Bend Brewing Co
Bend, OR
Available: OR
Bend Brewing Co. overlooks Mirror Pond in the heart of downtown Bend, OR. We specialize in handcrafted beers to match the unique spirit, beauty and charm of Bend itself. HopHead is Bend Brewing Company’s personal gift to those who live life in pursuit of the hop. HopHead has an exquisite hop aroma followed by an excessive hop flavor that leaves you wanting more.
ABV: 9.2
ABW: N/A
Color: N/A
Bitterness: N/A
Original gravity: N/A
Misty orange-gold in color, the head struggles to sustain itself. A quick swirl unfurls the massive aromas that I'd expect in an Imperial IPA. Grapefruit and spruce give way to mango and orange, with some caramel honey in the nose. The body is trim, and the flavor is yet another blast of those dank tropical fruits, evergreen hops, a little malt sweetness, a suggestion of candied orange and some summery ester notes of apricot. Hophead finished hard and dry with a lingering bitter grapefruit pulp. This is what hopheads crave when they want that unfettered resinous jolt of the American Northwest. Malt will wait its turn in another beer.
Notes of citrusy hop oils dominate the aroma of this copper-colored ale, supported by a secondary floral scent reminiscent of paperwhites. The light honey sweetness that teases the tongue at first sip is quickly submerged beneath a tsunami of C-hop notes, with grapefruit rind, lemon pith and lime juice all in evidence before a calming ripple of dried fruitiness creeps in at the finish. I suspect it is stronger than it seems—why not list the strength, Bend? I doubt the hop heads out there will mind.
K. Florian Klemp is an award-winning homebrewer and general hobbyist who thinks there is no more sublime marriage than that of art and science.
Once described as “beerdom's Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel, and how it all goes together.
