Appearance: The Hoperation pours very un-IPA-like, it looks like a witbier in my opinion, like a Rickards White/macro take on witbier, very orange-pineapple in colour, hazy, lots of sediment floating around, and a minimal off-white head. I expected more of a rich amber, yet still hazy.. but since this is a Belgian-styled IPA, this makes some sense.
Aroma: It has floral yet grassy aroma, smells like spring - an aroma that I can only dream of with winter never going to end it seems. Slightly soapy with a piney hopiness to it, the pine is consistent with most West Coast IPAs out there. Slightly Belgiany with a bit of spice (clove), as well as a nice light citrus fruitiness in addition to all I just said: a noticeable amount of pineapple, but nowhere near the amount of pineapple in 8 Wired's Hop Wired IPA.
Taste: Has a bit of a soapy taste to it, followed by a medium amount of pine bitterness - not too hoppy, yet not lightly flavoured. The bitterness lingers for a while on the palate for the aftertaste. Some lemon citrus notes in there as well, lacks the pineapple I smelled before but hey.. it's still a decent IPA! A smidge of Belgian yeast is hitting the palate here and there, and I really like that as a Belgian snob. Lastly, my burps have a bit of a pineapple citrusness coming from this beer.
Overall Thoughts: I've never had a Belgian-style IPA before so I didn't know what to expect, so for the most part, it was very similar to most BC IPAs I've had in the past, but toned down quite a bit, a Belgian yeastiness, and the appearance of a Belgian witbier or tripel. I love the name, Hoperation Tripel Cross, so that made me want to open this sooner rather than later. 7.3% ABV, I would drink this again! Not too hoppy, and not boring.
phillipsbeer.com/Beers/hoperation-tripel-cross
1 comment:
For one of the better examples of this style (and this is one of them IMO), try Green Flash's Le Freak, another Belgian IPA. I really like the style.
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