Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA

Pours a gorgeouse clear caramel amber color, with a medium, frothy off white head. Smells of musty over the top hops and mild citrus. Hints of spice are evident as well. The flavor is actually much bigger in its malt character, but really too much bitterness and not enough balance. The hops were overly abundant. Reallyjust too much, and not very crisp. Just a bitter mess in my opinion. Kind of disappointed.

Pours a dark copper in color. Slight hoppy smell in the nose. This has a huge malt backbone to support the hops. Quite possibly the maltiest IIPA that I’ve had. Very bready and bittering in the flavor. Decent, but I prefer more Citrusy and juicy flavors.

22oz, very well balanced, beautiful color. Very good beer. Drank it slightly warm to get the full effect, highly recommend.

Light copper in color with a creamy head of fine bubbles. The nose was subdued though the palate did show more. A balanced midpalate that shows almost as much malt as hops until the bitter finish. Overall quite nice and balanced and did not come off as an "Imperial".

ON Tap @ the Brass in Portland. Truly great stuff, very nicely balanced and with a thick feel. A great summer beer.

From a 22 oz bottle this poured a copper to amber with a moderate white head and light lacing. Nose of citrus and floral hop. Mouthfeel is fizzy and the flavor is caramel malts and citrus hops. Alcohol burn kind of present in the finish.

Bottle. Herbal, pine & citrus hops hit your nose, moderate sweet malt aromas. Flavors are earthy and citrus with bread/bisquit malt backup. Medium body with a fairly clean mouthfeel, dry bitter finish. A very well done IIPA, not distinctive but enjoyable.

A reasonable pour produces a three-finger thick, tan colored head that just rises above the rim of my 25cl tulip glass. Lots of lace is produced by the sticky, hop laden head. The beer is a clear, deep amber color, but shows a brilliantly clear, deeply red tinged, copper color when held up to the light. The aroma is of course quite hoppy, though I wouldn’t characterize it as being aggressively so for a Double IPA. Sweet, fruity citrus notes of lychee, apricot, candied grapefruit zest, tangelo and mandarin orange are the most noticeable note, but there is a greener hop note of light herbal notes that are just barely noticed under the surface. Biscuit like grain notes and a touch of toasty malt round out the finish, though this again plays a secondary role to the more fruity hop notes.

Soft feeling and almost creamy feeling up front, but a prickly carbonation quickly provides some texture and bite that evens this out. The beer is fairly bitter, but it takes a few sips before the effect gets magnified throughout the entire flavor profile; originally it was most noticed as a biting, lingering note in the finish. Very hoppy, yet somehow I feel like it is restrained; the fruity hop notes are most noticed, but a substantial herbal hop character plays a much bigger role than it did in the aroma. Flavors of lychee, mandarin orange and tangelo are coupled with a sharply herbal note reminiscent of a mix of hemp oil, menthol and perhaps something a touch harder like chive (this last is very light though). The finish gets a bit astringent with the mix of herbal hop character, hop bitterness and lightly perceptible, hot alcohol.

I like the body on this beer, it is not so heavy as many examples that seem confusingly like a hoppy Barley Wine, instead it just about has that drinkable character that something with IPA in the name needs. It does have a medium heft to it that is lightly viscous, and certainly palate coating; this quality serves to temper the hop character and accentuate the fruit focused notes. Speaking of the body, this is the spot where the malt character is most noticed; an accentuating sweetness that is not distinctly malt flavored helps to accentuate the hop character. There is perhaps a touch of a caramel edge to this beer, but the bitterness and alcohol heat keep this from developing any toasty malt character in the finish.

This is a pretty good Double IPA. It can get a little hot in the finish from the alcohol, especially as it warms up, but it does have a nice mix of hop notes that ultimately are what this style of beer is about. This is not the most scathingly hoppy example of this style and does actually achieve some balance despite the malt character really note playing an overtly noticeable role in the flavor.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=6726>South Bay Drugs Pharmacy, Imperial Beach CA