Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA

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

Bomber, shared with Parksy. Hazy orange pour, vanilla head leaving thick ropy lace. Zesty citrus and sweet caramel malt, medium bodied, with a very long, very bitter finish. Terrific.

On tap. pours nice deep copper with fluffy cream head that lingers. Nose is pleasantly citrus hops. More mellow than many IIPA’s. Flavor is well balanced with caramel malt and pineapple hop. Clean finish with more sweetness than bitterness. Decent mouthfeel as well.

Bottle. Poured a deep amber color with a thick off-white head that left decent lacing. Aroma of nice citrus (grapefruit, light mango, and orange) resiny hops, and light pine. Flavor consists of a light caramel entry that moves quickly into a strong citrus (grapefruit, orange, mango, light apricot) hit with some nice resiny hops and bitter pine on the finish. Full on the palate, nice carbonation. Better than expected.

Pours a hazy reddish brown color with a nice thick soapy head. Aroma of hops, pine, citrus and malt. Flavor of hops, malt, sugar, with a little bit of bitterness that is balanced pretty well with the sweetness in the end. Not as extreme as some of the Imperial IPA’s out there, but still pretty tasty stuff.

Very nice IIPA. Pours copper with an eggshell head and good lacing. Aroma was subdued, and consisted of bread, malt and citrus. Taste was again of citrus and malt with a little resin - and let’s not forget the hops. The brewer did a decent job of loading up on hops, yet keeping the balance. Alcohol was nicely hidden. Mouthfeel was excellent - silky yet crisp. Aftertaste echoed the balance.

Amber with a thin off white head. Aroma was citrus hops and sweet malt. Flavor had caramel malt, a touch of sweet sugar, and a bit of grain. Some hops, toffee, and corn as well. Finishes bitter sweet, decent mouth.

I loved regular hop henge so I was excited when this came out. I don’t want to say that I am disappointed because I am not, but I was just expecting a little more. It tastes like the grain bill was doubled but the hop bill was left the same. Sweet malty nose, with a faint hint of floral hops, a light bit of citrus, but like I said before, very malty, and that definitely has an affect on the hops, a slight bit of bitterness on the tongue, but no actual complexity, as I was looking for some typical hop flavor characteristics, and found very little. Still this is a good beer all around, but I think it could be tweeked, and Deschutes is notorious for that, it will become a better recipe down the road.

Pours a clear amber with a small head. Aroma is subtle - not a lot there, which is surprising for an IIPA - sweet malts and a bit of the hops (far less than I know are in there). Piney, resiney hops dominate the flavor, with some light citrus notes and a good amount of malts to balance. It’s definitely sticky, leaving your mouth well-coated. This is a good beer, but I find myself asking "where’s the imperial?" It has a great flavor (balance is particularly impressive), but it’s too subtle. I want it to have a bigger presence for an IIPA.