[1] Review by bosoxbrent from Silver Spring, MD, USA who has tried this beer once. (8/5/2008 11:18:32 AM)
"For an East Coaster, when I think of the Hops Kings of the West Coast, one of the first breweries that comes to mind is the Green Flash Brewing Company. I just cant get enough of their beers. With that said, the other day I saw their "Hop Head" available at the Old Toad in Rochester, NY. Having never had it, I had to get some.
I poured the bottle out into a glass and the first thing that I noticed was this beautiful floral explosion coming out of the glass. I had to pass it around the table and all of my friends agreed. The beer is a standard dark amber color with a reddish hue around the edges. It has a medium sized, slightly off white head on it that leaves behind some light lacing on the glass walls.
Dry, bitter, and pretty damn good are the things that come to mind when I did get around to sampling the beer. The floral and citrus tones mix together nicely as the beer hits your tongue. The carbonation is a little brutish here as you are definitely left with a hearty tingling feeling on your tongue.
Overall I like this one a lot and the folks at Green Flash have done a great job once again. This one really is a hoppy little beast. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.3)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $5.5 Unit Cost: $7.33 per Pint
[2] Review by doulos31 from Middletown, DE, USA who has tried this beer once. (7/8/2008 10:38:26 PM)
"Beer pours a beautiful amber copper color with lots of little yeasties suspended in solution. The aroma was pine and the flavor was that of caramel malts, really sweet but the perfect amount of piney and resinous hops to balance this out. A lot going on in this one. Really nice."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by Beav from Fort Collins, CO, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (7/1/2008 10:25:27 PM)
"12 oz bottle. Pours a light reddish brown with a medium sized frothy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.
The aroma is sweet caramel malts and resinous piney hops with a touch of alcohol.
The flavor is sweet caramel malts, nuts and some sugary fruit quickly followed by a big bitter resinous grassy hop finish that lingers in the charry aftertaste. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly watery.
Overall, a one dimensional brew for the hop lovers. I prefer a little more balance and the brighter hops."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
5/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 72oz @ $8.5 Unit Cost: $1.89 per Pint
[4] Review by ggrumet from Pittsburgh, PA, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (6/19/2008 10:51:35 PM)
"This pours dark, molten red from the bottle with a healthy offwhite head that dissipates and laces the glass nicely. The aroma is awakening, very zesty and sweet with the expected grapefruit tinge. What do you expect with a name like hop head? Mouthfeel is smooth and wonderfully sticky, as only a pale ale can be. The taste is extremely balanced, with the Amarillo hops hitting nicely at first, followed with a smooth malt backbone. The label claims a red IPA, and this may be stretch, as I'd of preferred more hops, but the hop addition does make for a great beer; and this is definitely a winner, a great session brew. "
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.1)
Sampled: Bottle, Forced Draught Sample Size: 12oz @ $3 Unit Cost: $4 per Pint
[5] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (5/23/2008 12:06:54 AM)
"A solid pour nets me a three-finger thick, amber tinged, full tan colored, sticky hop-laden head in my 25cl tulip. The beer is a brilliantly clear, ruddy, dark red color that shows some bright copper notes when held up to the light. The aroma is quite hoppy with aromas of dank green tea, a light garlic chive note, and a deep, herbal note that can be quite similar to hemp oil. There is also a plethora of citrus hop aromatics, in fact they play just as big a role as the more herbal aromatics; ruby red grapefruit, bergamot and lychee all are found in ample quantities. A touch of caramelized malt aromatics and toasty grain serves to hold up the hop character, barely intruding on its own.
Fairly dry tasting and well carbonated which causes the beer to foam up a bit as it hits my tongue. Bitingly bitter from the get go, though it only get really sharp in the long, lingering finish. Largely herbal with the aforementioned hemp oil notes playing a big role. Slight menthol notes in the finish, along with a green, almost tannic hop notes completely dominate the malt. There is some malt character noticeable more up front; a very slight touch of malt sweetness, some hints of caramel malts, and a dry toasty grain note, none of which keep this beer from being quite thin. This really could use quite a bit more malt body & flavor; in fact increasing these would actual bring out more of the hop character, especially the citrus / fruit hop-derived flavors.
Not a bad beer, it just doesn't have quite enough malt to stand up to and even support the hop flavors. The aroma is quite nice though and definitely tickles my hop-head funny-bone. Though if you like the sharper, more herbal style of hopped up beer then this one is probably what you want, I like a bit more balancing hop-fruitiness than this beer achieves.
Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ"
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 12oz @ $1.7 Unit Cost: $2.27 per Pint
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(4.3)
