Left Coast Hop Juice

Brewed by Left Coast/Oggis Pizza and Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Del Mar, California USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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UPDATED: SEP 17, 2010 Tap from Oggi’s in Orange. Very refreshing and well balanced. I could feel a slight buzz on one beer, which is rare for me. Really crisp hop, has the slight citrus/orange thing happening. I may have to pick up a growler of this to enjoy when I don’t have to drive home! Good beer! Original review was Aug of 2006 and I had this at a 3.9. I’m lowering it to a 3.3. Either my taste/palate has grown or this beer has become worse. I just had a bomber and it tasted like beginner homebrew. Maybe it was old. There was something bad about it and I’m wondering if that is what people call "astryngint" (sp?) .

On tap @ Pizza Port Carlsbad poured a clear copper with a lasting off white head. Aromas of carmel, pine and light citrus. Palate was medium bodied. Flavors of carmel, pine and orange with a clean lightly bitter finish.

Draught at "THE Pizza Place" aka Newport Pizza in Ocean Beach. They rotate their taps there so often, you never know what might be offered on tap from one day to the next. But the Hop Juice seems to be in a more frequent rotation schedule than a lot of the other beers. At any rate, this is the only location where I have tried it, and it is not bad at all. Lighter in appearance than expected. with a dark yellow pour, totally cloudy as all that. Head and lacing not memorable. Smells pretty strong on the hops, not much malt in the nose at all, but not overtly piney ar simcoe-grapefruit or anything, just sort of a generic blend of hops. The downtake is a bit harsh. A bit too sweet, even if the citrus and banana flavors are trying to balance the malt. Weird clash of flavors that is not particularly good as a result. Post drinking burping is dominated by banana tastes, but the lingering alcohol burn goes beyond pleasurable and borders upon the just-a-touch-too-strong, particularly for an IIPA that is only 8% Give this IIPA fan an Expo Hoppiness or a Pliny The Younger any time, and every time, over this.

Tap, Mission Valley. Pours a deep orange color with a somewhat reddish hue. Strong hoppy aroma. Some sweetness as well. Crisp hoppy bitterness right up front. Very hoppy. Well balanced in my opinion.

(on-tap at Cato’s) pint is a very pretty, clear amber with a thin white head that holds well and leaves good lace. very full nose is a combination of sticky-sweet maltiness and citrus-zest hops. smells a bit like a bigfoot. tastes a bit like a bigfoot, too. lots of sweet sweet malt flavor shoved up against a lot of tart, citric hoppiness, and a big IBU finish. this beer kind of fell apart for me. I felt like I was drinking a much bigger, heavier beer. (is that 8% right?). kind of like the anti-Pliny the Elder, which is a biggish beer that drinks smaller than it is.

6th annual Bistro IIPA fest. Molasses (?) aroma, and not really hoppy. Hazy, dark gold color. Mostly white head. Nice lace; head diminishes. Slow, rising carbonation. Very sweet with a lot of alcohol. Not much bitterness. Flavor profile reminds me a bit of DFH 90 minute IPA; is it the yeast strain? Very good.

UPDATED: OCT 25, 2007 Tap @ Del Mar location. Pours to a nice copper colored body with a nice white head and good lacing. The aroma is very nicely hoppy. Oranges, lemons, fruityness, malt. The flavor is a nice caramel malt, pine, grapefruit, oranges. Delicious. The palate is medium bodied, coating, bitter, lingering in an excellent way. This is such an awesome beer. 8, 4, 9, 4, 18 = 4.3

Tap @ Scottsdale location. Pours to a hazy rusty amber body with a thin, wispy white head. The flavor is very floral and perfume laded. Spicy too. I couldn’t tell what kind of hops were used. The crystal malt in this pops in the background. The aroma is sweet caramel and what seems like an exotic honey, the hops are so floral. The palate is carbonated, warming, resinous. The beer was listed at 9.4%. 7, 3, 7, 4, 13 = 3.4

Cask, Naja’s from early December. Golden pour. Lots of citrus and orange hop aromas, with some light caramel malt backing. Slightly sweet caramel flavors with generous amounts of citrusy piney and orange hops, with notes of candied fruits in there as well. Very nice.

UPDATED: AUG 8, 2007 Tasted on draft @ Mission Valley location. Floral hop aroma with strong hop bite. Very smooth with good balance of fruity, floral, and citrus present.

GABF 05. Very light pour with a thin white lasting head and a sticky lace all around the glass. Lots of citrus and orange aromas with some grapefruit- simcoe throughout the aroma and flavor. THis is the typical west coast DIPA with almost no malt profile and just straight up resiny hops in the aroma, flavor and finish. Great DIPA.