Lawsons Finest Hopzilla Double IPA

Brewed by Lawson’s Finest Liquids
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Warren, Vermont USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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UPDATED: OCT 13, 2012 My Bottom Line:
Coniferous hop fireworks display resinous patterns and citrusy backdrops where lightly honeyed malts set the stage for lengthy grassy bitterness. A world-class, super polished Double IPA from surely one of the smallest breweries in North America. Bravo!

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A thick sheet of foam garnishes the bronzed golden.
-Why aren’t there more of these superbly aromatic IPAs in Quebec? If they can do it in Vermont...
-This is very much the same quality one gets in John Kimmich’s (from The Alchemist) IPAs.
-Alcohol is almost a no show in the flavor profile.
-The flavors are all super clean, shining from beginning to end.

Bottles.

750mL bottle, batch #86, bottle #58/72. Poured hazy, milky, medium golden with a dense cap of off-white head.. tight lacing followed it down. The aroma picked up spicy pine, floral, and orangey hops over a pale, bready base.. citrus and peppery notes gave an extra kick right on the back of the nose. The flavor found toffee and bready note at the core along with some soapy character.. very bitter on the edges with orange zest, black pepper, and spicy floral character.. delightfully resiny through the finish. Medium-bodied and well-balanced on the palate.. spicy and warm, but never hot.. left a hoppy film on the back of the teeth.

2013-02-22. Lightly hazy bright orange small off-white head. 3+ Hoppy aroma, bit of cat pee, orange rind, celery. Flavour is a bit more citrusy, light leafy notes and celery. Average bodied palate. Moderate carbonation. Decent but the hop character is a bit odd. Bottle shared by Blankboy.

UPDATED: JAN 23, 2011
In short: A splendid highly drinkable IIPA blending dry coniferous and refreshing tart grapefruity hops. Wow!
How: Tap at Vermont’s Brewers Festival 2009, many samples
The look: Cloudy dark blonde body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: A mega-hoppy nose with coniferous, grapefruits and dry oranges. Again a rather neutral malt bill with lightly toasted malts with a little bit of caramel. Relatively light body. Taste is hops dominated. Pine-tree, grapefruit, orange peels and a light citrus touch. Rather dry with a light-medium tartness. This is somewhat similar to their excellent Chinooked IPA except that this one adds a grapefruity tartness that makes it more complex, more refreshing and even more excellent than the Chinooked. Beer of the festival for me. What an original name. With about half a dozen American IPA called Hopzilla and over a dozen called Hop Monster I now believe that all American brewers call their sons John and their dogs Rex.

22, capped and waxed. Thanks, Dany! Pours a cloudy burnished medium amber with a dense, pillowy white head and plenty of lace. Big tangy nose of pine and grapefruit, redolent with bountiful oily hop acid on every updraft. Delectable. Creamy medium body with lively carb. A little toasty, nutty caramel underneath the mid-palate, but, really--no, really--this one is all about the hop. Pine, grapefruit, a little bit of pineapple, a big resiny pine finish. Delicious and drinkable. Not uniquely powerful, and not really a unique showcase for any particular hop or combination of hops, but wonderfully well done and a pleasure to drink.

My bottle [660ml] shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, jercraigs & mabel -- c/o Glouglouburp. Pours a hazy golden-orange with a large lasting fizzy white head. Aroma of catty and citrusy hops, it’s all hops really. Flavour is fruity and citrusy along with lots of slightly catty and resiny hops and a touch of alcohol. Dry, bitter finish. Medium bodied. A pretty good DIPA indeed, and somewhat easy to drink for a big beer.

[BBD 10] Lightly hazy dark golden color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of floral hops, pine, citrus, and tropical fruits. Taste of light sweetness up front, pine, citrus, grass, and grapefruit finish.

Reviewed from notes. Poured into a mini snifter. The color is a bit of burnt orange, Longhorn-style. A bit of slight haze. A good looking beer. Nice white head and quite a bit of lacing. The nose is just phenomenal with a really fresh, fragrant aroma coming from a good dose of citrus and pine hops. Really overpowering and one of the best hop aromas I have come across. The taste doesn’t disappoint, though it’s not quite as pungent as the nose. Really great feel with quite a bit of bitterness. This is pretty hefty to have all that much of, but it’s quite delicious and the nose is out of this world. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-14-2010

UPDATED: JAN 25, 2011 Bottle shared by Kyle, thanks! Poured a cloudy orange with a white head that dissipated to the edges. Aroma had a beautiful dank pine note with a bit of marijuana and sweet grains underlying. Flavor had the same dank pine note with some grass, weed and a nice grain backbone.