Port Brewing Co. Hop 15
Port Brewing Co.’s head brewer is Tomme Arthur, the same guy who’s the head brewer at Lost Abbey. So you can assume that the beers will aim to be seriously good, maybe even knock-your-socks-off beers. And beers from both companies often fall in the category of cult beers, with many of the Lost Abbey beers and a few of the Port Brewing beers almost impossible to find.
Thankfully, they recently began brewing Hop 15 more often than the once-a-year they had previously brewed it. And since it recently won a bronze medal at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival, it’s safe to assume demand will rise a bit.
Myself, this is a beer that I’ve seen in the shops a few times but have never pulled the trigger on. So with my recent driving interest in over-the-top hoppy beers, I decided it was time to give this a try. Interestingly, when I went to buy some I also ran across a few bottles of Founders Breakfast Stout, but more on that later when I’ve gotten around to trying it (which I am admittedly anxious to do soon).
As for the Hop 15 now in my glass, the nose is dominated by hops. In fact, when I opened the bottle and began pouring the scent of hops began filling the room. At the same time, there is a definite sweet scent joining the hops. So there ends up being a mix of citrus, hop spiciness, and a sort of cotton candy sweetness. The beer itself is a very hazy orange, and the head has the look of a high-alcohol beer. It almost looks like the beer’s going to have a sort of malty sweety viscosity.
The palate is a mix of malt sweetness and hop bitterness, with the malt coming out on top by a slim margin. This is all accompanied by a hint of citrus. The alcohol stands out in the presence of the malt and sugar. And the finish is a long refrain of hop bitterness.
I had no expectations for this beer going into it, and so I’m not disappointed per se. But it’s not my style of IPA (or Double IPA). I’m definitely of the crazy-over-the-top hop leaning, really enjoying beers that deliver lots of hops, in the nose and the palate, but which do so not through relying on hop bitterness, but by brewing the beer such that hop flavor takes the upperhand, and hop bitterness plays a purely accompanying role. The best examples of this approach can deliver lots of hop flavor regardless of the alcohol level of the beer. Off the top of my head, good examples of this are Green Flash West Coast IPA, Victory Hop Wallop, and the Smuttynose (Finest Kind) IPA. All three have different alcohol levels, but they all deliver a serious load of hops, on the nose, the palate, and the finish, without burdening the beer with the sweetness or solvents of alcohol.
In any event, this beer is ok, but definitely falls outside of the range of IPAs that really get me excited. I’m glad that I’ve tried it, but don’t see myself returning to it anytime soon.
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