toward the amber. Mine had a big head, nicely white and frothy.
Good aroma of hops. I've been disappointed with other IPAs, lately. This one did not let me down.
A deep, hoppy flavor. Quite a bit of bitterness but with a slightly sweeter finish. True to the style.
The proper amount of carbonation helped to disguise some of the alcohol burn, and the "thickness" of the brew was just right. Not too watery.
Overall, this was an outstanding IPA. I can really find no faults with it, despite not rating it a 5 in any category.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 16:11:21 | More by MAB

timtwoface

British Columbia (Canada)

2.65/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Honestly, I can't say I'm a fan of this beer. I love a solid IPA, whether it's the standard kind or a super-steroid-induced hop-bomb of sorts, but this one, while OK, doesn't really cut it. In your mouth, there is a definite hop presence, but it's more malty than anything and it reminds me of English beers (which it actually suggests on the bottle); the aftertaste isn't bad though, nice and bitter, which I do like.

Average overall, but not one I'd come running to again. BC IPAs have better offerings than this, in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2012 03:23:19 | More by timtwoface

EskimoDave

British Columbia (Canada)

3/5  rDev -15%

12-01-2011 06:28:17 | More by EskimoDave

distantmantra

Washington

2.6/5  rDev -26.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

22 oz. bomber poured into a straight pint glass. August 17th, 2011.

A: The beer poured clear copper color with a small head of white foam that quickly dissipated down to a thin cap. Appears very fizzy with numerous strands of bubbles rising to the surface.

S: The beer has a strong malt profile with a light hint of pine and grass. There is a faint sweet orange smell, but I'm not sure if that's the malt or the hops.

T: The beer initially has a sweet malt taste, with a slight hint of pine, grass and orange peel. Almost no bitterness. As there is no production date on the bottle, I'm not sure if this is an old bottle or truly reflective of the beer.

M: Very thin mouth feel. Goes down smooth with almost no bitterness.

O: I'd like to try this on tap as a comparison, but as of now this is a below average IPA. There are much better Canadian examples of this style.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2011 19:37:30 | More by distantmantra

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

One of the more enjoyable beers I had in my B.C. trip. Only 45 BU but a nice bitterness, like a 1.5X IPa, and very smooth. Golden copper with a nice head, and good lacing. Orange aroma. Orange taste,and some peach,a little spruce (I like spruce) with understated carbonation it yield good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 14:21:29 | More by northyorksammy

ericj551

British Columbia (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Hoppelganger pours a slightly hazy orange with almost no head. The aroma is muddled herbal and citrusy hops, with some mild caramel. The flavor is balanced, with bready caramel malt and more herbal, slightly spicy and a bit grassy hops. The carbonation is on the light side. Overall a decent IPA, but on the tamer side for sure.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2011 04:31:43 | More by ericj551

bearhugger

British Columbia (Canada)

2.55/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a copper beer with amber/brown hues. Has a nice white head, but fades over time. Has lots of grassy and piney notes with a background of citrus in the aroma and taste. Also has a slight metallic taste combined with caramel, chocolate flavours.

An easy drinker, with interesting flavour

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2011 08:49:34 | More by bearhugger

IllNate

British Columbia (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Cloudy copper. Finger of white head, but fades quickly.

S - Strong grassy and pine hops with citrus backing. Not as hoppy in the aroma as expected.

T - Taste follows with grassy and pine hops up front with citrus backing. Quite good.. Light biscuit malt backbone.

M - Smooth and quite bitter as well.

D - Decent.

From notes taken a few weeks ago.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2011 04:25:37 | More by IllNate

Rutager

British Columbia (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance. Slightly hazy, golden orange with a little brown.

Smell. Caramel malt and piney hops.

Taste. Thick malt, piney hops with some grapefruit and lemons.

Mouthfeel. Lower carbonation than I would like. A little thick, but not too shabby.

Drinkability. An okay drinker. Alcohol well hidden.

Serving type: bottle

01-18-2011 01:27:04 | More by Rutager

elricorico

Alberta (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Very clear orange colour with a firm finger of off white head. Lots of visible rising carbonation. Plenty of lacing as head recedes.

First impression of the aroma is that it leans towards the piney side, but subsequent smells are much more citric, with the classic grapefruit stealing the show. There is a bit of bready malt buried in the aroma as well.

Taste is quite balanced, much more so than I expected from the nose. Bready malt and mandarin orange sweetness carry a good half of the flavours. Pine hop flavour make a return in the taste, with a lingering bitterness. I'm feeling that there is something missing in the hop flavours, it is a little too tame for the style.

Mouthfeel comes across a bit thin and the carbonation falls somewhat flat. Not what I was hoping for in this style of beer.

This beer is alright, but it certainly doesn't live up to its name. Came across to me as more of an APA than an IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2011 01:55:36 | More by elricorico

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a hazy golden colour with a brownish/reddish hue, thumb of head (after an aggressive pour) with decent retention and leaves some sporadic thin bubbled lacing.

S - Citrus hops dominate with cedar and pine coming through and it finishes with a bit of a sour apple scent. The hops are very earthy and reminiscent of bark.

T - Not the hop bomb I was expecting but still very tasty. Though slightly metallic the cedar and pine hops come through nicely with that earthy flavour sticking around. The caramel malts linger on the tongue making for a nice balance.

M - Wasn't overly dry which was nice, a nice level of hop bitterness, medium carbonation and goes down smooth. No complaints here.

D - A very tasty offering from R&B and worthy of picking up if you see it. If you're expecting a hop bomb you might be disappointed, but still very drinkable and would be delicious as a 6-er. I would purchase again and boasts a decent hop flavour.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2010 01:58:16 | More by andrenaline

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From a 650 ml brown bottle. Deep hazy apricot hue, creamy off-white head that settles to a thick-ish cap.

Mild biscuit malt in the aroma along with some spicy and citrus hops.

The hops are most prominant in the flavour, although there is enought biscuity malt in there to keep it from being too lopsided. Clean dry biscuity malt up front, quickly replaced by spicy and citrus hops, which are dry themself on the finish as well. More quenching than mouth-puckering.

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied, low carbonation, not much really going on here to comment on.

Enjoyable for what it is, even if it doesn't etch itself into my memory for any particular reason. To be fair it works with balance between the malt and hops, and some depth to the hops beyond the normal grapefruit punch to the chops. In the end it just doesn't stand out amongst the plethora of hopbombs out there.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 05:42:29 | More by IronDjinn

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A new offering at Zyn in Calgary
A - a clear bronze, tall off white head left random sticky lacing with decent retention
S - strong earthy and leafy hops dominate with light lemon citrus and sublte grains
T - hop mix of earthy, leafy, and spicy, with a cracker-light grainy malt, along with some grapefruit zest
M - lower carbonation, somewhat thin, finishing with a pleasant dry
D - a new IPA bomber on the shelf in Calgary peaked my interest, and I have to say that I am generally impressed, hop flavour mix is enjoyable with a nice malt support and goes down easy, worth a purchase

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2010 05:42:59 | More by joemcgrath27

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Evokes memories of Van City, that's for sure...

This beer pours a hazy dark golden brown colour, with two fingers of foamy light beige head, which renders some thin cirrus lace as it falls away. It smells of bready white cereal grain, and mild citrus. The taste is sweet barley malt, mildly tangy citrus rind, with some earthy, leafy hops following up. The carbonation is average to low, the body medium weight, clean, and relatively smooth. It finishes mostly dry, and fairly crisp, the hops doing well to quell the burgeoning English malt.

A nice hoppy, but restrained (it's the Canadian way) IPA, the sweetness kept very much in check. I liked this better than their Hop Goblin, but bombers of domestic IPA are always a welcome sight on store shelves. Too bad this is only available in the far and near West of British Columbia...

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2010 00:21:43 | More by biboergosum

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

650ml bottle poured into pint glass nov1 2009

A not quite crystal clear golden orange with a decent two finger head with a few minutes of retention and some lace

S I get more malt then hops and there's a little citrus

T better then average but not by much, again malt and mild hops with a little bit of grapefruit and faint booze

M a little creamy with some bite not too bad

D easy enough too drink and overall its all right and worth trying but not worth traveling for

had this one at my moms house in Vernon BC on a weekend trip, a good beer buts its Red Racer that's going too be in my suitcase on the bus ride home. this is the only beer from this brewery I saw at the store I would like too try some more

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2009 00:27:34 | More by wordemupg