The Hop Garden Reviews

nuplastikk	3.1 The Hop Garden Night Walk 16oz can. Kind of under attenuated, thick, sweet. Mild hop tone. True to style but not that great. Monday, November 6, 2023
nuplastikk	3.1 The Hop Garden Joe Staudt 16oz can. Heavy, thick, sweet American Stout. Big, oily, silky oatmeal tone. OK. Monday, November 6, 2023
nuplastikk	3 The Hop Garden Bushel Basket IPA 16oz can. They call it a double IPA, but at 7% I'd say IPA. Old school Cascade, Nugget hop tone. A little watery. Drinkable. Monday, November 6, 2023
nuplastikk	3.2 The Hop Garden Fuzzy Goat 16oz can. Doesn't look like a hazy. Unfiltered I suppose. Pleasant enough earthy IPA. OK, just not a hazy. Monday, November 6, 2023
hershiser2	3.9 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Pint can thanks to Drake! WI Brewery #78. Overall brewery #998. Burnt orange with a beige head. Citrus peel, caramel, sweet malts in the nose. Caramel, pine, orange peel, resin, indiscernible fruit. Nice. Friday, May 6, 2022
Drake	3 The Hop Garden Smooth Operator Pint can from Festival Janesville, 4/26/22. Hazy yellow, thin frothy white head, good retention. Aroma of green hops, doughy malt, grain. Taste is buttery malt, citrus, green hops, grain. Low bitterness. Rustic. Decent. Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Brigadier	3.5 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia 2018 Hometown Brewdown A respectable IPA puts the Hop Garden on the map for a quiet fall or winter weekend trip. There's nothing earth shattering going on but for a beer to drink between shopping or en route to other breweries it meets all expectations. AROMA / APPEARANCE Mango and light citrus cloud the air with a tropical texture. The cloudy orange base remains sheltered under a vanilla head for quite a while before absorbing it completely. FLAVOR / PALATE Tropical profiles include citrus, mango, and hints of pineapple. The body remains smooth from start to finish though never stands out. Instead the experience provides a good benchmark for how to make a solid IPA for a local audience. Tuesday, September 4, 2018
nuplastikk	3.2 The Hop Garden Belgian IPA Tap at Hop Garden. Flowery, estery belgo yeast. Sort of sweet, the hop balance is rather restrained, mild. Filtered orange body.. OK. Tuesday, August 14, 2018
nuplastikk	3.6 The Hop Garden Red Wagon Tap at Hop Garden. Pleasantly bold Cascade bite. Amber red body, unfiltered. Creamy off-white head. Solid hoppy amber all the way. Nice. Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Drake	3.7 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Keg at the brewery. Hazy dark orange, large foamy off-white head, good retention. Aroma of toffee and citrus. Taste is melon, toffee, lemon, resin. Medium bodied, lingering bitterness. Nice. Sunday, July 1, 2018
Drake	3.4 The Hop Garden Belgian IPA Keg at the brewery. Hazy amber, large foamy tan head, good retention. Aroma of resin and peppery hops, pale malt. Taste is yeast, pepper, resin, tropical fruit. Medium bodied, mild lingering bitterness, bright. Solid. Saturday, June 30, 2018
Drake	3.2 The Hop Garden Red Lager Keg at the brewery. Murky dark orange, large frothy tan head, good retention. Aroma of toasted malt, caramel, mild floral hops. Taste is caramel, citrus, toffee. Medium bodied. Saturday, June 30, 2018
Drake	3.1 The Hop Garden German Pils Keg at the brewery. Hazy golden, large creamy off-white head, decent retention. Aroma of earthy, pepper hops, pale malt. Taste is earthy, lemony hops, pale malt. Thin, lingering bitterness. Solid. Saturday, June 30, 2018
Drake	2.8 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia 12 ounce bottle from Woodman's Madison East. Hazy orange, large frothy white head, good retention. Aroma of citrus and pale malt. Mildly doughy. Taste is orange, citrus, pale malt. Medium bodied, simple. Meh. Monday, June 4, 2018
seabstian1134	4 The Hop Garden Paoli Gold Saturday, February 24, 2018
crossovert	3 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia 355ml bottle. Glowing dark orange pour. Bretty basic and underwhelming ipa, sweet malts, staleish, orange, pine. Sunday, December 31, 2017
drpimento	3.3 The Hop Garden Paoli Gold Not a bad blonde ale but for this kind of Ale hopping it up is a bit of a mystery. It seems to be crossing over into the pale ale realm. Aroma is kind of a crossover between fresh and stale Hops and a little bit of skunk plus some malt. Flavor is like nose Plus some acid from the little harsh carbonation. So you can guess that I'm saying body is okay but carbonation is a little over the top. It's an alright beer but nothing to go out of your way for. Tuesday, October 31, 2017
BarleyRates2	4 The Hop Garden Farmstead Ale My smooth drinking go to at the tap room. Always a big hit when I bring a growler to friends. I would say it is their staple and a good basis to start at then go to nuggetopia if you like it more hoppy or to black/imperial if you prefer less bitter. Tuesday, October 24, 2017
nuplastikk	3.3 The Hop Garden Paoli Gold 12oz bottle. Classic, but sort of antiquated West Coastish Ale of the 90s. Dry and grassy in some ways, resinous and juicy in others. A pretty straightforward offering, but drinks significantly better than the stuff that was being made at House of Brews. You could call this a Session IPA, but I stuck with Brewers intentions. A step in the right direction for the Hop Garden. Friday, September 22, 2017
wlajwl	3.7 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia Aroma is citrus, caramel and a hint of nutty chocolate. The flavor is citrus, fruit, earthy, mild nutty chocolate and a mix of bitter slight dry/tart in the finish. Wednesday, April 19, 2017
wlajwl	3.7 The Hop Garden Farmstead Ale Aroma is fruit/berries, malts and mildly earthy. The flavor is fruit/berries, malts, slight earthiness and a mix of tart and mild sweetness in the finish. Wednesday, April 19, 2017
wlajwl	3.5 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Aroma is malts, fruit and mild sweetness. The flavor is fruit, earthy malts and a mildly sweet/ tart finish. Saturday, January 21, 2017
MrTipple	3.1 The Hop Garden Farmstead Ale Citrus fruits, grapefruit, light barnyard. Clear gold, massive, creamy, white head. Medium bitter. Citrus fruits continue, more grapefruit, dry bitter finish. Quite a bitter Amber, lots of citrus fruits. Keg at The Old Fashioned, Madison, WI. Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Skyview	2.7 The Hop Garden Shandy Sampled on draught at the brewpub taproom in Paoli, Wisconsin. Mixed partial Wisconsin Festive Ale and tea kombucha. Hazy yellow Amber collored brew with an average size head that quickly dissipates and leaves spotty lacing. Aroma of citrus hops, a hint of Ivory soap and golden grain malt. Taste is medium bodied with flavors of spicy tea, citrus and golden grain malt. Finish is semi-dry with a dark tea and citrus aftertaste, followed by some white pepper. Saturday, April 30, 2016
islay	2.9 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia 22 oz. bottle, consumed on 10-26-15. Pours a clear bronze with a large amount of beige head. Juicy-hoppy aroma features scent of apricot. Smells of cinnamon caramel muffin and berry pancakes, presumably from the malt and yeast. The hops-related scents aren’t my favorite, but the malt-related scents are very likable. English IPA flavor. Tastes like a scone sprinkled with dirt. Dirt-like, dry aftertaste. Light to medium body, light for the ABV. Soft in the palate. Feels insubstantial palate-wise. Tastes amateurish. Not an awful beer but a well below average IPA. Monday, October 26, 2015
olafphysics	3 The Hop Garden Bushel Basket IPA Friday, August 21, 2015
beerbaaron	4 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Fiery amber with a big frothy off-white head, mostly diminishing. Aroma is barley wine like, no booze, caramel, toffee, delicate fruitiness. Medium body. Alcohol is well hidden. Flavor approaches a lite barley wine. A bit of tang. Medium bittersweet. Surprisingly balanced. Quite juicy. This was a nice surprise. Thursday, August 13, 2015
MarinEvelyn	3.7 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Sweet, musky barleywine like aroma. Strong many character throughout. Definitely a fruitiness in the taste. Lots of malt, hops on the finish. Thursday, August 13, 2015
Sammy	3.2 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Drinkable good malt bill. Bottle from Woodman’s-Madison East. Lots of foamy head. Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Sammy	3 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia passable beer. Bottle from Woodman’s-Madison East. OK but acidic. Just OK drinkability. Ok looks. Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Sammy	2.7 The Hop Garden Wisconsin Festiv-Ale smells like a pilsner. From Woodman’s-Madison East. Cloudy yellow. Some lace. OK mouthfeel, though overcarbonated. Not much hops. Tuesday, August 11, 2015
drpimento	2.8 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia Best thing is the appearance which has a nice foamy head, lots of lace and a clear amber color. Butterscotchy hoppy aroma. Flavor’s likewise butterscotchy hoppy. Body’s kind of flat. Thursday, July 9, 2015
olafphysics	4 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber Saturday, June 6, 2015
akoeninger	4.3 The Hop Garden Sunset Imperial Amber This was an impressive and satisfying beer. Big amber color and aroma with a strong mocha chocolate aroma and deep dark fruit. This was tastey, the hips , Cascade, are there but are earthy, succulent. There is solid malt and hop flavors here, finishes well with hints of rum and fruit but a great hop presence through out. At times it is not unlike a barleywine. Full body Friday, June 5, 2015
olafphysics	3 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia Friday, May 29, 2015
nuplastikk	2.8 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia 22oz bomber. Filtered caramel-orange body. Foamy off-white head, patchy but steady. Not that bad, but suffers from the the HOB brewhouse experience, and can’t really escape the dull carbonation and bland malts. Pretty bland, more like an antiquated east coast APA. Tuesday, March 17, 2015
kkleu357	3.7 The Hop Garden Farmstead Ale Light hazy gold body. Nice fruity sweet aroma. Very smooth drinking. Light passion fruit zip on the taste buds. Pretty good. Thursday, January 15, 2015
ccex	2.5 The Hop Garden Bushel Basket IPA Bomber pours a slightly hazy light brown/orange with small off-white head and a bit of lacing. Aroma is not strong, but has soap, tea, some strange herbs, biscuits, and none of the usual stuff one expects in an IPA. Taste is bitter all the way through, but not an assault. Alcohol is barely noticeable. Body is medium with lively carbonation and a crisp mouthfeel. I had no expectations of this, but it was a bit of a disappointment anyway. Tuesday, January 6, 2015
deyholla	3.2 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia Bottle. Pours a clear amber gold with a near white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has grassy hops with a touch of resin and a sweet grain backbone. Flavor has lots of earthy grass and earthy grain with a backing biscuit note. Tuesday, December 23, 2014
wlajwl	2.5 The Hop Garden Local Harvest Pale Ale Aroma is fruit, bread and sweetness/bubblegum. The flavor is biscuit/English malts, citrus/fruit and a tart/slightly sour finish. Saturday, November 1, 2014
Hopguy	4.9 The Hop Garden Nuggetopia I picked this bomber up at my local Hy-Vee store. Awesome label. Just had to try it. It is also locally made using hops produced only 30 miles from my house. Pouring the beer out I was impressed, light golden color and great aroma coming out of the bottle. Mouth feel was medium, good bitterness, earthy flavor but with a little spicyness and a smooth finish. I am a fan. Thursday, October 2, 2014
HonkeyBra	1.8 The Hop Garden Bushel Basket IPA 22 oz. bottle. Pours a hazed iced tea color with a small filmy off white head. Aroma of very mild tea and soap. Flavor of ointment, soap, mild bitterness. This is . . . not an IPA. Very tame. Kind of strange. Drain pour. Friday, August 8, 2014
TXBadger	2.6 The Hop Garden Local Harvest Pale Ale Pours a slightly hazy dark orangeish with off-white head. Not much on the aroma; on the palate just a little hops resin, maybe a touch of citrus and bread. Finishes bitter with a bread note. Sunday, July 27, 2014
AWISLguy	2.5 The Hop Garden Bushel Basket IPA Bomber from Steve’s in Fitchburg. Excited to be the brew’s first rating as my 200th IPA! Pours an amber color with an off tan head. Lots of streaky lace. Aroma is heavy of sprucy pine and herbs, with sour fruit & plastic. Taste brings a strange herbal hop, some spearmint, tangy pine, biscuity malts and a bit of stone fruit. Wow - didn’t think the taste could be worse than the nose, but not so sure ... Medium in body. A light alcohol presence. Finishes vegetal and tangy. Holy cow - hoping somehow a bad bottle or batch, and not a bad brew. Not even understanding where they were trying to go as it is so different than anything I’ve had. Tuesday, July 15, 2014
kkleu357	2.2 The Hop Garden Local Harvest Pale Ale Had a sample of this not long as ago and it was fine. Just popped my bomber and it’s kind of bad. Almost no carbonation. Dirty earthy taste. Very mild hop flavor. Disappointed. Friday, April 18, 2014