Work has been slow, as I wrap up my last week or so until I start my new job. I got home tonight, and was very productive. I added a couple of motion sensors to our indoor light switches, because the kids always leave the lights on, and then I ended up mowing the lawn. So, after a productive evening, I thought I’d come in and crack open a beer. This is one of the many beers that my sister brought me back from her trip to Asheville, North Carolina.

The label says, “Death by Hops double IPA is the winner of Olde Hickory’s first pro-am event. This beer was designed by Alex Buerekholtz, award-winning homebrewer and proprietor of Hops and Vines, Asheville, NC. Death by hops is brewed with 2 row barley, hopped with 5 different West Coast hops, then twice dry hopped. The net result is an amazing aroma of ripe juicy fruit mixed in with a bouquet of spring flowers. Death by Hops makes an impact you won’t forget!

Location: Poured from the 22oz bottle into a large Sam Adams perfect pint glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 7% ABV, ~210 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It’s amber in color and pretty clear, and it has a big, soapy-creamy, off-white head with decent retention and lacing. It has a piney-resin aroma with some honey-like maltiness behind it.

Taste & Feel: The body is full and the mouthfeel is smooth and slightly creamy. The flavor up front is a mix of honey maltiness and juicy citrus hop flavors with hints of pine and breadiness in the background. The sweet hop juiciness grows quite a bit in the middle with a piney and slightly floral hop flavor. There’s a brief peak of slightly harsh hop bitterness in the finish, balancing the big, juicy hop flavors. The hop bitterness and flavors last for a couple minutes in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: This beer has a good amount of sweet hop juiciness, which I think would be complemented by a seasoned pork dish or a grilled chicken sandwich.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the mix of hop flavors a lot, which was supported by a decent honey malt flavor in the background. The sweet juiciness of the hops and honey-like flavors remind me a bit of Bell’s Hopslam, except the bitterness is slightly more harsh. Overall, it’s a good flavorful IPA with a good, complex mix of hop flavors.

My Rating:

Reader Ratings[five-star-rating]