Last night I had a bottle of Lagunitas[/s ]Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA.
The goal with this beer was to provide the wet harvest experience all year long and they do that by distilling the hop oils fresh from the harvest. More on that here.
It pours a very pale, light color - almost pilsner-esque. If you're following the discussion here about 'less speciality malts' and simpler grain bills this surely fits the bill.
The aroma is strong and pungent - just like a wet harvest IPA should be, but not as strong as other IPAs in general.
The taste is good, but far from my favorite. I think it's heavy on Cascade which I like, but not as a dominant or single flavor. I could be wrong about the hops, so I'm making an assumption there.
The bitterness is solid, very much in the grapefruit/grapefruit peel realm for me. I didn't detect any candied orange peel....
The bitterness does seem to persist a bit on the tongue and palette, more so than many other beers. Maybe this has to do with the oils and the process they use to make this one.
All in all, another one I am glad I tried but I wouldn't seek it out. I'd order it again if out and I didn't have better choices because it's far from a bad beer - just not in my sweet spot for what I REALLY like.
I will say they do seem to have captured the essence of a fresh, wet harvest in this beer.
I picked up a sixer of this over the weekend. Now I am really excited to try it. It sounds like a good beer, disappointed that it may not be the best, but I will try to post my thoughts on it here to compare our experience.
FWIW, I liked it better then the Enjoy By 2/14. The bottle I had, I found to be more drinkable, and more flavorful.
But if you are into the tropical hops, this beer isn't what your looking for, as it has none.
But I am more of a piney/grapefruit/earthy/spicy/floral hop person then a tropical hop person, and I'm not so much into boozy double IPAs, 6-7% is about as big as I like them to get. If it tastes like alcohol it ruins the experience for me. So to my tastes, I liked this. I am also a fan of the northern/southern wet hop series.
JimH wrote:I picked up a sixer of this over the weekend. Now I am really excited to try it. It sounds like a good beer, disappointed that it may not be the best, but I will try to post my thoughts on it here to compare our experience.
Please do! That's the whole point here, not to just listen to me ramble about what *I* think!
mashani wrote:
But if you are into the tropical hops, this beer isn't what your looking for, as it has none.
This could very well be it. If this was made using the same process but with Nelson Sauvin, Citra or something else it's possible I would be singing a different tune. This is why I love hearing other people's perceptions and likes/dislikes of the same beer. I get to know your even more through your taste buds.
Overall, I liked Hop Hunter. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a cold, so I could not taste the finer aspects of the beer. The distilled hop oil gives it a different aspect than I am used to, but it is a welcome change to the typical IPA. I will try one again soon, hopefully with a clear head so I can properly evaluate the beer. So far, absolutely glad I grabbed it.
mashani wrote:
But if you are into the tropical hops, this beer isn't what your looking for, as it has none.
This could very well be it. If this was made using the same process but with Nelson Sauvin, Citra or something else it's possible I would be singing a different tune. This is why I love hearing other people's perceptions and likes/dislikes of the same beer. I get to know your even more through your taste buds.
I'd like it with Nelson. I am a fan of Anchor Humming when I can find it. (if it even still exists).
I'm less of a citra fan. I like Citra in wheat beers and Belgians a lot more then in IPAs.
