Review #15 - Victory Hop Wallop

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

May 25, 2011

Courtesy of A Microbrew Review Blog

The final quarter of The List is going to be a tail of five beers.  Not so poetic, but they will be split into two categories; beers that have already been purchased and are currently sitting in my fridge and beers that I will have to wait for. 

Today’s beer, Victory Hop Wallop, of course, comes from the former category.  I picked up a 6-pack along with the Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA and shortly afterwards I tracked down Flying Dog’s Double Dog Double Pale Ale.  The remaining beers are going to simply be a waiting game.  Founders Devil Dancer is due out in July, the Dogfish 120 Minute IPA seems to be anyone’s guess at this point and the AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) is going to be a combination of a waiting game and a trade.  That said, given that by the end of the summer I will be living in Boulder, Colorado, so it shouldn’t be too tough to find some good trade bait.  Anyhow, back to the Hop Wallop:

ABV: 8.5%

IBUs: 70 (Needs Confirmation)

Brewery Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.06

My Beer Advocate Rating: B/3.68

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,694/5th

Brewery Description: Victory Hop Wallop

Bottled On: March 16, 2012

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) Great color and great head on the Hop Wallop.  It poured a pristine, bright orange and had a gorgeous inch-thick head that stuck around from the time I began this post until now (about 5 minutes).  The lacing is skimpy, but consistent throughout the glass and very pretty and arch-like.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) The aroma is not strong, but it isn’t weak either.  Orange and grapefruit dominate with a hint of hops lurking in the background.  At this point I could see this beer going either way, sweet and citrusy or a complete hopslap.

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) The latter it is.  Grapefruit and a nice, bitter hop flavor dominate almost all the way through the sip, but particularly at the tail end.  The grapefruit provides one last punch of bitterness just at the tail end leaving a dry and (oddly) a slightly smoky aftertaste.  Backtracking, there is a quick blast of sweeter orange right up front, but it lasts just for a moment or two.  As it warmed it also became a touch sweeter. 

MOUTHFEEL:  (2.5 out of 5) This one is a palate scraper.  The dry bitter aftertaste sits on the tongue for what seems to be an eternity and is only cleared by the next sip.  In an odd way, the Hop Wallop has a dry mouthcoating feel to it, which is OK at first, but becomes a bit tough to deal with towards the end of the glass.

OVERALL:  (3.5 out of 5) I enjoyed this beer with some good, spicy, southern cooking; red beans and rice, chicken and crab cakes all smothered in hot sauce.  It was an excellent pairing with this hop-bomb, or Hop Wallop.  That said the bitterness was not pure and perfected in the same sense as Stone’s Ruination.  It went just a bit too far on the bitter side without much balance, somewhere between the Ruination and the Hopsickle from Moylan’s. 

DRAWBACKS:  In addition to going just a tad too far on the bitter side, I also felt that what little balance there was lacked any subtlety.  It wasn’t a slow transition from sweet to bitter, rather it was sweet for a second and then, BAM! all of a sudden, just as the palate realizes what is happening, the bitterness explodes on the palate.  It can be a jarring experience and I would expect this to solely be for the hop heads.  Regular beer drinkers need not apply.  I don't normally like a massive malt character in my beers, but at least some indication that it exists would have been nice.

Review #9 - Lagunitas Maximus

Posted by: Stonecipher          

Mar. 27, 2011

A couple of weeks ago I had a rare moment on my own to stop in at one of my favorite local beer bars – Prarie Moon in Evanston, IL.  I have probably consumed more of Lagunitas’s Hop Stoopid at Prarie Moon than I have at any other place on the planet, so I thought about reviewing that, but given my limited amount of time and the need to function at a fairly high level for many of the remaining hours of the day I decided that a 22 oz. bomber of Hop Stoopid might be a bit much, so I went with the other Lagunitas beer on The List, Maximus.

ABV: 8.2%

IBUs: 72.41

Brewery Location: Petaluma, California

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.91 – Very Good

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.93 – Very Good

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 993/13th

Brewery Description: Lagunitas Maximus

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) Poured from a 12 oz. bottle a brilliant and crystal clear light copper color with an eighth of an inch head on top.  The bubbles were medium sized and very homogeneous.  They seemed to hang around for a little while, but once the first few disappeared the rest toppled and the whole bubbly structure quickly vanished.  As the surface level dropped in my glass, yet another mysterious case of lacing only showing up on the left and right side of the glass developed.   What made the Lagunitas’s case different was that I did not drink this from a snifter like I did with the other left/right lacers.  This was in a pint glass.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) The Lagunitas Maximus may be a hop bomb, but it is also a malt bomb and that comes through strongly in the nose.  The aroma does fade fast with the lack of head, however, so sniff this one quickly.  A faint smell of grapefruit is noticeable as well. 

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) The sweet, malt flavor erupts on the palate upon impact.  It is intensely malty with a bit of toastiness.  A brown sugar-like flavor is also present and some orange and grapefruit notes creep in on the side and back of the tongue as well.  On the back end, it seems as though the moment you become fully distracted by the sweetness, the hops and their bitterness kick in.  The tail end of this has a strong hop presence, but it is just a short burst of hoppiness and the untrained palate may miss this altogether until the aftertaste, when all 72.41 IBUs kick in.  Wow, that grapefruit really builds too.  By the end of the glass the grapefruit flavor is much more pronounced than it is in the beginning.  Whereas some of the DIPAs reviewed here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights have taken us on a roller coaster ride, the Maximus takes the drinker on a long, slow-coasting ride from one point on the IPA plane to another.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) Lively is the first word that comes to mind when drinking the Maximus.  It is well carbonated with tiny bubbles that tickle the tongue on the way down.  Despite the teasing, tickling feel on the way down, the sweetness and the malt do cause this offering from Lagunitas to sit fairly heavy. 

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) At the time I first reviewed this beer it was one of my all-time favorite beers, but I was not very well versed in the world of Double IPAs.  It is still a fantastic go-to, and although it is certainly worthy of being on The List, it does not particularly stand out when up against a Hopslam, a Burton Baton or a Ruination.  What it boils down to is that the Lagunitas Maximus is just an average best beer in the world - which isn’t too bad.

DRAWBACKS:  The head was a bit weak, but decent retention and halfway decent lacking saved the foam from being too much of an issue.  The smell could be a touch stronger and I would really like to experience the hops for a slightly longer period of time during each sip.  The grapefruit coming on strong towards the end of the glass certainly helps in this regard, but I wish it was more consistent throughout the whole beer.

SOUND:  Something good, but popular, maybe Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.”  Like the grapefruit, you just seem to get more and more into this song as it goes on.  You might not be ready for it or completely be into it at first, but by the end you’re singing along.

Review #7 - Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Posted by: Stonecipher

Mar. 6, 2011

The Dogfish Head Burton Baton has been much more difficult to track down than I initially suspected.  Here in Illinois, as is the case in 36 other states, Dogfish Head products are pretty easy to find, but given that the Burton Baton is not brewed year-round out there in Delaware, it can be a challenge to locate.

Fortunately, Binny’s Beverage Depot is an incredible resource and my local Binny’s happened to have one 4-pack left last week.  This was particularly good news considering that a couple weeks ago I lost the one bottle of it that I had been able to get my hands on.  As it turned out, that loss was actually a gain.  Rather than having just the one bottle, I was able to have a few extras to enjoy while I was not writing about them.  The reason I have this blog is because I thoroughly enjoy writing about beer, but sometimes it is nice to just sit back and enjoy one without thinking too much about it.  Plus, rather than stealing a sip or two from me, my girlfriend was able to steal an entire beer for herself. 

On to the review:

ABV: 10%

IBUs: 70

Brewery Location: Milton, Delaware

Style: American Double IPA (Blended with an English-style Old Ale)

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.14 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.25 - Excellent

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,189/11^th

Brewery Description: Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) I poured the Burton Baton from its 12oz. bottle into a snifter and found it to be a fairly standard (for a DIPA), but still good-looking deep, mildly opaque copper color.  A small, slightly creamy head rested on top, but it didn’t last long.  Within seconds it was completely gone, which did seem to negatively impact the smell.  As expected with the lack of head retention, not much lacing was evident, although a few scattered wisps of foam remained as evidence that a beer had recently been enjoyed in the snifter.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) Speaking of the snifter, it is an absolute must for this beer.  The aroma is complex and should be appreciated to its fullest and the snifter provides plenty of surface area while simultaneously directing the aroma right into the nose.  Sweet smells of vanilla, malt and some citrus lead the way, but hints of oak and hops lurk in the background.  Had the strength of the aroma lasted a bit longer than it did I would have been able to give this beer higher marks in the smell category.  Unfortunately, though, my first sniff was by far the best and as soon as the head vanished the smell seemed to go with it. 

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) A strong, malty, vanilla and citrusy sweetness completely dominates each sip of the Burton Baton, but if close attention is paid to the taste, there is also a very intense hop flavor that might be missed by some.  It’s like drinking good bourbon in the respect that the strong alcohol flavors often fool people into thinking that it isn’t as sweet as it really is.  The Baton is sort of the opposite; the sweetness hides the bitter, hoppy flavor.  There are plenty of DIPAs (Hopslam immediately comes to mind) that would be good for introducing a non-hop head to the style, but the Dogfish Head Burton Baton might be the perfect beer in this respect.  The hop flavor is a large part of what makes it so impressively tasty, but unless you are really focusing on that in particular it is very easy to not notice what it is.  This is getting to be a long-winded description of the taste, though, so to get back on track notes of pine and citrus are also detectable in this very delicious Double IPA.  A slightly bitter aftertaste also leaves the palate craving the next sweet sip.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) The Burton Baton has the rare combination of having both a smooth, creamy and oily feel while still possessing some strong sparkle and carbonation.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) This is an absurdly easy beer to drink, at least for the first one.  I have not attempted to drink two in one sitting before, but I’m not 100% sure that I would want to.  It sits like a rich dessert would.  The palate craves more, but the stomach might disagree.  One of these days, though, when I have some Burton Baton around again, I’m sure my palate will win out and we’ll see how it goes then.

DRAWBACKS:  My biggest problem with this beer was the lack of head retention and lacing.  The head retention would not have been such a big problem if it had not impacted the nose so strongly.  In terms of the lacing, I know I tend to knit pick about it, but I like my beer to please all of my senses and strong lacing is a large part of what pleases my sense of sight. 

SOUND:  The Burton Baton is a very smooth, pleasant and accessible beer, but at the same time it is extraordinarily complex, lively and full bodied.  It also happens to be rare, at least compared to many other Dogfish Head products.  These characteristics reminded me of a very smooth, easy to listen to, yet still very complex song by a group called the Whatnauts.  The song is called “Help is on the Way” from their album, “The Whatnauts on the Rocks” and was released in 1972.  I usually try to include  a link to the song I am referencing in the sound section, but iTunes doesn’t carry it.  So you’ll have to do a little digging yourself, but in the mean time you can at least check the group out with one of their hit singles called “Livin’ My Life”.

The Updated List - 5 Down, 15 To Go

Posted by: Stonecipher

Feb. 18, 2011

Our first project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights, which we are currently working on, is to review the Top 20 most reviewed American Double/Imperial IPAs according to Beer Advocate.  When I first came up with the idea for the blog back in November, The List looked like this:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders


Of course, a few beers have switched places now that we're in the month of February, but none have fallen out of the Top 20.  I haven't decided what to do if that happens, but the good news there is that only two other beers are really within striking distance and both seem to be a long shot at this point.


In addition to a few beers changing places, 25% of them have now been reviewed and therefore can be crossed off.  Also, the Gordon Ale by Oskar Blues has been forced to change its name for legal reasons to G'Knight Imperial Red Ale.  So, here is what the new list looks like to reflect cross-offs, position changes and the one name change:


1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
9.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
10. Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. G'Knight Imperial Red Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Double Trouble - Founders
17. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith 
20. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery

So there you have it, 5 down, 15 to go.  It's been fun so far!

UPDATE: 8 down, 12 to go.  Pliny might happen this week!

UPDATE 2 - 3/27/2011: 9 down, 11 to go.  The Pliny has been reviewed, finally!  Found it at Poppy's Pizza in Estes Park, Colorado.  It will be an excellent beer to review for the half way point on The List.

Bell's Brewery Hopslam 2011 Release

Posted by: Stonecipher

Jan. 25, 2011

OK, so with the very first review I'm directly contradicting the name of this blog, oh well.  It's about 3:30 in the afternoon here in Chicago and I have been working on important stuff all day, plus I have this six-pack of fresh Bell's Hopslam in the fridge that is calling my name, so I think it is about that time - time for a Bell's Hopslam from Bell's Brewery.

First, some basic facts:
ABV: 10.0%
IBUs: Somewhere in the range of 69 - 136.  The debate rages on.
Brewery Location: Kalamazoo, MI
Style: Double IPA
Beer Advocate Average Rating: A/4.43 - Outstanding
My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.75 - Exceptional
Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 2,034/3rd
Brewer's Description: Click on the Hopslam thumbnail.

Now, before I dive into this review, it is worth noting that I reviewed this beer last year as well on Beer Advocate and if you click here you'll see my BA review.  My palate was just beginning to become sophisticated enough to understand what I was drinking, but I was too stupid to know that the Hopslam was a DIPA and therefore, pretty high in the ABV department.  Anyhow, I wrote the following review before I re-read the old BA one and it is interesting to see compare the similarities and contradictions.  The one thing that stood out from the first review is the quote I used from a fellow bartender of mine "It's like they tried to fit two beers into that one bottle and somehow they fit."  Perfect description, even for the 2011 release.

Alright, without further ado, the review:

APPEARANCE:  Poured this into a snifter fairly aggressively and I was rewarded with a solid, foamy, quarter-inch thick head.  The bubbles are a mix of large and tiny with the bigger bubbles occupying the area towards the center of the glass.  The brilliant and almost completely clear golden color is reminiscent of the honey flavor that I know is waiting in this glass.  Interesting lacing, it appears to remain only on the left and right side of the glass instead of the opposite side I was drinking from and what remains are foamy pillars that stretch from the top to bottom.

SMELL:  The aroma hits the nose immediately with the Hopslam.  As soon as it is poured out of the bottle a sweet, piney, hoppy and honey smell fills the air.  As I move my nose closer to the glass the honey stands out as the dominating aroma.

TASTE:  Upon the first sip, the first thing that stands out is that this beer is more hoppy than it was last year.  True to its name, the hops slap your palate right up front, but as it sits on the tongue a sweet, honey flavor rises and falls before giving way to a bitter, but slightly piney aftertaste.  It is certainly a dryer beer than last year's release, and that, in my opinion is a good thing.  Bell's Brewery has managed to top near-perfection.

MOUTHFEEL:  Hopslam is very clearly a finely tuned, carefully crafted work of art, and while Bell's nailed the look, smell and taste of this beer, they did not forget about the feel.  My guess is that if this beer made any noise it would sound like Marvin Gaye singing "Inner City Blues".  Anyhow, back to the feel, generally, I like to feel a strong sparkle on my tongue, but the lighter sparkle, combined with an little bit of an oily feel make this beer go down extremely smooth.

OVERALL:  What else can I say about this beer?  I chose to review it first because A). it is in season and is fresh and B). it is one of my all-time favorites.  For 10% this is incredibly easy to drink.  The alcohol is certainly easy to detect, but it is so well balanced with the sweetness and hoppiness that it is easy to see how you can get into trouble with the Hopslam.  Maybe it's for the best that we only get to enjoy this delicious brew for a few months of the year.

DRAWBACKS:  There are not many flaws in this beer and you have to get very nitpicky to come up with any.  That said, the head retention and lacing could be a bit better, although that is not an easy proposition for a 10% DIPA, I understand that.  The only other thing I would change about this beer is that it could use a touch more bite on the mouthfeel.  Like I said, nitpicky.  But that's what you have to be when you're looking for drawbacks to an exceptional, near-perfect beer.

SOUND:  OK, I know beer doesn't produce a sound, but to add a little twist, I'm going to try to match up each beer to what I believe it would sound like if it could talk, sing or play some music.  To be fair, I think many of us have tried to talk to our beer at some point in the past, so hey, don't be too tough on me for this.  As I mentioned before, though, this beer is smooth, savory and sweet all at the same time and that is how I view Marvin Gaye's voice.  Given that Hopslam is one of my favorite beers it is only fitting that it would sound like one of my favorite songs "Inner City Blues".  In case you don't already have this gem in your music collection, here's a link to Marvin's "Gold" album on iTunes: 



Thanks for checking out the review.  Hope you enjoyed it and I hope you can get your hands on some Hopslam sometime soon.  It really is an exceptional beer.  Go ahead and leave a comment, tell me what you think of the blog, the beer or the review.  If you're too shy to do that, send me some Beer Mail on Beer Advocate, the user name is StoneTSR.  Cheers!

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights

Posted by: Stonecipher

Nov. 11, 2010

Welcome to 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  I love beer, I love to write and of course, I love to write about beer.  So that is what I will do here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights - review 20 beers on 20 different nights.

To be clear, I will not be doing this in 20 consecutive nights, just 20 random nights over the course of the next few months.  If all goes well, and I am still having fun, I will continue with a new project on the blog here, but I may end up wrapping it all up after I have done my 20 reviews.

Which 20 beers will I be reviewing?  Well, since the Double or Imperial India Pale Ale (DIPA) is currently my favorite style, I will be reviewing the Top 20 most reviewed DIPAs on Beer Advocate.  I am located just outside on Chicago, IL, so most of these beers will be obtainable, but I may need some help from the beer community out there with getting my hands on a couple of them.  I am completely willing to make a trade, or to post a link to your site, whatever.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

For those of you too lazy to go sign up at beeradvcate.com and check out the list, here it is:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders

So, without further ado, check out Review #1 and please comment.  I would love feedback on the reviews, thoughts on beer and general beer related conversation and humor.  Let's have some fun while I blow off the hundreds of things I should be doing instead!