Oggis Hop Whompus

Formerly brewed at Left Coast/Oggis Pizza and Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Del Mar, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

’Growlered’ sample from Sean "DrunkAsASkunk" Gorlock
He picked it up on a Monday and shipped it the same day; here am I on a Thursday, 15 minutes after receiving the package drinking it with my home boy Mike "The Shamster". Still cold from its journey through the "arctic temperatures" of Boise.
Good head retention with very good carbonation, almost like it was freshly poured. Off-white, almost tan head with sheets full of lacing. Orange and dark ruby red with lights and a mahogany cherry color without. Very cloudy and unfiltered looking. Nose of very fresh hops and malts. Almost pre-boil hop aroma when you’re smelling your bags of hops. I’m getting grapefruit and pine. Hmmm....Simcoe and Cascade? Rich maltyness in the nose along with the hops but just hardcore hoppyness in the nose. Damn, 10 minutes in and I haven’t even tasted it yet! OK, here goes....the bitterness rises up, and then fades to a porous caramel taste then mellow to a roast and finally a chocolaty tail. Never too sweet, bitter, hoppy or malty. Firmly balanced. The mouthfeel is very creamy and sticky. Lingers with a spicy alcohol note and plenty o’ hops. After the first couple drinks your tongue has given up trying to taste the hops and just enjoys the ride. Not too much subtleties but the overall experience with Hop Whompus was a glorious one that just writes hop poetry all the way down your esophagus. Thanks Sean!

Pours a brownish hue with a small off-white head. Aromas of grapefruit and flavors of the same. Very similar to yule smith in that is hoppy yet the malt balance is head on.

Growler. Bright garnet/chestnut color with a large dense beige head with a sheet of fine lace. A pleasure to look at. Just roll around in a bathtub of fresh hop cones and I think one could equal the aroma, but there are backdrops of dough, mild licorice and mint. Medium to heavy feel, and silky all the way. Sweetness balances the mild acidic hops. Hits of alcohol only as you exhale. Flavors of mild pine and grapefruit (of course), but that not all there is malt to be found. Toffee, dates and prunes get caught in the lubricious lupulin labyrinth. Sweet hops flavor continue to the finish. Linger is quite bitter and dry woody hops and malt come out and distract slightly. But what a ride. Thanks for the special effort Chris! This one make me think of a double SNCA.

Clear garnet. Fat, heavily rocky foam yields crawling lace as it subsides. Intense nose of sugared berries and honeyed citrus rind with a sweet graham and lightly toasted malt dusting. Hints of pine, spent tea leaves, and fresh prunes. Lushly creamy. Viscous and raisiny soft. Definitive house character immediately backs the supple explosion of juicy hop flavors. Less toasty than the aroma insinuates, as fresh dried plum flesh only adds to the sweet and plummy glazed malt immensity. Clamorous house character sorely hinders the brightness. Assorted berries, coupled with the massively thick body, deaden the tight piney bitterness that attempts to underlie the brew. Remarkably soft and chock-full of sap and citrus hop flavor, but less bitter and nauseatingly hoppy. Overly pulpy and medicinal with candied pineapple flavors exaggerating the sweetness. Persistently juicy, with citrus pulp pungency and honeyed rind flavors continuing to muffle the pine. Finishes slightly cloying and fatly malty, but with a redeeming surge of pineapple-flavored hop belches and citrus pulp remnants. Not nearly as bright as I’d expected, as the massive body highly impairs the drinkability and brighter hop naunces. Nice aroma and texture, though, and masterfully concealed alcohol, but their unruly house character is disturbing. This certainly gives new meaning to the phrase “hop nectar." Impeccable job with the growler, cquiroga!

Clear copper body with beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, grapefruit, some pine. Taste is medium sweet, grapefruit, caramel, medium alcohol (that does not overwhel), pine. Full body, with some syrup. FWIW, I understand that this is a fairly new batch, and my rating, ONLY a 3.9, may reflect variance across batches. Still, very enjoyable beer.

Oh beautiful for spacious beer...for amber waves of hops..... Yes...this deserves its own song! Had a nice helping of this beer at Oggi’s Vista which is right up the street from me so location location location is finally key. It pours a dark amber and mahogany color with a slight hint of plum with little to no head unless it is encouraged through swirling. There is a serious degree of active carbonation in this beer however and that got me excited. The aroma is fantastic with hops engaging and dancing with every recepticle in my nose! Pines, grapefuits, grass and fruity esters with hints of alcohol dance through my head. The flavor begins thick and piney with grapefruit throughout...very thick and full bodied flavor..deep fruity grapefruit peel and citrus with almost a hint of chocolate in the finish. Heavily carbonated and almost cherry soda-like in taste and texture. Very dangerous beer for 9% ABV...i LOVE the freshness of the hops here...truly a marvel of a beer! I can’t wait til they have another keg of this..I can only hope its as good as the first.

Aroma, Aroma, Aroma, Aroma. I thought somebody stuck hop cones in my nose. I could not stop smelling this beer. It smelled so good I was even sniffing my empty glass. Poured ruby color with a small head. Aroma of grapefruit and oranges. Flavor is malty sweet with some caramel and hops. The bitter hops are there for a backbone but very balanced. This is mostly about the aroma and flavoring hops which is why I like this so much. It doesn’t go over the top with the bittering. Thank you CaptainCougar.

it poured a surprisingly dark purplish brown color with a nice, lacing head...The aroma was a tad subtle but showed its resiny hop character...Flavors had a nice firm, piney, beautifully constructed hop character backed by a full body of sweet candyish maltiness..superbly bitter but balanced barley-wine. heating.