Sweetwater Brewing Johnny Hash
Any time Sweetwater Brewing releases something from their Dank Tank line of beers, you know you’re in for a treat. The latest from this series is the 8.5% ABV double IPA, Johnny Hash. Like all of the Dank Tank products, the beer is appropriately named, as it packs some serious hop character. But there’s another reason for its name, as per the brewery’s recent press release:
… whipped up a bold double IPA using Citra hop hash — a pure, concentrated form of hop resin scraped straight from the belly of Yakima Valley hop pelletizers.
The hash resin is packed with an abnormally high concentration of oils and alpha acids – the bittering component found in hops – delivering an intense citrus aromatic taste.
Now, I don’t know if they actually had someone go through all of that equipment and scrape out the residual hop material, but it at least sounds cool. An apparently, Sweetwater isn’t the first company to employ this special “hash” — Caldera Brewing also has had a beer in production since 2011 (literally called Hop Hash) that uses a similar process.
Is this a new trend in getting all of the hop flavor and aroma that we can possibly get into a bottle? I hope so, Johnny Hash has some serious hop weight behind it’s in-your-face attitude.
Appearance
Crystal clear and golden in color, the brew sits with a dense, resilient cap of off-white foam.
Aroma
Pungent, earthy hops with a ton of juicy citrus and resinous character immediately fill the nose while grain and a light maltiness linger in the background.
Taste
Johnny Hash is a big IPA that packs a load of earthy, resinous, oily hops into a relatively small packages, yet is also deceptively smooth drinking. It’s got a wonderfully earthy character with an appropriately high level of bitterness for the style. Grapefruit rind and a light maltiness also make an appearance as the punch of bitterness declines smoothly toward the slightly warming finish.
Overall
Sweetwater Brewing has another hit with Johnny Hash. This brazenly hoppy, yet incredibly smooth double IPA has what every hophead needs — resiny, oily hops. Just be careful. That 8.5% ABV certainly catches up with you after a bit.
Rating: 4.25/5
This is a review of a promotional sample.
