I picked this up at the LC the other day and haven't had time to check it out yet. This is only the second beer I've ever tried by Hood River, OR based Double Mountain Brewing. Today's checkin is their Hop Lion IPA. Hop Lion is described as having notes of tropic resin, tangerine, evergreen, and the earthy scent of Northwest petrichor leap from the nose of this proud IPA. Tangelo and fresh bread stalk closely behind, finishing with orange and dank pine. 6.7% ABV, 65 BU
Appearance: The beer pours cloudy and a moderately dark orange, there seems to be a bit of sediment throughout the body, as well as a moderate amount of carbonation. The head is off-white and has a good amount of frothiness to it and diminishes fairly quickly, leaving behind a good amount of lacing on the glass.
Aroma: This already smells like it will be a great IPA - this has an aroma that reminds me of some of my favourite IPAs I get on tap at my favourite pubs and brewery taprooms. It's got a moderately tropical presence that gives off notes of tangerine, lemon and a hint of pineapple. There's a good amount of bitterness to give it a mild piney presence to it, just like most Northwest IPAs pre-NEIPA boom. Somewhat herbal, a bit of a grassiness to it, very aromatic and I think my initial impression in the tasting will start off with a bitterness.. we shall see..
Taste: So, does it? Yeah, it does, but not as bitter as I'd expect it to be. It has a mild pine bitterness right from the start, but it also gives off a sweet pineapple/tangerine presence at the same time so it masks the bitterness a bit. The beer is sweet, has a bit of a caramel malt characteristic to it, as well as a bit of a bready presence that ends up being the aftertaste for this beer. At 6.7%, this is on the verge of being a Double IPA more than just an IPA as I'm definitely getting a bit of a booziness in every sip that's warming me up just a bit. So overall - sweet, tropical yet good amount of bitterness.
Overall Thoughts: This is 100% on point of what I would expect in a Northwest IPA, it has a sharp bitterness from the hops giving it a pine-like flavour to it, but it also has a sweet and tropical presence to make it more enjoyable for those who don't tend to like bitter hops but can stand them if masked by something else, so here we have a good amount of caramel malt sweetness, as well as some tropical fruitiness. It's a tad pricey at $6.65 CAD per 500mL bottle but I feel this was worth every cent. I will for sure be buying another bottle before it's long gone at my local LC.
https://www.doublemountainbrewery.com/brewery/our-beers/
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