Beer of the Weekend #930: Hill Hopper
The warm weather we had last weekend got me thinking about cycling season, and the beer of the weekend—Hill Hopper, brewed by the Confluence Brewing Company of Des Moines, Iowa—fit those thoughts.
The color is medium, slightly hazy amber. An overly careful pour produces a half finger of off-white and buttery head that leaves a skim, collar, and a short trail of lace.
The aroma is fruity goodness! It is bursting with grapefruit, and I also get orange. It is sweet and soft, reminiscent of orange ice cream or an orange Creamsicle.
The flavor is juicy and sticky sweet with a touch of hop bite on the tonsils. Orange and grapefruit dominate, though it does not taste like ice cream or a Creamsicle. There is also a hint of something slightly more acidic, like lemon. The hops are earthy and settle on the taste buds. It is a very smooth, very solid, very crushable brew!
Fun facts about Hill Hopper:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: I forgot to get the receipt, but I assume it was something like $9 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
• Here is the description via the brewery website:
• I realized that beige is not the correct word to use when describing the color of off-white foam. The definition of beige in my laptop dictionary is “a pale sandy yellowish-brown color”—not what I had in mind. The beige I was referring to is like the color of my Power Mac G3:
D’oh! Maybe I should call it Power Mac beige. ;-)
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
The color is medium, slightly hazy amber. An overly careful pour produces a half finger of off-white and buttery head that leaves a skim, collar, and a short trail of lace.
The aroma is fruity goodness! It is bursting with grapefruit, and I also get orange. It is sweet and soft, reminiscent of orange ice cream or an orange Creamsicle.
The flavor is juicy and sticky sweet with a touch of hop bite on the tonsils. Orange and grapefruit dominate, though it does not taste like ice cream or a Creamsicle. There is also a hint of something slightly more acidic, like lemon. The hops are earthy and settle on the taste buds. It is a very smooth, very solid, very crushable brew!
Fun facts about Hill Hopper:
• Style: Pale ale.
• Price: I forgot to get the receipt, but I assume it was something like $9 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.
• Alcohol content: 5.7 percent ABV.
• Here is the description via the brewery website:
Iowa’s back highways and trails are the perfect combination of rolling hills and wide open spaces. The thrill of brewing something new is just as liberating and exhilarating as the feeling of catching some air. As those who cycle across our great state can attest, those hills can be a grind and just like following your passion the rewards are even better when you have to work for it. This sticky, citrusy American Pale Ale is a passion project of our Head Brewer John Martin who brewed a pale ale with Amarillo, Citra, & Simcoe to fit his personal tastes.
• I realized that beige is not the correct word to use when describing the color of off-white foam. The definition of beige in my laptop dictionary is “a pale sandy yellowish-brown color”—not what I had in mind. The beige I was referring to is like the color of my Power Mac G3:
D’oh! Maybe I should call it Power Mac beige. ;-)
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
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