Hopworks Ace of Spades

Hopworks Ace of Spades

Brewed with 195 pounds of Amarillo, Cascade and Centennial hops, this hopped-out beast had hops added at every point; mash tun, first wort, kettle, and dry hop. Huge spicy and citrus hop aroma, flavor and deep bitterness with an alcoholic bites.

I see it in your eyes, take one drink and die, the only thing you see, you know it’s gonna be,
The Ace Of Spades!

9.2% ABV 21.5 Deg Plato 100+ IBU
3.8
187 reviews
Portland, United States

Community reviews

3.9 0,65 l bottle golden, clear, frothy, white foam, spruce, pine, some fruits, medium sweetness, very bitter, full body, oily feel, average carbonation, long finish,
3.8 Bomber from Fontana in Sint-Niklaas. Only after purchasing, having become enthusiastic over the fact that my local bottle shop is carefully beginning to venture into American craft, did I read that this was bottled three years ago - way too old for an American style DIPA of course, but anyway. Irregular, moussy, snow white head, retaining well on the edge but quickly dissipating in the middle, over a lightly hazy ’old gold’ coloured beer with warm light orangey tinge, turning to a cloudy, more ochre-hued peach with sediment. Aroma must have faded after all this time but, much to my surprise, still smells relatively ’fresh’, with only a subtle amount of cardboard- and slightly cooked chicken-like oxidation; otherwise this still smells like any decent DIPA: grapefruit peel, cheese crackers (age has something to do with this but it comes out quite pleasant actually), biscuit, dried mango, barbecue spices, fresh wormwood, gin, parsley, pine resin, old dried lemon zest, olive oil, amaro, egg yolk. Clean but lively fruitiness in the onset, hints of starfruit, tangerine, green olive and some light mango, subdued sweetishness with equally subdued sourishness, minerally side notes here and there, softish but adequate carbonation, supple and oily mouthfeel. Hop ’stings’ are noticeable from the start. Biscuity and lightly cookie-like malt body, a tad toasted in the end but very softly so, making room for a wave of uncompromizing, spicy, very pungent hop bitterness, coating the back of the mouth and the throat, grapefruity, piney and tonic water-like, with some of the pine and citrus peel aromas rising up retronasally and a resinous effect clinging to the teeth, before being tied together - rather than interrupted - by an afterglow of gin-like alcohol which carries the dry, miles long, resinous hop bitterness and traces of the biscuity malt ’softness’ downwards. There is no doubt that the bouquet of this beer was a lot more fragrant and lush when it was young so it is unfortunate I stumbled upon this older bottle, but the flavor as such has held up remarkably well; oxidation is there of course, but limitedly so, and the hop bitterness is as vigorous as it must have been in young condition. I think the aroma, obviously the most delicate component of any ’new’ IPA, is the only thing that suffered a bit, but I suspect this bomber has been kept in good conditions and this is still a very enjoyable, bold and exemplary, if not delicious example of the style. Glad I bought it, all things considered.
4.0 Appearance: Medium hazy bright copper. Finger of white foam. Nose: Strong notes of tropical fruit. Touch bitterness. Light sweetness Taste: Juicy mango, pineapple and bit bitter. A touch of tartness. Body: Medium to lighter and lively Parting thoughts: A very strong tropical fruit hop bomb. Very impressive.
3.5 Draught. Nice hop kick to this, though the draught I had seemed to have passed its peak freshness, as I found it to lack the great hop bite you’d get with a fresher one. OK, but didn’t overwhelm me.
3.8 Pours clear copper with a white head. The aroma has sweet caramel malt, tropical fruit and very heavy on the pineapple. It has a full rich body with soft carbonation. The taste has a nice balance of big tropical hops and sweet candy malt. Nice.
4.0 Aroma: Medium aroma of malts, orange, tropical fruit, pine, hops and citrus. Appearance: Turbid/opaque amber/orange beer with a slight/medium off-white head. Taste/Palate: Starts medium/heavy sweet with malts, orange, tropical fruit and pine; ends slightly bitter and dry with hops and citrus. Overall: This beer is intense, complex and balanced. A large amount of hops, added at every point of brewing, gives this beer a huge hop aroma and flavour. Really unique and refreshing to have such intense hop flavours.
3.7 On tap. Pours a cloudy gold beige with a thin eggshell head and decent lacing. Smells and tastes heavily of fruit, especially apple and apricot. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Nice bitterness, not to much but it doesn’t leave you longing for more either. Solid.
3.8 Bottle. It pours hazy golden with a creamy white head. The aroma is peachy hoppy and piney. Sweet malty notes. The flavor is peaches and oranges with malty biscuit notes. First class old school DIPA.
3.8 Sample from shared bottle @ De Molen, thanks Menno & John. Hazy golden yellow color. White head. Aroma’s: citrus, hops. Retronasal it’s more resinous, citrussy, bitter. Flavor is moderate to full bitter with light sweetness. Medium bodied. Finishes with resin, herbal, moderate bitter.
4.2 Pours a orangish yellow color with a strong hoppy aroma. Pine and citrus flavors throughout. Slightly dry finish. Piney finish. Reminds me of the olympic national park.
3.5 Pours a hazy golden yellow with small head. Aroma is marked by tropical and citrus fruits. Flavor is very bitter upfront. Taste is very bitter and hoppy, almost a pot-like taste. Bitter finish.
4.4 Flarra. Ljus lätt grumlig dryck som doftar mycket friskt av aprikos, tallbarr, grape. Smakar först grape sen mjukare persika sen tallbarr å grape igen. Fan så bra balanserad. Riktigt jävla jävla god fyllig West coast Dipa. Jättegod köp köp
3.2 Bottle at tasting. Golden pour. Aroma of caramel, malt and peach, not a good sign. Watery taste of caramel, malt and peach as well. Where are the hops? Where is the bitterness? This was a bummer.
3.8 Sampled at a tasting. Clean golden pale pour with a small white head. Smells of honey, grapefruit and tropical fruits. Crisp and refreshing, with taste notes that include grapefruit, pine and some tropical fruits.
3.8 Slightly hazy orange color with off-white head. Aroma is slightly dank and resiny, west coast style. Taste starts hoppy and bitter up-front, earthy, piney with grapefruit on the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Well made, classic west coast style DIPA.
4.1 Bottle shared at the return of Old Spice tasting. 10cl sample. The aroma has pine, citrus, light biscuit tones. Bit hazy, golden coloured beer with a slight off-white head. The taste is moderate bitter, has pine, citrus. Medium bodied. Very good.
3.8 sample from bomber bottle. slight hazy light golden colour with a white head on top. slight crisp malt notice, citrus, bitter grapefruit, zest, slight west coast pine, sweet fruit notice, peach, tropical, medium bitter aftertaste.
4.1 650ml bottle. Slightly hazy, yellow-ish golden colour with average, thick, frothy, fairly lasting and lacing, off-white head. Piney, resinous and citrusy hoppy aroma, notes of grapefruit, orange, lemon, some pineapple, additional fruity hints of yellow stone fruit. Taste is dry, bitter hoppy, resinous, piney, citrusy, notes of grapefruit, orange, lemon, hints of pineapple, some mirabelle, nectarine and peach, a floral touch, staunch pale and caramel malty basis adds humble sweetness. Very well balanced, stable malty basis withstands the hop bitterness without being too sweet an interference. Excellent.
4.0 Medium, lightly yellowish head over finely carbonated clear orange-golden beer; shards of lace. Intense grapey nose, grapefruit, orangepeel, bitter & fresh aromatic vegeatbles. Intense bitterish, flowery and of course fruity hopflavour; citrus, citruspeel, unripe stonefruit (nectarine, peach,...) unripe banana, lunaria, lupulin². Severe, but excellent. Astringency from the hopoils, quite creamy feel too, medium bodied, good carbonation. Prime example of a top Westcoast IIPA. Great to be able to find this in the Lowlands....
4.2 1st March 2016 Light haze on this gold beer, good pale cream colour head. Palate is light, mildly dry and has good fine carbonation. Very light malt base with a nicely judged light creamy sweetness. Hops bring a lovely nectarine and orange start. Fair dose of hop spice ensues with sweetish pine and a generic tropical fruit burst. Peach and mango resolve. Mildly sweet floralness before a light and hop spicy finish. This is my kind of DIPA. Light malt base, showcasing the fruity hop characteristics. And a nice way to raise a glass to the great man - Lemmy Kilmister. Super duper.
4.2 Clear, golden color; great, white head. Sweet and fruity aroma. Lot of fruits, citrus and sweet. Medium-sweet taste, gentle caramel, also fruits, high but short bitterness,
3.6 A light orange beer, a head is medium and blond. Aroma is sophisticated from the bottle. In the glass, grapefruits, some tropical fruits, caramel and wood. Not fresh anymore. Taste has fruitness, citrusfruits, grapefruits, caramel. The bitterness is strong but balanced. Age of the bottle is mystery but it’s not a fresh, unfortunately. Medium bodied, slightly too heavy body, but that’s not a bothering. More fresh bottle should be tasted, now it’s difficult to say to overall performance. Tasteful anyway. Nice and long lasting bitterness but now the aromatic nuancees are too mild.
4.7 Prodotta con Amarillo, Cascade e Centennial, questa imperial ipa è una bestia! Luppolo aggiunto in ogni momento; Mash Tun, primo mosto, bollitore, e luppolo asciutto. Leggermente piccante con un aroma agrumato, gran sapore e profonda amarezza con un degna gradazione alcolica. Prendila, bevila e l’unica cosa che certamente vedrai sara’ l’asso di picche... Oltre 100 di IBU e novegradiedue!... Nonostante tutto, preparati, la sua beva ti stupirà!
4.1 Fles gedeeld @Benzai’s Carnaval Tasting. gouden met witte kraag en lichte floaties. aroma van hop, den, hars, gras. smaken evenzo, lekker fris bitter maar niet extreem, redelijke verse smaken, kruidig, enorm smaakvol, grapefruit, den, prima
4.1 Bottle @ Benzai’s crazy carnaval, small sample. Clear golden color, short frothy head. Piney, grapefruit, some biscuity malt. Medium bitterness, clean, crisp. Just the way you want your DIPA.
4.1 Bottle @ Don’t want anything to do with carnaval tasting. Clear golden color, average to medium sized white head. Aroma is malts, resin, citrus, pine. Taste malts, hops, piney, spruce, nicely bitter. Medium body and carbonation. Nice one!
4.2 Bottle @ benzai’s carnaval. Clear golden yellow with a small white head. Smells hops, fruity, fresh. Tastes crisp, fruity, fresh, resin, pine, bitter. Medium to full body, soft carbo.
3.9 65 cl bottle (8.6% abv) @ Timo A. Bottled on 07.10.2015. Pours clear golden color with a small head. Aroma is piney and resinous hoppy, mild caramel, some pale malts, faint peppery notes, maybe cheese. Flavor is oily hoppy, resinous, piney, some orange and citrus, mild apricot notes. Thick oily palate, bitter. Nice balance. Alcohol stays hidden. Very nice. 4516
3.8 650ml bottle from Firma-Bier Rated while listening to Motörhead - Ace of Spades. RIP Lemmy - Pours clear dark orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of resinous grassy hops, pine, herbal notes, hints of age, biscuity caramely malts and citrus. Taste is crisp, resinous hoppy and herbal with some grass, biscuity caramely maltiness, pine and citrus. Finish is resinous, sweetish and caramely with some grass, pine and herbal hops. Pretty generic, but balanced resinous west coast DIPA. Surprisingly good despite the bottle is probably not very fresh.
4.0 Bottle from Saveur-Biere.com - Color: superb golden blond beer with small carbonation and medium white foam. Perfect appearance. Smell: grassy and hoppy domination. Resin and well balanced with grapefruits and mango with passion fruits. Very fruity and with resin balance. Taste: full body with hoppy blast, grassy and exotic fruits domination. Peach, mango and grapefruits, lime finish. Caramel and sweet balance. Good attenuation. Aftertaste: lime and grapefruits, finish resin and wet bitterness. Amazing.