Hog Wild IPA

After an evening out on the town with one of my best men, I decided to swing by my local pub for a quick pint. I wasn't feeling too bad, so I figured a review was in order. What I hadn't counted on was Thursday being karaoke night. In between enthusiastic renditions of Billy Joel, Vanilla Ice, and a particularly vile take on Nirvana, I tried to make sense of my pint of Hogtown Brewers' Hog Wild IPA, from Toronto, Ontario.

I had a pint on tap and tried to lose myself in the beer, while fighting the strains of drunken power balladry and other sonic missteps.

Listed at 6.2%, I had a pint on tap. Hog Wild was a ruddy, hazy brew. It showed up with a creamy, off-white head that had decent staying power. The aroma was maltier than I expected, with some brown sugar preceding a mild but resinous hop feel. The flavour wasn't particularly robust, but it was well balanced, with  a malty introduction and a modestly bitter, earthy finish. Definitely a British style IPA.

Midway through my pint, a too keen karaoke-ist screamed out, mid song, "I love alcohol", before continuing to butcher some metal. Hog Wild went a long way toward staunching my bleeding ears, and for that, I am beyond grateful.

I'd love to try Hog Wild again in a calmer environment, but karaoke notwithstanding, I found it to be a serviceable strong ale. If I was pulling the strings, HW would have had a bit less malt up front, and a bit more distinction in the rear. This beer tasted like an amber ale in IPA clothing. Still, not bad at all. Though truthfully, compared to Hogtown Brewers' bread and butter Hogtown Ale, this stuff leaves much to be desired.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10