Alpine Beer Company Exponential Hoppiness
This west coast style triple IPA is big and unapologetic. With an abv over 11% disguised like a stripper in a nun’s suit, Exponential Hoppiness will leave you exponentially inebriated and absolved satisfied. Drunken hyperbole aside, it is with good reason that this beer has been dubbed “the most dangerous beer in America.” Having split my last growler with Tunk last night, I’m still fighting back a headache today (the 09 Stone IRS and the Cuvee Rene I had first probably didn’t help). Drinking your own growler is not advised!
Expo pours a light amber-orange (more golden when held in the light) with an abundant fluffy white head- an appearance like its younger sibling, Pure Hoppiness. But a closer look signals what is to come: the bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass slowly labor to the top, struggling to cut through the viscous, almost syrupy body. Having shared a couple other growlers of this within the past few weeks, I finally chose the right glass. Usually I drink out of the double-walled glasses during the scorching heat of our hellishly long summer, but I like Expo a lot more when it’s colder. For me, the imbibability (yeah, I don’t care if that isn’t a word- the barrage of BMC marketing touting the superior “drinkability” of their fizzy yellow piss water drives me crazy) really decreases as the temp rises: the sweet vanilla and oak become a little too pronounced, the alcohol heats up, and it becomes a little heavy, almost syrupy on the tongue. When cold, Expo provides a nice balance of floral and piney hop resin with sweet vanilla and oak, with a little citrus and booze hiding in there. The surprisingly balanced bitterness from the exponential amount of hops and booze combines to provide a nice, fairly dry finish, priming you for the next drink. For a monster IIIPA, Expo is way too easy…that is, assuming you don’t let it warm too much.
So how does Expo stack up next to the king of IIIPAs, Pliny the Younger? While J David and Jesse The Hutt might disagree, I’d have to give the nod to Younger. They are completely different beasts, but the grapefruit and desert-dryness of the Younger tip the scale for me. Not to detract from Expo, I’d take it in a heartbeat over Maha or Dorado.
Score: 93 points.
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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I’m blown away by the light color in evidence in the photo. And is that a straw in there?? WTF? I thought you only drank out of nipples.
I don’t see how they get 11%ABV with color that light. They must be adding rice solids to it or something.
I just racked my Hoppy Easter IPA to secondary and then immediately cracked a Racer 5. Was shocked (and really fucking happy) when I noticed that they look, smell and taste very similar. The Racer’s a bit more viscous, but not much. I’ve got that IPA on oak now — chardonnay oak — with 2oz of Simcoe and 2oz of Amarillo hops dry-hopping 5.5 gallons. Should smell really nice when it’s done. The simcoe hop plugs were making my fingers stick together.
I am instituting a no stout, barleywine, or *DIPA rule for myself as of Easter of each year due to the San Diego climate. I will not return to these styles until October 1st.
*Certain refreshing and essential DIPAs may not apply.
Juanote, I think you better come down with Melvin in May and bring some of your HE IPA. I’m really curious about the oaked version, especially since you used Varner (!) Chard.
Definitely time to put the big, dark, and malty beers into hibernation until the Fall. Even the De Proef Saison Imperiale I had yesterday was too much inside my 85 degree house. I should have known by the ‘Imperiale’ tag, but saison made me think light, dry and refreshing.