Hop Wallop fails to deliver

[beesy]

Picked up a 6'er at local beer store. Sounded nice proclaiming "Hops, Hops, Hops, Hops." At 8.5% AVB, it is a condundrum the beer is so light on SRM. Probably a 5-5.5ish. I am guessing by the ABV and color, it contains almost nothing but a 2-row... (checking their website) After a quick check on Victory's site, they list one grain, Pilsner. Ah ha!! Verdict: Poor aroma and flavor, little to no complexity, and disappointing bitterness. Not one I will buy again.

 

[dontman]

to play Devil's Advocate Hop Wallop pretty much stands as my all time favorite IPA. I loved the spicy up front fresh hop flavor and the nice balance.

OTOH I've heard that this brand will lose flavor and complexity with age and if you are drinking last year's batch then all bets are off.

But please tell me you're not equating SRM with malt flavor. This is parallel to people saying "dark" Porters are too thick. I have a bunch of Munich in stock right now that is bursting with malt flavor and it is only 2.5 SRM. There is a nice helping of Crystal 20 plus some Vienna in the Hop Wallop.

 

[beesy]

This appears to be their Fall/Winter offering. I am drinking the offering that must be from this last fall. Still not old enough, in my opinion, to have lost most of it's aroma.

I can see possibly some Vienna in there, but fail to recognize any Crystal in this beer. I am not equating SRM to malt flavor, just to me, it appears to be a very non-complex beer and the SRM for that big a beer appears to be indicative of it not having many other grains in the grist besides a 2-row (american, MO or pilsner) base. A quick calc in Beersmith with 14lbs pilsner at 80%eff and 77% attn comes with numbers that will be close to the Wallop in terms of ABV. This puts SRM at 4.9-5, which is close to my perception.

Maybe it sat around at beer store and got cooled and warmed and skunked a liitle, who knows. Send me a known fresh one from PA and I will reiterate

 

[Homercidal]

I tried one that I was saving for a friend who likes IPAs. I was not very impressed and also thought it lacked character other than bitterness. It was not flavorful, like every other IPA I have had the pleasure of tasting. A bit of a let down IMO. I'm not opposed to trying it again though, just to be sure.