Guest Video Review by Jeff Lyons

Last year (2013) I watched a video review of Henniker Brewing Hop Slinger IPA by Jeff Lyon of New England Beer Reviews. It was a great review (Jeff’s always are), and I was intrigued by this beer from the Henniker Brewing Company of Henniker, New Hampshire. Henniker, just opened in late 2012, does not distribute outside New Hampshire, though, so I never thought I would get to try it.

Lo and behold, though, I have a bottle before me now (thanks Jeff)! And I am very anxious to try it. This is a classic American IPA of 6.5% ABV and 65 IBUs. Henniker describes it as follows on the bottle:

Hop Slinger gets its golden copper color from the light caramel malts, which provide a solid backbone to support all the great hops. This beer presents with an overwhelming citrus aroma that leads into an unmistakable flavor of grapefruit. Hop Slinger leaves you with a nice dry bitterness that pairs well with spicy curries, salty fried foods and ginger based desserts.

Let’s give it a try, shall we?

Henniker Hop Slinger pours to a bright orange amber color with a thick creamy head of uneven foam and veritable fruit basket nose of citrus and pear. Taking a sip, I love the caramel up front-it’s a little toasty too- and it sets the stage for the fruity notes. Specifically, more of the pear I got in the nose, and then a lot of citrusy grapefruit, bitter grapefruit seeds, grapefruit juice, and at the last some leafy herbal hop aroma just before the bitterness hits. That bitterness is long and lingering and leaves the whole affair dry. Do they dry hop? The lovely hop aroma seems to suggest so.

I have to say this one is just loaded with hop aroma and flavor. It also left an extremely thick layer of Brussels Lace on the sides of my glass. What a lovely, malty, drinkable IPA.

Jeff, you’re lucky to have regular access to this delicious IPA!

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box . *Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer. (B)=Bottled (D)=Draft (G)=Growler

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