Name: Hopman: See Through
Brewer: HideOut Craft Brewery (Philippines)
Style: Specialty IPA: New England IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Review Year: 2021
Hopman: See Through is the latest beer from Tatz Ang of the Manila-based HideOut Craft Brewery. This “Hazy IPA” was brewed with the newest innovative product, INCOGNITO Citra by Haas.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Specialty IPA: New England IPA (21B) in the context of the provisional guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) for the said beer style. The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Pours slightly hazy deep gold; well-formed head with good retention. The nose bloomed with a prominent floral-fruity (cantaloupe) aroma and fresh orange citrus; low bready malt aroma. The body was slightly below medium with carbonation at an appropriately moderate level; smooth. The flavor profile is best described as hop-forward but malt presence is not too far off in the balance. Orange citrus flavor, albeit moderate, was at the forefront and gave the beer a bright and fresh impression. A medium-low floral accent and a low bready malt character supported the mentioned citrus flavor. Medium-low bitterness; subtle black pepper and anise-like flavors. Off-dry finish– not too sweet but not too dry either. The aftertaste lingered with low impressions reminiscent of black pepper and hop bitterness.
THE VERDICT
Billed as a “Hazy IPA” but benchmarked as a New England IPA (NEIPA), Hopman: See Through is a very drinkable beer that highlighted bright, fresh citrus and pleasantly floral qualities. While the citrus hop flavor is present, the overall flavor profile felt it needed more of that hop complexity typically found in the other NEIPAs (or Hazy/ Juicy IPAs if referring to the Brewers’ Association guidelines) in the market today. The black pepper-like impression could still be toned down or removed while a medium or medium-full body could also be pursued. On a more trivial note, there is this intangible characteristic in this beer that reminded us of Hideout’s Hoppy Pilsner. All in all, we think Hopman: See Through is a very good beer.
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