Fort Collins The Incredible Hop - Imperial Belgian Style IPA

Brewed by Fort Collins Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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bottle. Pours light golden. Aroma is herbal and lightly citric. Flavor of citric and lightly grassy. Medium body. Moderate carbonation. Ok

Bottle. Moderate grain, straw, roasted, pine and lemon rind for the hops, light soap for the yeast with hints of unripe pear, pepper and fennel. Head is small, frothy turning wispy, white with fair and thin lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is sparkling clear light to medium amber. Flavor starts lightly to moderately sweet and acidic, then finishes light sweet and acidic and lightly to moderately bitter. Palate is on the lighter side of medium, slick with a carbonation between soft and lively, and finishes lightly alcoholic and dry. Nice diverse aromas and well balanced flavor with a nice palate makes this one excellent DIPA. I don’t understand the low overall score.

22 oz. Clear, shiny orange with a lasting spit of creamy bubbles. Aromas of crisp orange, resin and light alcohol. Taste is dry resin, mango-grapefruit mix, a hint of spicy clove bubblegum and earthy toffee. Light-medium body is soft, with medium carbonation, and is well dried and dangerously sessionable with a nice touch of the warming abv showing. Definitely an American-Belgian DIPA as advertised, and an excellent example of the style.

Hazy golden beer with a thick, white head. Aromas of floral/herbal hops, and something sweet. Tastes of muted Belgian candy sugars up front, then followed by herbal/floral hop flavors, some faint citrus, and a good malt backbone. Quite crisp, and refreshing. Bittersweet finish. Very nice balance of hops and Belgian flavors. Very nice.

Bottle.The pour was a clear medium tarnished gold with an average sized (1-2 finger) white frothy head that receded down to a thin film and small collar, creating some excellent sticky lacing. The aroma was of a mild grain malt, grassy hops and a musty Belgian yeast with notes of citrus (orange peel), caramel and a mild peppery spiciness. The taste was a bold bitter sweet with a hint of caramel up front, and then mellowed slightly into a hoppy citrus taste with a spicy yeast flavor on the back end. The flavor was short lived but very enjoyable, and had a mild spicy hoppy finish. Mouthfeel was light in body with a dry and somewhat watery texture and a good strong carbonation. Overall I found this to be a rather light brew for an Imperial IPA. Although the balance of hops and yeast seem to work very well together in this beer, making it quite easy to drink and enjoy…

Pours clear gold with a 1 finger, creamy bright white head that has great retention and leaves some pretty nice lacing. Aroma is floral hops, sweet bread spices, a little bready yeast, pine hops, sweet stone fruit and a touch of candied citrus. Flavor is all sweet malt and pine up front, then comes a bunch of licorice, earthy spice, sweet citrus, a bit of booziness and bready yeast. Finishes licorice, pine and lasting candy like malt, sore sort of Crystal variety I would guess. Palate is medium bodied with a slick entry, light carbonation and dry, though still slightly slick finish. Not terrible, but the aroma and flavor components do not really meld very well, the licorice in the flavor especially. Not that I dislike licorice or even beers that have some licorice notes, but I really can see it ever working with a dry, hoppy beer. The palate doesn’t do to much for me either, licorice flavor + an almost astringent dryness = an awkward combo. All the weird stuff aside, I enjoyed this beer a decent amount, and it looks pretty nice.

Nice color...fiery reddish yellow. Nice yeasty spicy nose, flowery hop aromas. Good flavor. Success, like clove, pine and from the hops.

Draft at World or Beer in Carrollwood. Pours a mostly clear golden amber color with a whitish head. Simply put, this beer is quite tasty.

Clear orange, loose white head. Piney, grassy, lightly yeasty aroma. Flavor is quite a bit more yeasty than the aroma suggests. Notes of grapefruit and hay bale emerge as it warms.

Pour is a clear bronze with a small white head. Aroma is a big Belgain fruity yeat with hop in the backround. Flavor is the same, the yeast used is big but then it kinda takes over anything hop. Finish leaves a nice sugary resin on the tounge. If you like big candi sugar Belgain yeast strains then this is for you.

Have been watching EVERY brewery under the sun making Belgian IPA’s over the past few years have been wholly unmoved until I tasted the Fort Collins Belgian IPA. There is usually a battle between the yeast and the hops that no one wins. This beer is perfectly balanced to lure in the Belgian lover as well as the hop head. Not too heavy and an absolutely delicious hop finish. Had on tap in my shop in Wake Forest.