| Okay well sure, it's St. Patrick's Day today. But for | | | | closely at the label, I can see that this Pennsylvania |
| whatever reason, I picked up a bottle of Hop Wallop | | | | craft beer boasts a pretty hefty alcohol by volume |
| from Victory Brewing Company during this evening's | | | | rating of 8.5%. I couldn't tell it however as the alcohol |
| drop-by at my local mix a six pack beer purveyor. | | | | content appears very well cloaked in this |
| Traditionally, this particular beer is a yearly Fall season | | | | Pennsylvania-based microbrew. Either way, in flavor |
| brew but this bottle was still hanging around in the | | | | and in alcohol, it's not a chugging beer, at least not |
| cooler and it's got a "enjoy by" date of 12/6/08, so | | | | for me. One interesting note is that by about 1/3 left |
| what the heck, right? Hop Wallop is customarily | | | | in my glass, this microbrew is especially clear and |
| classified as an Imperial India Pale Ale craft beer, | | | | crystalline almost. It morphed its appearance almost |
| brewed and bottled at Victory Brewing's | | | | as quickly as the weather does here in Western |
| Pennsylvania-based Downingtown brewery. | | | | Pennsylvania. |
| This imperial IPA poured a cloudy, chill-hazed burnt | | | | Overall though, my personal opinion is that Victory |
| orange from the 12 ounce brown bottle into my | | | | Brewing Company Hop Wallop is a very good beer |
| unchilled 16 ounce pint glass. The head of this beer | | | | although pretty straight-forward and one dimensional |
| quickly rose to a 3/4 inch, pillowy meringue froth that | | | | in complexity. This ale is probably the king of beers |
| lasted a good 2-3 minutes before slowly subsiding. | | | | when it comes down to sheer hop bitter terror. It's |
| This craft ale's aroma wafted up, out and about | | | | most certainly all about the hops with this craft beer. |
| from my glass, ringing true to a strong hoppy | | | | I personally enjoyed Hop Wallop, but I would guess |
| character. Very bold in bitter grapefruit and cheering | | | | that there are likely many folks who wouldn't if |
| from the sideline presence of fresh pine was | | | | hoppy beers are not their cup of tea. In fact, even if |
| predominant. | | | | hoppy beers are your favorite, Hop Wallop still might |
| The initial sip of this Victory Brewing Co offering | | | | not be the ticket. It depends. This Imperial IPA falls |
| puckered my mouth and gave off a zesty kick of | | | | on the extreme end of bitter hop bombs. I'd give |
| otherworldly hops bitterness. The primary flavor is | | | | Victory Brewing Company's Hop Wallop an 8.0 out of |
| bitter grapefruit and it lasts through to the swallow. | | | | 10.0 points on my scale. It's a worthy brew for your |
| Carbonation level isn't a distraction at all and it ends | | | | bucks and especially worth a sit down with for any |
| by going down pretty smoothly although there is a | | | | hop head out there. |
| sticky lollipop sour aftertaste that lingers well after. | | | | P.S. As an curious beer drinking side note, the label on |
| There is just a glimmering hint of a spicy flavor to it | | | | the Hop Wallop beer bottle features a cartoon slappy |
| in the background, almost clove-like, but not much. | | | | pappy miner 49er character who goes by the |
| Hop Wallop [ is strong, very strong in its overbearing | | | | moniker of Horace "Hop" Wallop, at least according |
| hop supremacy. Any malt in this Victory beer? It's | | | | to the entertaining little label story about the origin of |
| close to impossible to detect that's for certain but it's | | | | Victory Hop Wallop. Maybe the story's true, maybe |
| got to be in there somewhere. In looking more | | | | it's not. You decide. |
