Bank Street brewed: Hoptimus is back.

As NABC’s core portfolio is brewed at our new Bank Street Brewhouse facility and tapped for public consumption, I’ve been reintroducing each one and providing background as to its development.

Hoptimus reappeared last week and is on tap at both NABC locations. It should be appearing around Louisville as I write.

Back in 2006, I made the following comment:

Meanwhile, if drinker comments are any gauge, Jesse’s struck gold with his session Double IPA (if there can be such a thing), Hoptimus … the alcohol by volume is 9%, and although it’s a cliché, be aware that Hoptimus is deceptively drinkable.

Almost four years have passed, and Hoptimus has retained its panache. Along with the elusive (and less often brewed) Thunderfoot, Hoptimus remains the “most asked for” sample during the summertime festival season. For various reasons, the ABV has crept up a bit since birth, and that’s okay by most of us.

Here’s another passage from 2006. It’s true that on occasion, we’ve aged Hoptimus with oak chips to make Oaktimus, but in terms of the everyday drinking experience, I stand by these words today.

There’s much to like for the card-carrying hophead, but to me the most endearing quality of Hoptimus is its youth. Without a concerted effort on our parts to stash a keg somewhere, it’s never going to be around long enough to “mature,” and in this sense, I believe Hoptimus bears comparison to certain young wines, and especially Ruby Port – a bit rough around the edges, but honest and in the end, better for it.

I drank three last night, and felt a bit rough around the edges this morning -- but I was refreshed, and seemingly better for it.

Malts:
Special Pale

Adjunct:
Pure, free-range sucrose

Hops:
4 additions of high alpha Nugget, 1 late addition of Cascade, finished through hop-back with whole cone Cascades

Yeast:
House London

OG:
1.097 or 24.25 degree Plato

ABV:
10.7%

IBU: 100

Color:
6.9 degree Lovibond SRM