Tasted: Clash of Hops

By scot in Home Brewing on Thursday, April 23rd, 2015

Clash of Hops has been bottled for three weeks, it is finally coming into its’ own. For some reason it was slow carbonating. Flat beer just doesn’t do it for me.

Continuing with my last few beers, this beer is quite cloudy. I have a couple of theories but I have to look further into each. The first is the ridiculous amount of hops used throughout the process. The second, is the water. I recently purchased a ph meter to start testing mash ph, but this goes further.

I believe my local water has changed. Even the sanitary water comes up cloudy. I have asked the city for a water report. The 2014 report should be out shortly, while the 2013 is available online. Research on water comes next.

Look: Pours quite cloudy giving a dull orange, golden color. A solid inch of pure white, thick foam. Retention is solid with the foam frothing as it recedes, slowly. Lacing is outstanding, leaving thick remnants immediately.

Aroma: Juicy fruit. Light grain with a touch of sweetness. Fruity hops abound.

Taste: Light grain and sweetness carry the back. The sweetness doesn’t come from caramel, just a pleasant, balancing sweetness. There is touch of bitterness and heat in the finish. The hops linger longer than the alcohol.

Drinkability: Medium body: when the foam and beer hit the lips at the same time, there is a nice creaminess. Medium carbonation at best. Carbonation lends quite a bit to the body for this beer.

Overall: Bitterness and alcohol make this a tough beer in quantities. The hops are the grace of this beer.

Not my best offering. The hops carry this beer. The sugar adds to much straight up alcohol to the final beer. Enjoy By, the beer this originally started off as, has more alcohol aroma/flavor than I remember. I am looking more for balance and drinkability in beers anymore. Enjoy!

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