A halloween scare...and what's scarier than the Devil? HopDevil, that is.
HopDevil has long been one of my favorite beers - indeed, it may be the beer that single handedly delivered me away from techno-swill permanently. It wasn't the first craft beer I ever had, but it was the first that became a regular quaff and not just "something different."
It turns out that my novice taste buds weren't totally naive--or, at least, I managed a strong case of beginner's luck. The beer has won rave reviews, including the 1999 Domestic Beer of the Year award from Malt Advocate.
The beer has a nice maltiness; not quite sweet, but definitely on the border. HopDevil uses German malts, and the grain bill might make for a nice Octoberfest if brewed with a lager yeast, a decoction, and a significant reduction in hop quantity. In fact, Victory is largely a lager brewery, so HopDevil may have originated from such a notion.
But I would by no means use "malty" as the primary descriptor for HopDevil. True to its name, the beer is undoubtedly hoppy. The brewers have opted for a spicy hop profile, as opposed to a floral and citrusy profile that some IPAs have. Yet the beer maintains a balance, and refrains from being mouth-puckeringly hoppy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy mouth-puckeringly hoppy beers. Somehow, though, this beer manages to marry both malt and hops irresistably.
Soon, Victory will release its consistently delicious Imperial Stout and Barleywine. Winter can be a wonderful thing.
See what RateBeer and BeerAdvocate had to say.
Comments
Alan - October 31, 2004 10:11 PM
I was sold on this brewery after one bottle...and I even have a picture of that bottle of Storm King Imperial Stout from last January. I noticed a number of Victory brews down in Syracuse. I will have to add them to my pre-Yule shopping list.
Alan - December 4, 2004 11:19 PM
Weeks later, after the great International Beer-Buy 2004 today in CNY, I got to try this beer and compare it to another big big hop bomb Stone Ruination IPA.<p>The Ruination was greener and perhaps a touch more acidic in its hoppiness. There was perhaps a slight, slight note of smoke or only perhaps oak but under the hops it was round and overall orange marmaladey tangy. The HopDevil is slightly sweeter and one notch calmer on the hops - but only one. There is a slight, slight suggestion of corn flake in the mash. The aroma is more complex than the Ruination's and I found it perhaps slightly salty to the Ruination's pure green. I was thinking of dulse, the smell of a sea beach and the twiggy tangy of raspberries on the bush. Both are fantastically hopped and sheer quality in a bottle.<p>If price makes your decision easier, a six of HopDevil was about 8 bucks USD while the 750 ml bomb of Ruination was about 5 or about twice the price per ml.