Yazoo-Hop Project #61

Nashville, Tennessee is the home to the Yazoo Brewing Company. I've been fortunate enough to sample several Yazoo brews, and I have yet to be disappointed. Hop Project #61 definitely lived up to my lofty expectations.

Poured from a growler, HP#61 was an almost clear orange coloured ale. It had a thin head, but left lots of lace. It was lightly carbonated, but this might be a result of the fact that the growler was filled and capped a week before drinking. It has an extremely hoppy scent--very piney, but with a sweetish undertone. The brew has a sharply bitter hop flavour, with a yeasty underbelly and some toasty sweetness.  There are a number of subtle tastes lurking beneath the super-hop umbrella that dominates this beer. The finish has some sweetness, but again, takes a backseat to the hops.

This brew was enjoyed split three ways over a game of euchre with some of the best friends a beer-lover could care to have.  To be fair, I drank this beer in such lovely company that almost anything would have been rated charitably, but this was the real deal. It really hit the spot.  I'm generally not wild about massively hoppy brews--it takes a little something additional to catch  my interest.  While HP #61 was one of the hoppier beers I've ever played with, it had a sufficiently complex flavour to keep me smiling. Hop Project #61 lives up to its name, but offers considerably more.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.