Bend Brewing HopHead Imperial IPA

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Bend Brewing HopHead Imperial IPA

Beer Name: HopHead Imperial IPA
Brewery: Bend Brewing Co. (Bend, OR)
ABV: Not stated on bottle, but listed as anywhere from 8.7% to 9.2%. Website says 9.0%.
How sold: 22 oz. (650 mL) bottles
Where bought: Belmont Station (Portland, OR)
Price: $7.99 for 22 oz. bottle

Date Purchased: October 18, 2015
Date Opened/Drank: October 31, 2015
IBUs: 100+
When brewed? Limited-time/seasonal beer.

Awards: Bronze medal, 2008 GABF

Where distributed: Bend Brewing just ships their beers to Oregon. HopHead is only shipped to select spots. Click here for where this beer is found!

What's on the Bottle/Website: "Bend Brewing Co. overlooks Mirror Pond in the heart of downtown Bend, Oregon. We specialize in handcrafted beers brewed to match the unique spirit, beauty and charm of Bend itself. HopHead is bend Brewing Company's personal gift to those who live life in pursuit of the hop. HopHead has an exquisite hop aroma followed by an excessive hop flavor that leaves you wanting more." Read more here!

REVIEW:

Appearance (5%): Poured a hazy golden color into a pint glass. Several millimeters of white head that reduce to a sudsy surface. 4.25/5

Smell (25%): A pleasant, sweet tropical citrus experience. Detecting grapefruit and orange. Malty notes. 4.5/5

Taste (40%): Tropical citrus flavors of grapefruit and orange. Malty qualities and slight dank notes. A tad of alcohol detected, but masked extremely well. Amazingly smooth, sweet-citrus aftertaste and experience. Very delicious. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel (10%): Medium to medium-full, malty body. Slightly velvety on the tongue. Little carbonation. 4.5/5

Overall (20%): An excellent IPA. This was a nice find, as this beer is not yet distributed outside Oregon -- and only a few months ago started shipping to Southern Oregon and the Oregon Coast. Still, Bend Brewing has won numerous awards on their beers for years, so they aren't a new popup by any means. Glad I finally got to try HopHead, which only appears toward the winter season (label implies a fall or early winter release). $7.99 is a reasonable price for a double IPA, and this was from Belmont Station, a place that has historically charged a little higher around Oregon for their bottles/cans. 4.5/5

Final Weighted Rating: 4.588/5

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Welcome!

This blog is simply a place for me to review various craft beers that I can get my hands on. I will generally try to buy the bottle (or can) if possible. Obviously, this is all subjective.

Right now, I am most likely to drink IPAs or Double IPAs, but that can change. If there are any "must-buy" beers out there, I hope to find and review it.

Much like at BeerAdvocate, I will review a beer based on several weighted factors, each on a scale from 1-5:

A = Appearance/look (5%)
S = Smell/aroma (25%)
T = Taste (40%)
M = Mouthfeel (10%)
O = Overall (20%)

Because I want to deliver quality reviews, I also plan to include additional information in each post, including but not limited to: (1) ABV; (2) type of beer; (3) price; (4) where bought; and (5) some scores from other beer review websites at the time of posting.

Before people start asking, no, I likely will not be brewing my own beer -- although I have considered it before. Lack of patience. :-/

Finally, special thanks to my friend Peter for making the banner at the top of this blog. Be sure to check out his website: http://www.californiafoodtravel.com/

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