“Big, bold and bitter, this independent American thumbs its nose at tradition and challenges true beer lovers to “hop up.” Let your taste buds know who’s the boss. Our Hopinator is a modern day beer super-power, goes off like the 4th of July and is bigger than Texas! In this supersized India Pale Ale we pack in an exceptional amount of American Chinook, Centennial, Citra and Aussie Topaz hops resulting in a brash bitterness that vies for palate dominance over a smooth caramel malt bill.”
Served in an IPA glass. Pours an attractive copper hue which is capped off by a conservative finger of beige foam. The head recedes slightly and maintains a thin film for the duration of the beer with a good sheet of lace clinging to the glass as it ebbs. Smells fantastic! Dank, resinous hops combine beautifully with the sweet, sugary caramel malt base. We get a firm toffee scent that entices the alcohol out but then instantly masks it. A brilliant hop bill including Chinook, Centennial, Citra (US) and Topaz (Aus) fuse together to produce a cocktail-like mix of mango, rock melon, passion fruit, pineapple and aniseed. Really good depth. In the mouth it holds a nice weight with a relatively slick texture considering the 80 IBU. The malts work exceptionally well to pull any sign of aggressive hop bitterness back. The 7.5% ABV is kept in check and the moderate Co2 level ensures a decent body. It’s like everything we’ve previously mentioned in this review converges on the palate on entry. Sweet toffee/butterscotch malts flow through the punchy, bitter hops as a fruity cocktail of tropical fruits are boosted by a subtle alcohol burn. The intensity of the hops and alcohol persevere through the mid and lead in to a long, dry and ultimately bitter finish. Good length. This beer is certainly up there in the top tier of Australian IPA’s. The American character in it is superbly executed, simply by putting the big ‘C’ hops front and center. But having this sweet, caramelised malt base to level it out makes it a highly enjoyable quaffer. Geez, it’s almost sessional in a way. We absolutely loved it!