Phillips Brewing Company turned nine this August and what else would any self respecting West Coast brewery do other than release a hopped up imperial strength ale?  Titled 9 Donkeys of the Hopocalypse this anniversary ale is a powerful “hop bomb” brewed with 9 hop varieties including: Centennial, Chinook, Cascade, Palisade, Amerilo, Citra, Millennium, Hallertaeur and Simcoe.

As expected, this is an in your face mouthful of west coast  hop bitterness.  This beer is not meant to be balanced but the hopiness is somewhat offset by a pleasant malt sweetness, which helps smooth the intense almost resin like hop flavour.  Just don’t drink this one straight out of the fridge – malt flavour tends to hide in the cold, making this beer too hoppy for my liking.   Any hop head will be sure to enjoy this seasonal ale.   The beer has a surprisingly small aroma, which could be a result of aging.  This beer was released almost a month ago and hop aroma fades fast.

Phillips has built a reputation as being one of BC’s more creative breweries and I have always enjoyed their often challenging seasonal releases.  Happy belated anniversary Phillips!

Cheers,

Erik