Hop Goblin, Tasting Notes

Aroma: Christmas pine trees, fresh cut grass, citrus hints.

Appearance: Thick white head atop a burnt amber colored body.  The beer is mostly clear with a small amount of turbidity left over from the hops.   



Flavor:  Citrus and evergreen notes.  Big hop flavor with something missing in the middle of the drink.  (stressed yeast maybe?)  Malts dominate the flavor.  Almost like a classic East Coast Double IPA.  Slightly astringent high alcohol backbone.  Reminiscent of a barley-wine. Finishes very clean and dry.  Makes it easy to over-drink this beer.

Mouthfeel: Pronounced body and carbonation.  Perfect for the style.  On the chewer side, due to the pronounced maltyness.  The head never dissipates from the glass during the tasting.

Overall Impression:  This is a good beer, I would say in the low 30 point range.  It has its cold side flaws, but is still a easy drinking beer.

Brewing Timeline/Notes:  For a shot in the dark recipe wise this was a great 1st batch.  I think the yeast needs to be a second generation or I need to devote more time to the starter.  Normally I do not have any cold side issues but the delay of 36 hours to see any fermentation concerns me.  I attempted to repitch the washed yeast on my Old Glory #3 and had the same delay.  I tossed in some S-05 as a back up. 

This recipe needs some small tweaks, but mostly on the hop schedule and insuring healthy yeast.  I am planning to rebrew this in late October.   




Hop Goblin Recipe and notes.