Jun 20, 2012

DuClaw Brewing Hellrazer IPA

Just like the plethora of wheat ales that I’ve run across this Summer, the ubiquitous IPA is ever present. Any excuse to get my taste buds on a bottle (or can) of wonderfully, hoppy goodness is cool by me. And any beer that primarily uses a hop variety that I don’t believe I’ve run across before in their recipe is even that much more enticing.

DuClaw Brewings Hellrazer is brewed with the Motueka hop variety from New Zealand. Apparently it’s typically utilized in the brewing of traditional pilsners, so an IPA that focused solely on its usage is intriguing. Would the IPA be “hoppy” enough for my palate? Would it taste like a pilsner? Well, as it turns out, Hellrazer ain’t no pilsner and it packs more than its fair share of hopped up mayhem.

Appearance

Hellrazer pours a brilliant orangish amber in color with an off-white head that fell slowly, leaving behind excellent lacing along the interior walls of the glass.

Aroma

This beer’s aroma is packed with loads of sticky pine resin, grapefruit and a mix of lemony citrus. There’s a bit of caramel malt in there as well, but it takes a back seat to the spicy and herbal hop profile.

Taste

The Motueka hops give the beer an interesting character — earthy pine, grapefruit and slighly spicy. There’s a moderate amount of malt sweetness that counters the strong hop bite (85 IBUs worth) and lingering bitterness that this 7.5% ABV IPA packs. And speaking of the alcohol content, it doesn’t impact the flavors all that much, but does leave a distant warmth in the chest.

Overall

I love the unique hop character to this brew. I’m a big IPA fan so any time I can try one that delivers a not-so-standard flavor, I’m all for it. Add to the fact that Hellrazer is just a damn tasty brew and you’ve got a winner in my book. I will most certainly be stocking my beer fridge with this stuff all Summer long.

Rating:4/5

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