Feature Beer Friday! - NOLA Hopitoulas

Time to go local again, with the much anticipated canned release of the NOLA Hopitoulas IPA.  NOLA Brewing (facebook - twitter) is of course out of New Orleans, LA, and have a great regular lineup plus some awesome seasonals like the Irish Channel Stout.  This one has been a BR Beer Scene favorite on tap for a while now, but just recently started hitting the Baton Rouge market in 16-ounce cans, perfect for tailgating!

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Jay Ducote (BiteandBooze.com), and James Lawson (Whiskybomb.com), and Charles (BigMouthPodcast.com).

 

Serving: 16 ounce can.

Appearance: Deep gold, good head, good color, nothing to complain about here.

Aroma: The aroma wasn't as strong as expected, which was good for someone like Charles who isn't a huge IPA fan.  I found it to be more reserved that the Schlafly A IPA that we tried earlier, look for it on a future Feature Beer Friday!

Taste:  Very smooth, still a little more reserved and less hop forward than expecting, especially out of a beer so fresh.  

Mouthfeel: I found it to be a little creamy, which is a good thing, and also with a slight lingering hop bitterness that didn't bother me at all.  Jay described it as a pretty standard IPA mouthfeel.

Overall: We all enjoyed the beer, but I feel like it loses something out of the can as opposed to on tap.  Charles, who isn't really an IPA gay said it was a "good starter beer for a non IPA drinker," and I agree.  I also feel like it's the best local example of the style, and there's nothing wrong with drinking local!  

Overall Rating: 72.5

My Rating:69