Hoppin' Mad - Granite Brewery & Restaurant

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Cloudy amber with a solid head of foam.

S - Nose is gunpowder? and a hint of grapefruit.

T - Subdued hop flavour. A bit of lemon and a lightly bitter finish and a metallic caramel in the middle.

M - Medium-light. A touch of astringency but otherwise quite smooth.

D - OK session brew but doesn't knock my socks off.

Serving type: cask

11-11-2010 01:08:33 | More by allergictomacros

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

3/5  rDev -20.8%

04-13-2013 06:45:40 | More by NightINgale

CurtisD

New Brunswick (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

04-09-2013 13:26:51 | More by CurtisD

bluetrevian

Florida

4/5  rDev +5.5%

02-27-2013 19:41:35 | More by bluetrevian

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +5.5%

02-13-2013 04:07:36 | More by DaPan

RomanticLung

4.75/5  rDev +25.3%

11-11-2012 00:38:50 | More by RomanticLung

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -20.8%

11-06-2012 18:02:42 | More by cfalovo97

Wordslinger

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -20.8%

05-06-2012 01:00:45 | More by Wordslinger

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this on cask at C'est What.

Pours quite clear with a characteristic bubbly cask head. Just a few big continents of lace stick to the glass. The aroma is grassy and citrusy with a solid malt doughyness. Grapefruit and also herbal and woody hop notes hit first in the taste. Always in toe is robust malt presence. The mouthfeel is quite light with a languid carbonation. Bitterness mixes with malt sweetness and a bit of alcohol heat in the finish.

This is a great cask IPA. Excellent balance with malt equally represented to hops. I sense a bit of an English hop character. While a little restrained for my hophead tastes, its a lot closer to the style than the brewery's other IPA.

Serving type: cask

04-01-2012 01:57:13 | More by CAMRAhardliner

dipso123

California

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

03-28-2012 00:35:05 | More by dipso123

SebD

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: It has a nice cloudy orange/red color to it. It has a nice off-white head that dies down moderately and leaves minimal lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitly give out hints of citrusy, tropical and piney hops with some bready malts and a slight caramel note.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a nice citrusy, tropical and piney hop character to it but also has a strong enough malt presence.

Mouthfeel: It has a low carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with good flavors and aromas.

Serving type: cask

03-19-2012 00:27:41 | More by SebD

WeissBoy

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%

03-17-2012 03:10:50 | More by WeissBoy

oldp0rt

Quebec (Canada)

3/5  rDev -20.8%

02-24-2012 18:40:54 | More by oldp0rt

trxxpaxxs

New York

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On cask at the brewpub...

A: Pours a nice amber, orange/red, color with a bubbly off white head. The foam settles into a rocky landscape of large and small bubbles. There is minimal lacing as it drinks.

S: This beer is has a great floral nose with larger scents of citrus than their standard IPA. I'm also picking up a bit of pine in the background. There is a touch of sweet malt, but it's really subdued.

T: The initial hit is big and floral. The citrus comes on strong in the middle. I get mainly lemon and grapefruit out of this beer. There is a slight touch of pine in there as well, but the overwhelming flavor is lemony hops.

M: Light bodied beer. There is nothing to outrageous in the way it hits the palate. The flavors mingle well on the palate and the citrus notes don't destroy your mouth. It's a bit bitter in the finish, but it's pleasant.

O: Another solid beer from Granite. It's nice to have a flavorful IPA that doesn't wreck the taste-buds. I'd spend my money on another pint of this beer in the future.

Serving type: cask

02-20-2012 16:54:49 | More by trxxpaxxs

sliverX

S. Georgia & S. Sandwich Isls.

4/5  rDev +5.5%

02-19-2012 02:03:57 | More by sliverX

spiderwebb70

Ontario (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Cloudy copper, orange. Average head, plenty of lacing.

Smell: Grapefruit, other citrus. Some bready scents.

Taste: A beautiful bitter hoppy taste. Caramel and citrus comes through.

Mouthfeel: Very little carbonation, medium bodied.

Overall, this is a very good IPA. As a recent award winner, I was expecting exceptional. Not disappointed, but not the best I've ever had.

Serving type: growler

09-18-2011 19:58:41 | More by spiderwebb70

Matt1516

Quebec (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a growler:

Very little carbonation--thin head with little lacing, copper body.
Smells of pine and sweet malts.

A little thin and watery mouthfeel but the taste doesn't disappoint. Lots of pine and bitter hop taste along with sour malts and caramel flavours. A slightly sweet but dry finish--Medium bodied.

Nice session beer--even at 6 percent.

Serving type: growler

07-27-2011 02:17:21 | More by Matt1516

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Off cask at C'est What?, in Toronto.

Hoppin' Mad has a glowing ruby colour but is not without some wispy yeast haze. It's a bijou in a pint glass! And it has a delicate, mossy head that looks like thousands of years of built up dust that could be disturbed with anything so subtle even as a heavy breath. It leaves a lacing that looks like an anatomical model of the central nervous system.

Ontario brewers typically tend to have an irrational fear that hops will ruin their beer - I'm glad Granite knows better. This bouquet displays an expressive hop character and still maintains a consummate balance. It has just the right amount of toasty biscuits and sweetness and enough bitter grapefruit flesh and citrusy orange and lemon character too.

Hoppin' Mad is exactly what I think most modern British brewers are aspiring to (although they'd probably call it a bitter, not an IPA, which would probably be more accurate anyhow). It has a solid barley-malt background with some sweeter, nuttier notes that linger as well as the more bitter (yet eloquently fruity) taste of citrus piths.

Although the hop oil count is high, bitterness is soft and seems almost optional given the co-presence of malty sweetness. A pint strikes me as the minimum you'd want to drink; I know time permitting I would have had another. Unlike the best cask ales, however, warming didn't do it any favors or unleash any previously undetected flavours.

A single stream of afternoon sun, blunted by a smoky atmosphere, reaches a wooden, warped tabletop above which a wrinkled face is occupied behind ruffled pages of newspaper - Hoppin' Mad is the kind of cask ale that can lay out an entire scene in the space of a few sips. It is exactly the kind of beer CAMRA campaigned to keep around. And good thing they succeeded.

Serving type: cask

05-20-2011 15:46:11 | More by biegaman

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Had on cask at volo

Pours a deep orange/red colour, one of the better heads I have seen on a cask beer, sticky with some lace. Smell is pine up front, good sense of malt, citrus, orange notes. Taste is of pine, nice bitterness going on, malty, some citrus comes in and out. Mouthfeel is kind of watery, great light carbonation, decent weight, good hop oil presence. Pretty good overall, would like to try this again maybe not on cask to see how it stacks up

Serving type: cask

03-31-2011 23:01:42 | More by peensteen

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On cask at the brewpub, into a pint glass.

Poured a dark red, bordering on burgundy with an off-white, soapy and typical "Granite cask pour;" literally a soap like head that retains pretty well and mild lacing. Nose is primarily piney, with some citrus surrounding it. Fairly sweet malt based, slightly dark breads too. Taste relatively similar to the nose, malt leads the way and the hops come through midpalate. Mildly bitter finish that lingers for a bit. Smooth and good body from the cask. Medium low carbonation and a solid drink. Always grab this one when I'm at the brewpub. One of the better IPAs round here, if not completely "American" style wise.

Serving type: cask

03-05-2011 23:17:47 | More by liamt07

korguy123

Ontario (Canada)

4.47/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

2L growler into snifter. Best Before Oct 20th
Special thanks to liam07 for this one.

A- Copper pour, half finger white head, lacing is awesome.

S- Candied sugar, grapefruit, mandarin, mango. Faint pine presence, strawberries and peach.

T- Bitter pine, strawberries, mandarin oranges, peach, apricot. One of the fruitest IPA's to date.

M- Long juicy presence with a very fast dry aftertaste. Very fulfilling and satisfying.

D- I'm splitting this 2L with my brother in law and 2L I don't think is enough!

Serving type: growler

09-25-2010 19:50:25 | More by korguy123

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I frequently will have this beer so I figure it is time to finally review it. Pours a deep orange colour with small, but thick, white head. Lacing down most of the glass. Smells of floral hops, a bit soapy (in a good way?), with some biscuity malt. I am pretty sure this is more of an English style than American, and it is a good one for that. By American IPA standards this would be a weak IPA. Mouthfull is very smooth, nice cask ale.

Serving type: cask

09-20-2010 15:46:16 | More by kwjd

eat

Quebec (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I opened this growler a couple hours after picking it up at the brewery, so it couldn't be much fresher. This is not the prettiest beer I've seen: amber in colour with no head, no visible carbonation and no lacing.

The nose is really light. Very English in character, smelling mostly like a bitter, though with a little more grapefruit. A tiny bit of diacetyl shows up as well.

The flavour is , again, very English. Where are the hops? This is just another Ontario brew boldly proclaiming an abundance of hops through it's name only to let you down with the actual flavour. Some light grapefruit rind comes through. Quite bitter and with a decent malt backing but there isn't enough hop character coming out. A bit of unpleasant ashtray, though it's not too distracting. Pretty well balanced but not at all interesting. Nowhere near the amount of hops you'd expect given a name like Hoppin' Mad. Though if you were expecting lots of hops, I guess you would be mad...

This feels exactly like it was just poured from a cask, fitting with the English character I suppose. Low carbonation with a silky medium body.

This stuff is quite drinkable, actually. It did go down pretty quickly. Not a bad brew, just not my thing. If you're really into English-style IPA, you'd probably enjoy this one. If I ever come across Hoppin' Mad on cask I'd check it out again.

Serving type: growler

09-16-2010 16:30:35 | More by eat

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On cask at C'est What.

Poured a tawny orange, perfectly clear, with the cask pump creating some impressive foam and thick sheets of lacing. Looks a great deal like Boddingtons, I have to say.

Nose is bready, malty, caramel notes with rich floral hops. I agree with the previous reviewer - definitely smells and looks more like an English IPA.

Like an English pale ale with American hopping. Creamy and malty, but finishing with a tasty, floral hop kick. I went into this expecting a Canadian stab at the AIPA style, and while this wasn't it, it certainly was enjoyable.

A creamy body and milder carbonation made this very easy to drink. Would be a great sipper on a cooler fall day.

Big ups for Granite - a nice little brew that went down far too well.

Serving type: cask

08-19-2010 17:01:10 | More by JohnnyBarman

MasterSki

Illinois

3.63/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

On hand-pump at Volo. Had this instead of the explosive (literally) Duggan's #99 DIPA. Served in a pint glass.

A - A half-finger of orange-tinted foam with excellent retention. There is some patchy lacing left behind. The body eventually settles out to a semi-transparent marmalade orange color.

S - As someone who lives in the US and drinks "American" IPAs a lot, I can safely say that this ain't one of them. Definitely either English IPA or APA here, with lots of floral and slightly lemony hop character mingling with wild honey and biscuit. If this was listed as the latter two styles, it'd be a 4.0, but as an American IPA it suffers.

T - Too much bittering hops here, and not enough flavoring ones. Starts with notes of honeyed bread, then becomes somewhat harsh and astringent. Thankfully it finishes with a little grapefruit before leaving behind a lingering bitter aftertaste. As it warms a little more orange and floral character comes out, so don't drink this one super-cold (although on cask, it shouldn't be to begin with).

M - Carbonation is surprisingly active for a cask beer, but it's still quite soft. Chewy medium body that's quite smooth and sufficiently heft. No obvious alcohol. There's a quite enjoyable enamel-coating residual feel.

D - The bitterness gets a little abusive, and the flavor is somewhat mono-timbral. I'd have it again over some of the other Ontario dud IPAs, but it's not something I'd be doing back flips about.

Serving type: cask

06-26-2010 14:10:59 | More by MasterSki