Hop Hog India Pale Ale - Lancaster Brewing Company

LCB_Hostage

Pennsylvania

2.53/5  rDev -26.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass

A: Deeper amber than normal for an IPA. moderate head with good persistence. Little to no lacing

S: Nothing dramatic. No hops on the nose at all. Malty with an fairly strong alcohol overlay (not surprising given the ABV).

T: Not sure why they choose to call this an IPA. No hop characteristics to speak of at all. Very malty/fruity with some alcohol on the back burner. Despite the ABV, light and reasonably refreshing.

M: relatively crisp, but quick fading on the tongue. Not particularly well carbonated, and what's there fades quickly (in less than 30 minutes)

O: I might have liked this better if they'd labeled it more accurately. I could even accept it as a pale ale. But an IPA?? No way. Someone needs to buy the Lancaster Brewing Co. some hops. If the ABV weren't so high, this could be a decent session beer, but at 7.5%, it would be a pretty short session. I've actually eaten at the LBC previously and the food was good, but as I recall, all their beers fall into this "too safe to offend" category.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 23:05:28 | More by LCB_Hostage

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.29/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – Pours a nice orange amber color with a one finger orange tinted head. The head has a good level of retention, slowly fading over time to give lighter level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell- The aroma is sweet of tropical fruits of tangerine and mango with other fruit aromas of a light apple and some other sweeter notes of caramel. Mixed with these sweeter aromas is a citrus hop aroma of a grapefruit as well as light lemon smell and some breadier aromas.

Taste – The taste starts out with a bready and malty flavor with flavors of a light fruit flavor. The fruit was largely of an orange and pear flavor upfront with some lighter fruit flavors of apricot. As the flavor advances hop flavors of a grapefruit nature greet the tongue. The grapefruit remains relatively constant throughout and is joined by some more hop flavors. The hop flavors that come at the end are of a sour lemon flavor as well as some lighter herbal flavors. At the end the mix of fruit, citrus, bready and hop flavors leaves a lightly bitter sour flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the slightly thinner side with a carbonation level that is fairly average overall. Not the best feel for the style in my opinion as it is slightly too light to accentuate the relatively moderate hoppier flavors, although even with this being so, it was OK for the more sour lemon flavors of the beer, keeping them from becoming too overpowering.

Overall –Nothing too special here. The beer was not quite hoppy enough and had a little too much sourness.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 01:22:27 | More by Darkmagus82

rfgetz

New Jersey

3.59/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a burnt orange amber, minimal head and retention. Scent brings pleasant citrus and pine notes, moderate malt backbone. Taste begins with moderate hop bitterness, citrus and pine are the predominant hop notes. Malt backbone takes over, strong caramel, biscuit and toasted malts... nice flavor, but a little too much here as it covers up the hop profile. Medium bodied. Decent and drinkable, but much better options available for hop heads.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2013 23:18:33 | More by rfgetz

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pours a beautiful and clear amber colour. Has a reasonable off-white head with good retention, albeit limited lacing. Malt-forward aroma of toffee and caramel has an unexpected alcohol and earthy tone. Believe the bottle to be fresh, but not 100% sure. Flavour is also predominantly malt forward, with a bittering hop finish that has mild elements of tropical fruits. More of an alcohol warmth in the ending than I'd choose, and I'm disappointed that the 7.9% (or whatever %) ABV is not listed on the bottle - as I believe such information is critical before making driving choices...

Best Lancaster Brewing beer I've enjoyed thus far, but not my favourite Pennsylvania APA or IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 22:06:30 | More by hopsolutely

Hatchman

Virginia

2.98/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A- Copper color, light head, low level of lacing, not much retention, no carbonation bubbles, not hazy.

S- Floral, light malts. No hops. Smells better than it tastes.

T- No hops. Fruity, malty, light caramal and chocolate taste, but gets worse as it warms. The taste is too fruity and malty and not bitter enough with hops. In need of a a hop injection.

M- Medium carbonation, medium body, actually just right or better for an IPA. Well, maybe less carbonation would be better.

Overall, it's got to have more hops. Just not bitter enough for an IPA. Great fruity taste with pine and grapefruit and a good amount of malt, just doesn't have enough hops for a good IPA. If this is an IPA HOP HOG, then its piglet. Wouldn't buy again, too many better IPA's out there.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 01:10:21 | More by Hatchman

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.8/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into a pint glass.

A: Pours a reddish copper color with middling clarity. Nice head on this one, a two finger light mocha shade with good retention and texture. Lacing is merely decent.

S: Wow this is fruity. Dark fruits lead the charge followed by caramel, toffee, marzipan, and hazelnut. Almost no hops to be found here - this IS an IPA we're talking about here, right?

T: This seems to be a rather sweet concoction, with a lot of toasted caramel maltiness and a fruity undercurrent. To find the hops, one has to REALLY concentrate to find a very light piny finish - but holy hell, the hops are really put on the backburner here. It's right on the edge of being overly sweet, too. A decent enough strong ale, but I have to take off a few points for failing as an IPA.

M: A little dense in terms of body - since it's so malty, that's fairly easy for me to forgive. One of the few ways I can detect this brew's hop profile is through its finishing astringency. On the plus side, it provides enough dryness to slightly subdue some of the rampant sweetness. Carbonation fits the flavor profile well enough by being fairly low.

O: If Lancaster had called this an imperial amber ale, I would have forgiven its sweetness and nearly nonexistent hoppiness. But since it's an IPA, it's lucky to get average marks nearly across the board. Good to try, but I won't revisit.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 22:49:29 | More by ThisWangsChung

micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Has a copper color and a small white head and very light carbonation.

Aroma is quite lean with caramel malts and hops. Neither are standouts.

Taste has some bready malts, warming alcohol and hops. Like in the nose nothing stands out.

Drinks smooth to start but finishes harsh.

I didn't much care for this, it was a borderline drain pour in my opinion but I tuffed it out.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 11:55:55 | More by micromaniac129

NicoDuval

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Small head on reddish brown body.

S- Light malt and hops.

T- Initial fruity sweetness giving way to slight bitterness. Finishes with light citrus and caramel malt.

F- Carbonation and slight bite.

O- First try of this beer and I was a little disappointed as I usually really enjoy Lancaster Brewery. Probably good for someone just starting to try craft beers, but I definitely want my IPA's more hoppy. Will probably give this one another try at some point but won't be buying a case.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 21:33:27 | More by NicoDuval

cyclonece09

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a 14 oz "pint" glass. Pours a nice deep red color with a small off-white head that dissipates quickly but leaves some lacing down the glass. Smells of earthy hops and light roasted grain, not too strong though. Tastes of light grain and earthy and flowery hops, not too bad. Beer seems a tad overcarbonated, but not it is not too offensive. Light body and finishes very well. Overall, an above average beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 00:31:40 | More by cyclonece09

nickfl

Florida

2.88/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Pours with one finger of white foam on top of a clear, dark copper colored body. The foam settles. At a moderate pace and leaves decent lace on the glass.

S - Bready malt with a little pine and some toffe in the background.

T - Bready malt up front with some musty pine and stale cheese notes in the middle. Finishes with toffee, caramel, and bread.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and slightly sweet finish.

D - not terrible but lacking in hop character. Probably not the freshest, but no date on the bottle so I can't be sure.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 00:18:42 | More by nickfl

kylehay2004

Florida

3.2/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: single finger head with nice lacing on a hazy amber with slight gold hue body.

S: lots of toffee and toasted malts with notes of sour dark fruit and caramel.

T: the malts are sour and the hops also form a sour flavor from earthy, citrus hops. some toffee and toasted notes.

M: medium body and moderate carbonation

Overall: way too sour. some of the notes are nice but the majority of the flavors trun you off to the beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 00:11:20 | More by kylehay2004

PicoPapa

Connecticut

2.9/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz bottle. Pours a cloudy medium brown color with very little head. No lacing. Aroma is fruity with some floral, caramel malts, and spices. The taste is not very IPA-ish. Mostly caramel malts and breadiness. Some floral notes at the end. I'm surprised this one is almost 8%. Not alot of alcohol presence. Very malty with not much hop presence. Overall, don't need to have this one again.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 02:47:54 | More by PicoPapa

TomCat11

1.83/5  rDev -46.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

For an IPA, Hop Hog is not very good at all. I just started drinking IPAs in he past 6 months after never being a fan. ( I guess IPA appreciation comes with age). This reminds me more of an ale rather than an IPA (other than the 7.9%). I can't taste the alc but after 2 I can feel it. I have had 2 and don't know if I can finish the 6 pack. If you are an IPA fan stay away from this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 02:05:23 | More by TomCat11

beerme626

Kentucky

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

A bottle from my uncle poured into a drinking glass. Couldn't tell you how old it was, so that's not a good sign.

A: Much darker than a typical IPA, a deep amber. Also had a decent two finger head, but it didn't last too long.

S: The best part. Rich, with the pine and hops of an IPA, but also some deeper smells of malt and syrup

T: Doesn't follow up with the smell. Fine, amber-IPA taste, but not much to it.

M: Slightly less carbonated, but that could be from age.

O: I think a fresh one would be delicious. This was not overly impressive.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2012 17:47:01 | More by beerme626

57md

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours burnt orange with a half finger of head that had little retention. This offering has a floral nose along with some malt notes. The taste is malty with a slightly sweet edge. Slightly hoppy, but more of an ESB than an IPA.

I would rank this a bit higher if it were classified as an ESB or strong ale, but style matters (at least a bit).

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 04:04:03 | More by 57md

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a very lightly hazy dark copper to medium amber in color with some hints of garnet red when held up to the light. The beer has a finger tall beige head that reduces to an extremely thin film covering the entire surface of the beer with lots of small thicker patches and a thicker ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of caramel + toffee malt sweetness with some pine/resin and herbal hops.

T: This beer is very malty which is unusual for the style with caramel and toffee sweetness both present. There is a very light presence of pine/resin and herbal hops which leaves a light lingering bitterness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied (though pretty close to medium bodied) with moderate amounts of carbonation. Crisp.

O: This is an unusual example for the style with so much maltiness upfront and it hides the alcohol very well considering it has a fairly high ABV. The beer is enjoyable but not something I am drawn to come back to...

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 02:12:37 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

3.48/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is relatively clear amber in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high light beige head that gradually died down and transitioned into a thin creamy layer of bubbles covering the surface and a web of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of caramel malts, toffee along with hints of pine resin hops in the nose.
T: Like the smell, the initial taste is quite malty for an IPA and has flavors of caramel and toffee as well as a bit of sweetness. There is a light amount of bitterness and hints of herbal and pine resin hops towards the finish.
M: It feels a bit shy of being medium-bodied on the palate and has a bit of crispness along with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is quite flavorful but unusual in the sense that it is a malt-forward beer in a style that is usually dominated by hops. The alcohol is rather well masked considering its strength.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 02:32:32 | More by metter98

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.15/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz. bottle. No freshness date. Poured into a pint glass and shared with schen9303.

Nice .5 finger foamy white head with good retention. Dark, clear amber color. Spotty lace with little cling. Average.

Nose is tree sap and resin hoppiness. Not my favorite profile in an ipa but its clean and crisp. Decent.

Opens sweet. Big malt body. Sappy hop bitterness mixed with caramel towards the middle and end. Some tea leaves. Sweet and slightly boozy finish. Tea and sappy aftertaste.

Light bodied with ample carbonation. Prickly and lively in the mouth and crisp and quenching going down. Messy finish with a sticky, lingering aftertaste. Refreshing.

A solid beer but every brewery worth their salt makes an ipa and unfortunately, this one doesn't stand out from the crowd. A decent offering but not really worth revisiting.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2012 01:04:38 | More by SpeedwayJim

Brewsky29

Pennsylvania

2.33/5  rDev -32.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer pours a deep orange to almost red with very little head that disappeared to a thin coating in seconds with no lacing.

I cant detect much of anything here slight malty sweetness?

This is an IPA? Taste more of a bad farmhouse saison. It is fruity with a wierd carmel malt maybe light hops, but I dont know very odd.

There is no real alcohol presence here. Nothing other than that.

Overall this is one wierd beer. I'm hoping that maybe this is just past is prime. Otherwise its the worst IPA that I've had. Strange beer don't know if I can finish this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2012 19:37:11 | More by Brewsky29

h00kwurm

2.7/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Lancaster Brewing Company - Hop Hog IPA

Bottled: Unknown (single bottle purchase)
Opened: 03-09-2012

Poured into a normal pint glass.

A: clear golden brown with a thin head that is quick to dissipate.

S: no particular aroma, smells kinda bland.

T: malty with a quickly dying blunt bitterness. I suspect thats the hop hog.

M: it goes down fine. no over/under carbonation here.

O: This is decent IPA. It drinks ok. Given the name hop hog, it falls short in its overall flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 04:08:54 | More by h00kwurm

SickGnar

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A: Amber, slightly dark copper. Bright & clear with a fair number of bubbles rising to a small ecru head that quickly falls to a ring which stays but leaves next to no lacing.

S: Sweet with faint stone fruits & caramel malts. Perfumey alcohol. Not really picking up any hops – perhaps a floral bit. But that could also be from the alcohol, the malts, or the yeast. Grainy and sweet malts – but that is it, and fairly minimal. Not a good IPA nose. And barely fair aromafor any style of beer. Lacking in depth (especially hops), and almost one dimensionally sweet (with a touch of grain).

T: Candi-like sweetness up front with hints of malt & vague estery fruit. Middle sees base toasty grain, a bit of bread crust, and some caramel emerge. But all thin and steely. Also a hint of grassy & herbal hops comes out. As sweetness fades, boozy alcohol plays a large role. Comes across rather medicinal.

M: A ways over medium body with most of the texture coming from left over sugars. Minimal dextrin chew and no hop tannins or oils. Warming alcohol. Carbonation is nicely textured fine bubbles, but too under-matched relative to body. Flabby. Sweet from start to finish with an odd soapiness at the end.

D: Not an IPA. More a big, but light flavored, amber than anything. Boozy alcohl with out robustness of flavors to back it up. Too sweet. Far more malty than hoppy, but not even all that richly or robustly malty. By far the clunker of the mix 12-pack. Not refreshing, not a good or interesting sipper. Not a drain pour, but a bit of a struggle to finish. Definitely do not want another.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2012 00:28:35 | More by SickGnar

PatDreadful

Pennsylvania

3.4/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Poured into my DFH chalice.

Appearance: The body has a deep amber color. Right off the bat I can tell there are some nice crystal malts at work here. Very clean with no haze. The head rises quickly and reaches about two fingers but is loose and fizzy, fading off pretty quickly. The high ABV keeps the lacing to a minimum

Smell: Peaches dominate the nose with slight traces of citrus which are few and far between. The sweetness from the malt throws off aromas of various candied stone fruit but the peach is the most prominent. A very nice nose but not what I am used to in an IPA.

Taste: To be fair, I can really pinpoint American hops and British hops but have a tough time identifying German varieties. That could be the reason why I don't get much in the way of hops here. I detect some fruit flavors up front which give way to a sweetness that I would most likely identify with a Belgian strong ale. This gives way to some thick maltiness and it ends with just the slightest hint of bitterness. Again, a very nice taste but not what I expect from an IPA.

Mouthfeel: Mild carbonation highlights a slightly heavy body. Good for the style.

This is a fine ale. It is fruity and refreshing with the ABV very well hidden but it certainly isn't a standard IPA. This made it a tough one to score and ultimately I scored it on its merit as an ale and did not rip it for being a substandard example of an IPA. I'll be back to Hop Hog but not when I'm jonesin' for hops.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 23:32:05 | More by PatDreadful

jtierney89

New Jersey

2.3/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a crystal clear amber hue with lots of visible carbonation. Nice big frothy off white. Noticeable and pungent nose as soon as the bottle was poured. Oddly lots of alcohol coming from this thing. Lots of caramel and fruit bowl scents coming from the beer as well. As the beer airs out a bit of lemon peel finds its way to the forefront of the nose.

Very strange for an American IPA. Medium in body with lots of carbonation. Big caramel malt flavor with dark fruit and a bright citric finish. Flavors are blended well with some earthy/floral undertones. Bitterness is extremely low. Drinks more like a strong amber ale. Some alcohol detection on the swallow. This isn't a bad beer but it isn't an American IPA. This beer is all about malt rather than it's hop presence.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 03:33:05 | More by jtierney89

tdm168

North Carolina

3.13/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a medium colored amber with a thin lacing of white head. The nose has caramel notes and very, very faint hop aromas. The taste is malty up front with heavy caramel and light bready notes; it's actually pretty sweet. There are very little if any hops here. There's some warmth and faint alcohol esters. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, very smooth, and almost perfect carbonation.

This is a weird IPA. Honestly, it drinks closer to an amber ale than IPA. The malt is caramelly and sweet and the hops are nonexistent. It'll lose points on style, but as an overall beer it's good.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2011 00:17:33 | More by tdm168

dubinsky

California

2.42/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle into a standard pint glass.

A - This beer pours a crystal clear amber/copper color. My pour yielded virtually no head. What little there was fell instantly and left no lace behind.

S – Very sweet smelling nose. Slight hints of some non-descript floral note, but its mostly dominated by the smell of sweet toasted malt and caramel. For an IPA im hugely dissappointed with the lack of hop aroma. Virtually non to speak of.

T – IPA, realy? This is a really sweet and malty. It has some hop bitterness, but I cant make out any real destinct hop characters whatsoever. Malty, bready and caramely. Bleh.

M – Fairly light bodied with medium carbonation. If not for the overt swetness, I would say that smooth drinking beer. .

O – This is a mess of a beer for me. I'm really struggling with the fact that any brewery could call this an IPA. Its way to malty and sweet with really poor hop execution. I would not buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2011 05:04:54 | More by dubinsky