Why we're here...

Beer culture is coming of age. At any store, restaurant, bar, or friend's house you can now find at least a few good brews. In fact, there seem to be so many new beers, breweries and bars it's difficult to separate the good, the bad, and the mediocre.

If you're going spend $10 on one beer, what should you buy? If you're going to drive 2 hours to check out a brewery, what's worth your time? If you're going to plan a Friday night, what has a good selection and friendly atmosphere? We're here to help you answer these questions.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Hop Henge

Hop Henge Experimental IPA is an Imperial IPAfrom the Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon.

Hope Henge is a part of Deschutes' Bond Street series in honor of their first brewery and its experimental nature. While the ingredients of Hop Henge are traditional, Deschutes experiments with the process and various amounts. Hop Henge won the 2011 World Beer Awards for World's Best Pale Ale.


From reading past reviews of Hop Henge, I get the sense that from year to year the recipe is slightly different.

I bought this at Taylor's Market in Sacramento. It has an ABV of 8.5%.

The beer pours a clear golden orange with a thin head that leaves plenty of lacings. The aroma has strong citrus, fruit, and floral hops, ripe orange, with some piney hop notes. The taste is a perfect balance between an assertive hop bit and sweet, caramel and biscuit malts, with a ribbon of changing hop flavor - grapefruit, orange, piney, and floral. The mouthfeel is smooth, with a sticky resin in the middle, and a finish that reveals the big ABV. There is a lingering, mild hop bite.

Overall, this is an awesome DIPA. The big hops are really well balanced with a really nice malt flavor. there is a pleasant, big hop bite, but it's well balanced. Hop Henge as a big ABV, but is very drinkable and smooth. I have not had a DIPA quite like this. Unique, great, big flavors, and drinkable. This is a Must Have It.

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