We have received Hopothermia from Alaskan Brewing. Hopothermia is an imperial India Pale Ale looking to bridge the gap between India Pale Ales and the hop bombs that typically come forth out of the West Coast tradition. This means that there is a strong hop presence to this beer but one that is moderated through a decent amount of wheat and malt elements. Hopothermia pours with a yellow coloration and a fair amount of foamy white head. Hints of floral and piney notes dominate during the initial nose of the beer, something bolstered when one takes their first pull off a bottle of this Double India Pale Ale.
There is a good amount of sweetness that plays off the bitterness given Hopothermia by the inclusion of the considerable amount of hops creating an imperial IPA that has a little bit more in depth then only hitting individuals over the head with a mouth-puckering level of bitter. This is an intense journey that one will go through going to the alcohol content of the brew; I feel that a major distraction from a number of the Imperial IPAs is that we have reviewed in NeuFutur Beer is that they attempt to just play on the bitter side of things rather than going and making a beer that everybody wishes to drink. By making something so delectable, Alaskan has attempted to go and really reinvigorate the style, focusing on creating a good beer first off and then a bitter beer secondly. This beer is a year-round effort and will be available from any local beer store that stocks Alaskan Brewing efforts.
We have reviewed a number of Alaskan beers in the past including their Winter Ale, ESB, and Stout in the last few years. Hopothermia is definitely for fans of the Imperial IPA style but will be good for anyone that appreciates a solid and well thought out beer.
Rating 8.8 / 10
Hopothermia (Alaskan Brewing) / 8.5% ABV / https://alaskanbeer.com / http://www.facebook.com/AlaskanBrewingCo / http://www.twitter.com/AlaskanBrewing