Deschutes Hop Henge IPA

Formerly brewed at Deschutes Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Bend, Oregon USA

From bomber. Pours a deep copper with tan head. Nose is lemon citrus. Flavor follows with some pepper and a medium bitter finish.

This bottled brew poured a large sized head of foamy finely sized long lasting off-white colored bubbles that left behind a uncarbonated transparent orange brown colored body. The aroma was mediumly hoppy. The mouth feel was tingly from start to finish with a hoppy aftertaste and a strong hoppy mild caramel malt flavor.

(22 oz bottle: Obtained 21-Mar-06 in trade with wohlfs, thanks Steve!) With hops growing on and draped over Stonehenge, this is one of the most creative and artistic beer labels yet. Stonehenge means "hanging stones" and as hop cones tend to hang from the vines, the use of Stonehenge seems fitting. And though the complete purpose of this great monument will never be known for sure, it is surely no coincidence that Stonehenge has been used to determine the exact time of year, something very important in the harvesting of crops, perhaps even crops used in making some early examples of beer in England. The beauty and stubborn longevity of this ancient structure is echoed in the beer. The tall, fluffy head, light-tan in color and comprised of small bubbles, caps a hazy, deep ruddy-amber body, and shows excellent retention, dissipating, collapsing slowly over the course of time. And as Stonehenge was updated and enhanced by different cultures over the course of its history, so too has the hop profile in this English-style beer, taking the more delicate British hop varietals and adding a good amount of brazen, bitter, citrusy hops so typical of the West Coast. The moderately grainy maltiness provides a solid base, but the hop flavor hangs on, lingering, extending the finish til the next sip. Grassy hoppiness in the nose with a mild twist of citrus, but the moderately grainy malt aromas provide the necessary balance for this monumental beer. Medium in body, clean and fairly crisp on the palate, the carbonation is gentle. Despite entertaining myself with the forced comparison between Hop Henge and Stonehenge, the bottom line here is this is a really nice beer that skillfully melds two IPA worlds into one.

Hazy deep amber, small lasting beige head.Nice grapefruit hop nose and palate, long strong hop bitterness in finish, with decent amount of malt

Bottle. Small ivory head that fully diminished, decent lacing, transparent, minimal carbonation, and an orange hue. Malty, hoppy and citrus nose. Flavor was hoppy, bitter, malty, sweet, and caramel. Mouthfeel was slightly tingly. Medium body.

Thanks to Droopy49 for this! Long lasting, creamy off white head with a medium amber body. Well balanced, but not too extreme. Nice dry finish that follows a predictable west coast IPA flavor and aroma profile.

Bomber. Dark orangy amber pour, nice head. Very fresh citrus resiny hop aroma - the fresh hop like you’re standing the hop field aroma. Very nice. Similar hop flavors, and lots of it. Good solid backing of caramel malt, some sweet, but not overly sweet. Good bitter finish. Medium bodied and not at all watery. Very good IPA.

22oz bomber via trade with Einniskillen - Thanks Chris! Pours amber and slightly cloudy with a very healthy offwhite head that stayed very well and laced lots. Aromas of straight up citrus and pine hops. Grapefruit, some pineapple, pine cones and an underlying backbone of caramel malts. Flavor is a great hop assault. Lots of grapefruit and resiny pine as well as some floral notes over some sweet caramel malts. Palate is full bodied and well balanced. This is an enjoyable IPA!