     Hop Hearty Ale (New Glarus Brewing Company)
Hop Hearty is now retired. Sigh. It was recently gracefully put to rest along with other New Glarus greats such as Cabin Fever, Tailwagger and Zwickel as part of their "Beers we have known and loved" section of their website. This bottle is not that old and should definitely still be pretty tasty. I guess I'll hang on to it as a collector's item. From the New Glarus site: "Finally, Hop Hearty Ale, the Wisconsin I.P.A. you've been thirsten' for. This ale is brewed with the best of Old and New World Hops. Then we infuse the aging tanks with a dry hop addition of Cascade and East Kent Goldings to bring home the hops! Expect this ale to pour a glass brimming with rich caramel flavors along with an intense hop aroma that you won't soon forget. Cleanly bitter and aromatic, this ale is not for the faint of heart." Here we go... Pour - bright orange, almost glowing. Very nice looking pour, a good inch of stark white foam that laces the inside of the glass quite elegantly. Lots of perfect little bubbles rising gracefully inside their amber liquid prison. Their fate awaits... Aroma - slightly piney, orange peel, lemon zest, powdered sugar and hints at tropical fruits. Taste - first sip and it tastes like a pretty straight forward IPA. There is some decent hop bitterness and a nice malt backbone so its nicely balanced. The hoppiness is not over the top but its definitely the predominant flavor, its not as piney or grapefruity as some of the others I've loved but those seem to set the bar ridiculously high! However, I like that this is so well balanced with a very manageable hop flavor and profile. Nice and citrusy with some nice tangy sweetness. Good stuff. Sad to see it retired. Overall - very tasty IPA from the folks at New Glarus. Balanced but with a pronounced hop flavor. I actually find this to be the type of IPA I could bring along to a party and run out of pretty quickly. Would I buy more of it? - if I could I think I would. Yes. I could go for a 6-pack of this from time to time. Its a very drinkable hoppy delight. Note - New Glarus recently released "Moon Man" which is a 5% ABV American Pale Ale (APA) which they called their "No Coast Pale Ale".
Posted by Russ Labels: American IPAs, Retired Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
