Sweetwater Brewing Hop Hash Double IPA
When Sweetwater Brewing first announced Hop Hash to their year-round offering, I was curious if this was jus their Johnny Hash repurposed. They assured me that it’s not and based on what I experienced sampling this latest release, I can fully agree. This 7.8% ABV double IPA using a similar method of employing hop hash as its bigger brother (which used a singular hop variety) did, but also includes the addition of Cascade, Centennial, and Simcoe (among others).
Now, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few breweries in my time, helped my father-in-law homebrew, even picked fresh hops off the vine but I think Sweetwater’s Hop Hash is the closest I will come to swimming — much like Mr. Scrooge McDuck — through mountains of hops in gleeful bliss. The hop character of this beer is potent, resinous and packed with everything that hop heads love about that little flower.
For as hop-forward as Hop Hash is, however, it’s not a palate wrecker. The beer is incredibly smooth and well rounded. It’s not balanced by any means, as it is meant to deliver a dank blend of hop flavors, but the brew has also got enough of a malt presence to take the edge off of the hop attack. The result, is one of the better brews from the company that I’ve had in a while. I can see why they added it to their year-round rotation.
Appearance
A dense, frothy cap of foam falls slowly to a full ring around the surface of the clear, golden amber brew.
Aroma
This beer smells like stuffing your head into a sack of piny, oily hops. It’s resinous, dank and carries a solid amount of orange, grass, grapefruit and tangerines, as well.
Taste
Hop Hash is incredibly fruity (orange, pineapple, grapefruit) with an oily, resinous hop character. It’s quite bright and smooth as it flows effortlessly to a lightly drying and satisfying finish. A soft malt sweetness hangs out in the corner while the hops take the stage. The alcohol is fairly well masked, but does warm gently.
Overall
I think you may have guessed that I really liked this beer. It’s a deceptively smooth double IPA — not overly boozy or biting. The hash blend (and other hop additions) instills a tong of flavor in just 12 fluid ounces. It’s a good thing that Sweetwater is releasing this one all year long. I have a feeling that come the middle of December, I’m going to need a dose of hops and Hop Hash is going to do the trick nicely.
Rating: 4.5/5
This is a review of a promotional sample.
