Hoppy Face Amber Ale

Brewed by Hoppy Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Sacramento, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Slightly hazy amber color; frothy head. Aroma is nutty and dusty malty with a little bit of leafy hops. Flavor is lacking malt fullness, and again lots of nut (almond mostly) flavors. Very bitter on the roof of the mouth and more of a high-pitched, more urgent/harsh bitterness than a deep, rumbling bitterness. For the substantial bitterness, I'm surprised the flavor wasn't developed more fully. Thin and astringent finish.

UPDATED: DEC 11, 2011 22oz bottle 12/10/11 (Courtesy of TerryR)-42° in Shaker-Pours a clear medium amber iwth a two finger off white head. Aroma of hops, malt, and caramel. Taste of the same with a bit more malt and caramel. This medium bodied brew is not bad.

22oz bottle–pours a light tan head and amber color. Aroma is tea, pineapple, some light/medium malt. Taste is tea/pineapple/metallic hops, secondary light malt.

Pours amber with a white head. Aroma is caramel, grainy, and hops. Flavor is caramel, lots of bitter hops that lean toward piney, earthy and a little rough around the edges.

Orange-pink pour with minimal off-white film of a head. Aroma of pine dust and cereal grains. A few touches of caramel. Flavor is bitter. Just a non descriptor bitterness and no real interesting hop flavors. The only detectable malt comes in the form of a cereal twinge. Body is toward the lighter side. It’s hard to call this an IPA. It’s almost certainly a hopped up amber in which the hops come off as more astringent than anything. Making the hops less astringent and more flavorful would improve this beer significantly. In its present form, I could have done without it.

nice citrusy -with a touch of pine -american hop aroma. flavor is harsh and lacks malt backbone. maybe water too hard for style.

Bottle… Clear amber ale with a small, creamy, off-white head. Great retention. Subtle aromas of warm medium-roast mash and caramel. Medium-bodied with middling carbonation. The flavor offers a nice grapefruit rind and pith bite, but not much else. Crisp, moderately bitter, dry finish.

Poured into a Hoppy Brewing shaker glass. Color is sort of a light copper/deep amber with a tan head. Aroma is a lot of sweet cereal and caramel notes from the malts, as well as some floral hops. Palate is medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Flavor is mostly resinous hops but is partially balanced by some sweet malty notes in the background. Overall this is a nice take on the traditional IPA.

Tallahassee, Fl - Liquor Loft - 22 oz bomber. Murky dark orange pour, bubbly, but thin white head that leaves just a trace of lacing. Aroma has a touch of spruce with some back end black pepper. Flavor has a nice solid bitterness to it with some grapefruit notes and a hint of spice - grains of paradise if I have to pin it down. some nuttiness in the back end. Mouthfeel is just thick enough. Decent and a good price - $3.99 for a bomber.

1/27/11. Bomber. Cloudy orange pour with an off-white head that fades but laces a ton. Nice citrus aroma with a hint of caramel malt. Slightly malty flavor that hints more towards black tea than hoppy... a little disappointing. Not bad, though!

Bomber pours copper with thin tan head. The aroma is a mix of earthy, spicy and roasty where the earthiness and maltiness create a mild oxidation like sensation. The taste is bitter hops forward with spicy hops, pine hop resin and tree sap. Around the edges of the hops are modest notes of roasted malts and faint earthiness. Tasty brew.