Deschutes Hop Henge Experimental IPA

Brewed by Deschutes Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Bend, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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pours a nice copper brown - slight aroma of citrus and floral hops - excellent caramelish malt flavor balances well with the almost over the top hops and the high alcohol warming. A most excellent beer for the style. Does a good job of not becoming an over-the-top cliche (as are many overhopped american beers).

Bottle thanks to bmartin08 poured a hazed amber/orange color with a nice off white head. The aroma was musty hops, heavy caramel and alcohol. Flavor was heavy caramel followed by hop bitterness and a sweet hoppy finish. Overall an ok double IPA with some BW character.

Bottle: Pours a nice copper color with a white head. Aroma, floral and citrus hops, with some pale malts in the background. Flavor, some spicy citrusy hops, caramel and pale malts balance it. Good bitterness.

Cloudy amber color with a nice size off-white head. Aroma is big with floral, earthy, piney hops. Taste has some light malt sweetness mixed in with a monster fresh-hop taste of earthy-floral hops. Nice DIPA for when you’re in the mood for a mega-hop blast, but not one of the greats.

Bottle. Pours a deeper amber with a nice head on top. Nose is very citric and piney. Flavor was a whole lot of bittering. I thought this was pretty unbalanced and was wondering where the counterpart malts were. This was selected #5 of 6 in our IIPA tasting. Thanks to ogglethorp for the bottle.

Pours a copper color with an off white head. Aroma is of caramel and grassy, citrus hops. Flavor is malty, caramel with a grassy bitter finish

22oz bottle shared by Puddintane - Thanks! - Pours amber with an offwhite creamy head tjat stayed pretty well and laced some. Aromas of great big Pacific NW grapefruit and pine hops over a strong caramel malt background. Flavor is those same hops blasting through with good citrus and pine flavor upfront but there is a nice caramel sweetness there to hold it together. Some orange notes and a little toffee comes in too because of the balance before the somewhat bitter finish. Good body with a nice mouthfeel. Beautiful IIPA.

22 ounce bottle. The pour was a brilliant copper-orange, with a thick, foamy head of off-white. The aroma was citrusy, tending toward orange,with a slight grassiness to bolster the citrus. Hop Henge is pleasant on the palate. Flavors include orange, lightly buttered bread, a hint of caramel, and dark dried fruits—raisins or dates, perhaps. Not quite as bitter as I would have hoped for, but a good Imperial IPA overall.

5/03/2007: Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA pours a dark copper color with a creamy light beige head that dissipates to leave a frothy crown. There is excellent, dense lacing that leaves a crackle-like finish. The aroma has lots of hops: predominately citrus-toned with some grassy, floral, and spiciness as well. There is also a toffee malt complexity underneath all the hops. The flavor goes through several stages. First is has a sweet, toffee malt base. Then a bit of alcohol punches out. Next the floral and citrus hop flavor comes through. The bitterness level starts moderate, but builds all the way through. This is a well-balanced beer overall. The body is medium-full and feels smooth in the mouth. An extremely solid IIPA. I wonder how the Hop Henge Imperial IPA compares to last year’s Hop Henge IPA... 22 oz bottle (362 0558I) from bitbucket (Apr 2007). Thanks Bob! Shared with Tmoney99 at Mainstrasse Village Pub in Covington, Kentucky. 8.1% ABV, 95 IBUs.

22oz Bottle: Pours a dark copper with a finger’s worth of white head. Sweet citrus and alcohol dominate the nose. The flavor is hops, hops, hops. Good lacing. I get an oiliness throughout my mouth. Not a bad DIPA just not one of the best I’ve had.