Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA

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

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? Bay Drugs Pharmacy, Imperial Beach CA

Bottle from Bevmo. Hazy orange brown with a creamy white head. Good strong caramel, grapefruit, and pine aroma with some cereal grain notes. Full bodied palate. Sweet citrus taste followed by a bitter taste and finishing with an earthy grassy taste.

Thanks for getting this bottle for us Alex (sick_boy282). Pours with an amber body topped by a thin to medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s hoppy and bitter with pine notes, sweet, slightly fruity notes and an underlying malt note. Medium to full bodied and warming.

Bottle... Poured burnt orange with a white head. Aroma of strong hops and very leafy, grassy and herbal. Nice thick, foamy palate that teased the tongue a bit. Mostly dominant hop flavors with a bit of smoked, wood-like undertones and a sweet, caramel acidity.. Pretty solid, but not as individualistic as I would hope for in an I-IPA.

22oz bottle @Noogfest4.0-thanks scoobyluv–pours an off white head and cloudy copper color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel, cherry, biting hops, alcohol. Occasional.

Noogfest ’08, thanks for bringing it scoobyluv. The body was dark gold with a khaki head. The aroma was strong grapefruit with some bread and walnuts. The taste was bread crust with some grapefruit and almonds. A nice IIPA.

Aroma is a little maltier than expected. Flavor has decent hops but also a stronger than expected alcohol taste. Pretty strong IPA but doesn’t have a distinct hoppiness.

Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA- This fresh brew starts of with a nice floral hop aroma that combines cascade, centennial and a yet to be named variety of hops. The hops are balanced with a dominating traditional deschutes caramel and roasted malt combo. It pours a dark reddish copper hue that swells into a lumpy tan head with light carbonation. As far as taste goes this is the most well balanced double IPA I’ve ever tasted. It kicks off with a solid hop bite that is equally compensated with that distinct smooth malty richness that all deschutes beers carry. This is a very drinkable double IPA with a medium body that cleverly disguises its alcohol content at 8.75% ABV. This brew delivers a fierce kick to the gonads which leaves you longing for more. All in all I think this could use a little more hop bite, but damn good nonetheless. Awesome with mild white cheese!