Pizza Port Hop Suey Double IPA

Brewed by Pizza Port (Carlsbad)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Carlsbad, California USA

EBF ’05. A real citrus bomb. Gold color with a small head. Although the grapefruit/tangerine zest hits you first, there is a nice sweetness that tries to balance it out. A pure West Coast classic IIPA.

Draft at Falling Rock. Amber bodied. Sturdy white head. Solid lacing. Nose is wet, juicy hops, citrus fruits and some pine needles. Taste is rich, wet hops, pineapple, citrus oils, pine sap and caramel. Yummy! Body is medium-full with some oiliness on the palate along with a bit of stickiness. Moderate but firm carbonation.Ends with more juicy hop notes, pine, and gobs of citrus peels. Nice!

on tap. Sampled at the San Diego Festival of Beers 2006 9/22/06. Pours a nice light straw with a superb hoppy aroma. The taste is strong bitter and hoppy everything I could want in a nice solid imperial IPA. The abv on this version was at least 10%.

On draft at Carlsbad Pizza Port. 9.1% abv. Peach color. hoppy nose with spiced floral tones. Velvety head. Egads - the waves of flavor keep rolling: hop, hop, malt, hop, hop, malt, on and on. a pleasant finish lingers. How on earth can they afford to make beers so laden with ingredients?

Great Double IPA. Pours a hazy gold-orange with an off-white head that stays for a while and leaves great lacing. Aroma of exotic fruits with mango, and a pit of pine and caramel sweetness. Taste is wow, hop city! Lots of pungent, sticky, chewy, dank hops a bit nutty and caramel finish. Syrupy, mouthfilling and chewy with biting carbonation.

Draft. Bronze beer with a nice white head. Sweet malt aroma thats dominated by hops - big hop aroma with grapefruit and summer fruits. Big grapefruit/summer fruit flavor with lingering grapefruit bitterness. Some pine notes, but more fruity hops. Rich body and alcohol well hidden. Delicious.

Had this a couple times at strong ale fests but never rated it for one reason or another. Finally sampled again at the 2006 GABF and it was as amped and tasty as ever. For hopheads, this is as good as they come. Hops were sharp, bold and ninja-like. Big pine, grass ... and nice and "green" ... without overkill bitterness or acidity to ruin the party (which seems to be so common with big, hoppy beers). Aromatic flower elements were complex. Malts were complementing, but definitely played nicely in the background. Great double IPA.

(Draft: Pizza Port in Carlsbad, CA) Dang!! The nose is just bursting with bright, crisp, intense grapefruit and pine, simply incredible. Lots of grapefruit and pine -- more pine, actually -- in the flavor, mildly sweet, moderate tea character. Eventually, after 10-15 minutes, the nose becomes less grapefruity and more vegetal, as so often happens with this massively hoppy beers. The flavor drops the grapefruit as well, but the pine stubbornly maintains its prominence while adding a modest vegetal flavor. Medium-full in body but very crisp, so the beer seems lighter on the palate than it really is. The amber body is only slightly hazy, and pours with a small, off-white head that settles to a ring with no lacing. Because the intense grapefruit is replaced by a more vegetal flavor, I suggest ordering this in the smaller 10-ounce glasses and drinking it before the grapefruit fades. I tried to order another glass, but the keg blew just seconds before. Looking forward to this being on tap from time to time at Pizza Port as Mr. Bagby has said this is not a one-shot deal.