Welcome to Beer Tastings, a weekly series in which Utah Beer News highlights a particularly tasty local brew. What are you drinking? Let us know!
Beer Tastings: Hop Nosh
When IPA Day rolls around, I turn to an old standby. Hop Nosh is Uinta Brewing’s flagship IPA, and it’s one of my favorite local craft beers.
Hop Nosh, which for a time went by a slightly different name, is a 7.3% ABV beer with “assertive bitterness and vibrant hop aromatics,” according to Uinta. I agree wholeheartedly.
Aromas of citrus, primarily grapefruit, mix with pine. The flavor is more balanced than a lot of “hop bomb” IPAs. Caramel malts counter the bitterness and even give the beer a pleasantly gentle sweetness.
Make no mistake, Hop Nosh is still a hoppy beer (82.4 IBUs, Galaxy and Chinook hops). But it’s not relying on hop bitterness to mask anything.
A pair of Hop Nosh offshoots, featuring tangerine and grapefruit, are available and also delicious. But for me, it’s tough to beat the original.
- Brewery: Uinta Brewing Co.
- ABV: 7.3%
- Serving Style: Can (12 ounce)
- Date Tasted: August 2, 2018
- Purchase Location: Uinta Brewhouse Pub
Uinta Brewing: Celebrating 25 Years
Part of the “old guard” in Utah craft beer, Uinta Brewing celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018.
You can read about much of the brewery’s history here. But briefly: It started in an old mechanic’s garage in 1993, and the first beer hit shelves in 1994. In 2017, Uinta produced 93,000 barrels — or nearly 3 million gallons — of beer. It finished the year as the nation’s 37th-largest craft brewer.
Its flagship IPA continues to be a top seller, though the brewery’s beer line up seems to be ever-expanding.
Locals anticipate seasonal releases, the latest of which is Alpenglow, a 7% wild sour ale available in 750ml bottles. More specifically, according to Uinta, it’s a mixed fermentation sour ale blended with a traditional blonde ale fermented with Brettanomyces that aged in oak for two years
Hop Nosh IPA — Uinta Brewing
Product Name: Hop Nosh IPA
Product Description: From the brewery: "Our flagship IPA boasts an assertive bitterness and vibrant hop aromatics. Expect notes of pine, lime zest, and grapefruit supported by caramel malts." >>>> I get a lot of citrus aromas, primarily grapefruit. The caramel malt comes through in the flavor, with a slight resinous pine hoppiness. The bitterness is there, but for me at the very end, the caramel malts offer a gentle sweetness — and that's the aspect I love most about this IPA.
- Aroma
- Appearance
- Flavor
- Mouthfeel
Overall Impression
Uinta Brewing’s flagship IPA “boasts an assertive bitterness and vibrant hop aromatics. Expect notes of pine, lime zest, and grapefruit supported by caramel malts,” according to the brewery. I pick up a gentle caramel sweetness at the end that perfectly complements the citrus-y, pine-y hop bitterness.
- Aroma: Citrus, primarily grapefruit and some lime
- Appearance: Spongy off-white head, dissipates moderately; golden-orange, not quite opaque
- Flavor: Caramel malts, slight resinous pine; grapefruit, subtle lime
- Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, slightly chewy
But you don’t have to take my word for it.
Note: The tasting notes format is adapted from a Homebrew Academy Beer Tasting Mastery course I took in 2017.
