Sand Creek Brewing Lilja’s Hop Nest Monster IPA (365 Day 84)

By scot in 365 Days of American Craft Beer on Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Lilja's Hop Nest Monster IPA

Some nights when you are looking through the American craft beers in the cellar or fridge, it is very clear as to which beverage should be reviewed. A meeting of the bottle/can and your mind is one. Maybe it is the name of the beer, the look of the logo, the style of the beer, or it just could be a blind grab.

Last night I chose Lilja’s Hop Nest Monster IPA by Sand Creek Brewing Company. I chose this beer because the label is damn cool: some very dinosaur looking version of the lock nest monster, the style: American IPA as there is almost never a bad time for an IPA, and I even liked the name: Hop Nest Monster, sort of catchy. So my selection had nothing to do with knowledge of the beer inside the container: pure selection by look and appeal.

Hop Nest Monster was a bit of a let down when it came to the aroma as it really didn’t have that nice dry hop aroma that I was expecting out of an American IPA. Instead there was bread malt and a touch of lemon hops. I did check out the web site, on there it was mentioned that the beer was not dry hopped, bummer. Likewise, because we partially drink the aroma, there wasn’t much hop presence in the taste either. Oh, there was some bitterness and citrus/lemon flavor but it was minimal.

If you are looking for a more malt forward IPA, that drinks well because of the minimal, non-lasting bitterness, give this beer a try as it is definitely above average, just not out of this world enticing for an American IPA. Enjoy!

Aroma: 7, Taste: 7, Look: 8, Drinkability: 7, Overall: 7.2

Useless Fact: In ancient Rome, it was considered a sign of leadership to be born with a crooked nose.