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sstackho wrote:I must state that both times this beer was tasted immediately after drinking Black Oak Cask, and I'm not sure there's any beer that can stand up to that comparison!
I had the two to compare as well and I must agree.
Durham HA Reminded me a little of Kingston Brew Co Pale in the feel & finish. Is the malt extracted I wonder? I found the aroma hops a little less pronounced and 3-D, or should I say it had more muscular hops in the bitterness rather than having a big showy & finessed hop bouquet.
I'm nitpicking a little, as all these beers are fairly impressive & worthy of being enjoyed. The Black Oak is just one of the best pints I've ever had.
I had the hop addict on the weekend & quite liked it. It seemed to have more American hop flavour than their signature ale, but I expected it to be more of a hop bomb. It was actually fairly balanced and I prefered it over their signature (though admittedly it's been about 6 months since I had the signature, which I thought was fairly similar to Sleemans IPA, and didn't really care for either).
Anyway, I thought the HA was a step up from Al's cask ale (an ESB)... but both of them 'paled' in comparison to the Black Oak from the cask.
I had this beer twice now, in two different venues, and the difference between the taps could not have been more radical.
Had it at Volo, and it tasted like a thin PA with hop juice squeezed in at the last minute.
I also had it last night at C'est, and it was about 10 times sweeter up front, but more balanced. It also had a disturbing cheese/garlic aroma going on, nearly ruining the sample.
I'm not sure what's going on here, exactly, but I'm glad a local is trying new things....
Had this for the first time last night. My bellowed response over the partition to John's query of my thoughts was "I liked the middle." Not surprisingly I ranked the Hop Addict at the bottom of the list.
lister wrote:Had this for the first time last night. My bellowed response over the partition to John's query of my thoughts was "I liked the middle." Not surprisingly I ranked the Hop Addict at the bottom of the list.
I think you really should try the Titan IPA when the GD shipment comes in. I could spare one, LOL!... anybody spare this guy a bit of Hercules as well?! Just to see what happens.
Belgian wrote:I think you really should try the Titan IPA when the GD shipment comes in. I could spare one, LOL!... anybody spare this guy a bit of Hercules as well?! Just to see what happens.
Not surprisingly I ranked the Hop Addict at the bottom of the list.
Just to see what happens.