Hop Warrior
Ice Harbor Brewing Company

Hop WarriorHop Warrior
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From:
Ice Harbor Brewing Company
 
Washington, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #2,043
ABV:
9%
Score:
83
Ranked #23,917
Avg:
3.56 | pDev: 10.96%
Reviews:
11
Ratings:
19
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 02, 2024
Added:
Mar 07, 2007
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
The hop lover's dream come true! If you're not a real hophead, this beer is not for you. A double IPA dry hopped with Warrior and Cascade hops.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.57/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
I also concur that this beetr deserves better. Nice pour with thick two finger head and wonderful hoppy nose. Slightly hazy light amber body, initial hops burst of flavor which lesads to a somewhat metallic finish. Wonderfully smooth for an IIPA.
Jan 02, 2024
 
Rated: 3.87 by Muss42 from Michigan

Aug 09, 2017
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

3.59/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Poured from 22oz bomber into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: rich orange hue with a moderate-to-thick haze and a finger of frothy tan foam atop. I think it's quite attractive.

Smell: bright and citrusy hops atop a rather sweet malt base. The hops are good, but a little one-dimensional.

Taste: very sweet with citrusy, green, grassy hops and rather a lot of alcoholic heat. The hop profile is not exotic, but it's workable; decent, but a bit too sweet and hot for my taste.

Mouthfeel: medium-rich body with a good level of carbonation and rather a good creaminess indeed.

Overall: the alcohol and sweetness are just too far forward to be a super drinkable beer for me.
Jun 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by rrock44 from Washington

Jun 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by stript from Washington

Jun 08, 2014
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.54/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Attractive dark gold color in the Stella Artois goblet with a decent foam and lacing. Resiny aroma and big grapefruit peel with some fruit in the nose. Quite sharp and spritzy in the mouth with some acidity.

This is pretty interesting with a wealth of hop flavors and moderate bitterness. The brewery notes say it's made with Columbus and Northern Brewer hops and dry-hopped with Cascade and Amarillo. It's a mouthful. Modest malt that provides some sweetness and substance. The tangy scorched pineapple flavor and an herbal hop flavor are intensified by the high octane ABV. Grapefruit finish.

Sharp but a little malty, and plenty of juice. Long bitter aftertaste is From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Central Market (Shoreline) in Seattle.
Apr 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by rab53 from Washington

Jan 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Rand_ale_Thor from Wisconsin

Dec 03, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by johnnyboy76 from Oregon

May 20, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by weerezboy from Washington

Mar 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by strongaf from Washington

Jan 17, 2012
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The Hop Warrior from Ice Harbor is a very tricky IPA. The beer pours a hazy straw color with almost no head...but what is there is lacing. The smell is mostly a tangerine/bitter citrus. The taste starts with a fresh hop...then turns to a sharp citrus to a wierd twang then to a bitter spice. The mouthfeel is full with minimal carbonation. Overall its a big beer....only one for me please.
Nov 25, 2011
Photo of beerman207
Reviewed by beerman207 from Kentucky

3.7/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Another selection from Seattle.

A: Cloudy Orange- white Fluffy head -No lacing

S: Hops, orange zest, caramel apple. Malt

T: orange starts out and hops bitterness hits soon often. A bit of malt in the Finish

M: Dry and medium carbonation

O: this is a decent offering. Good Sumner IPA
May 19, 2011
Photo of woemad
Reviewed by woemad from Washington

3.45/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Big-ass 22oz bottle purchased at Yoke's in the Kennewick highlands. According to the label, this has now dropped to 8%abv. This beer is new to me in bottled form, but I've had this many times on tap at the IH brewpub, and have scuttled out of there more than once with a growler of it as well. The label seems a bit more "industrial" looking than the labels of IH's other beers. Sadly, there's no freshness date on it, which should be a requirement for all hoppy beers.

Poured a hazy golden amber color, with a big, white bubbly head that took its time settling, and left lots of lace.

Big, citrus hops are up front in the nose. Smells like Amarillo hops were used liberally.

The taste is dominated by hops that are pretty up front, with a combined bitter and fruity blast to the tastebuds. From that point, however, there's not much else going on. Seems like more of a malt backbone is needed. Big pucker fractor at the swallow, its pretty dry at the end.

Medium bodied, with a drier, more prickly mouthfeel than I was expecting. I had thought to encounter an oily, hop-resiny feel, but that's not the case.

A mediocre Imperial IPA, and one that does not match my experiences with this beer when I've had it on-tap. This may be too old. I'll continue to drink it fresh when I visit the brewpub whenever I'm in Kennewick, but I'll be a lot more hesitant to get another bottle of this.
Jan 10, 2011
Photo of Flightoficarus
Reviewed by Flightoficarus from Washington

3.52/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Seems like I've been on a local beer buying kick lately, so...here goes trying one of them!

Side note: The bottle lists this beer at 8.1%, even though it says 9% here.

A - Pours a cloudy, slightly dull, orange-ish gold hue, with a somewhat small head, leaving moderate lacing.

S - Smell is of caramel drizzled mangos, pineapple, and piney hops. Not quite as strong as I was expecting, but pleasing nonetheless.

T - Taste is of semi-bready caramel malts, with mixed citrus fruits (mostly mango, orange), and a strong, piney bitterness that lingers. This will most undoubtedly please die-hard hop fans, but I felt it could use a bit more balance and flavor. Not bad though!

M - This beer is medium-bodied, with modest carbonation, and a slick, oily feel that complements the bready malt texture.

D - I do gotta say though, although this stuff is pretty potent, it's reasonably quaffable too.

Overall - Not a bad DIPA, but not a remarkable one either. The name certainly isn't false advertising though. Die hard hop fans looking for a strongly bitter ale will probably love this stuff. Overall, it's an ok DIPA that I wouldn't turn down. But in the PNW where there are many better DIPA options available, it's hard to make this one a go-to choice.
Dec 15, 2010
Photo of jdense
Reviewed by jdense from Oregon

3.6/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
22 oz. bottle purchased at brewery shared with local beer buddy 11.29.10.

One finger billowing white head, fairly quick dissipation with slightly above average lacing. Hazy orangish amber body, not sure if unfiltered or bottle conditioned, the glass I had at the brewery over lunch was much clearer, no visible carbonation. Nose is primarily mild citrus and some caramel/crystal malts for balance. Taste mirrors nose, distinct citrus aromas, mild grapefruit, some sweetness in middle, leading to a lingering noble bitter finish. Not much complexity to hop profile re only using one (Warrior) variety. Mouthfeel is medium, not much effervescence. Drinkability is ok, but I was surprised at the lack of complexity of the bottled version. Wonder if this has been sitting around a bit too long and the hops have faded. I prefer the tap version.
Nov 30, 2010
Photo of RJLarse
Reviewed by RJLarse from Washington

3/5  rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
On tap at the marina brew pup, served in a small (12 oz) glass due to the ABV which according to the waitress was "almost 10."

Pours a rich gold color and is hazy. The glass is topped with a small creamy white head.

Smell is faint and predictably piney.

Taste is a strong hop flavor and not much else. There is no malt presence to speak of. A real bitter heat sensation.

Mouthfeel is mildly carbonated and a bit watery. Lingering bitter aftertaste.

Drinkability is just average. It's over priced at $5.00 a glass. I'd skip this one in the future.
Oct 12, 2008
Photo of dnichols
Reviewed by dnichols from Washington

2.44/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
We sampled a couple of ounces a few weeks ago when touring the brewery...now that it has aged and is on tap we returned to the brewery pub to properly sample it.

A: It poured a bright yellow with a ting of ruby, a bone-white head and nice lacing.

S: WOW!! The floral hops pop from the glass and punch you in the nose. Based on the aroma alone it deserves the imperial designation. The massive hop head makes detecting the sweet malts difficult if not impossible. It is very one dimensional...even if by intent its limited complexity is a downer.

T: Hops, hops and more hops. This brew is a pop heads delight. It is aggressively bitter, has a biting spice flavor and when ever any sweetnesses peaks through it is killed by the army of hops deployed in earning its name. It reminds me of a recent trip to Toppeninsh, WA to view the hop harvest. I popped a hop flower in my mouth...BAM...I was in hop hell. Over the top.

M: Light body with a bitter hoppy front, middle and end. Warm, bitter and sour aftertaste.

D: One and done. I am less than impressed.
Nov 06, 2007
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

4.15/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Presumably Hop Warrior uses Warrior hops, yes? Either way, this seasonal imperial is brewed to unapologetic extremes with a bright hop aroma that is floral, spicy, and potent. Ice Harbor deploys the Warrior in a stemmed wine glass that soon racks up a sizable measure of tightly clinging lace, though the body is nearly devoid of rising bubbles.

This amber-gold double IPA is a virtual hops war in a glass, yet the body doesn’t suffer from astringency or excess tannins and a modest register of sugar residues suggests Warrior must have started with a gargantuan OG. An intense, smack-you-in-the-face citric flavor makes you wish for a chaser of fresh water. But don’t let that hold you back. It takes a warrior to face The Warrior. Just proceed with caution.
Oct 22, 2007
Hop Warrior from Ice Harbor Brewing Company
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 19 ratings