Thirsty Dog Hoppus Maximus

Our hoppiest beer! The complex character of American hops and amber colored caramel malts make this beer very crisp and refreshing. Silver Medal winner at the G.A.B.F. 2001.

43 IBUs.

3.4

448 reviews

Akron, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Location: Cask at Blind Tiger, 3/26/14, as Thirsty Dog Amber Dry Hopped with Mosaic Aroma: The aroma is light and clean hops, some grapefruit, and biscuit notes Appearance: It pours a clear amber color with a small bubbly head Flavor: The flavor is medium bitter with a mild sweetness, clean, similar to the nose Palate: It has a smooth, clean feel, a light-medium body, and a flat, cask feel Overall Impression: I thought this was a pretty drinkable and enjoyable beer on cask. Smooth and easy drinking as you’d expect. The clean hoppiness comes through nicely. Solid stuff.

3.9 Pours a clear medium amber with a slight red hue. Nice head with ample lacing that retains well. Nose is of mild pine and citrus hops over caramel. Light medium body with a somewhat smooth texture. Above average carbonation level with a nice bit of effervescence. The flavor profile is well balanced, but not very complex. It begins with citric and pine hop flavor, then flows to a bitterness with citrus zest aspects against a slight pine background. The crisp finish effervesces with a touch of caramel sweetness in the background of a grapefruit zest bitterness. Quite tasty.

3.1 On tap at tasting room A rather bland amber ale isn’t he most offensive in the world. However after just a few sips I was bored and ready to move on. A textbook session beer would be improved with a little more punch. Your mileage may vary but stick to Thirsty Dog’s other bottles to learn more about their best styles. Aroma / Appearance - A carbonated transparent base is paired with a crisp vanilla head. Musty wet books, almonds, polished coffee tables, and mild aspects hang around like the last wisps of morning dew. Flavor / Palate - A creamy mouthfeel briefly keeps things interesting. The second sip is when it begins to become a bit predictable with a mixture of lemons, rye, and malt that does not change from sip to sip. Making it unappealing is the slightly sweaty aspect that sticks in the throat. Ultimately it relegates a promising beer to the ’Never again’ category.

3.6 Sample at TJ’s. Nice hoppy American Amber. Sweeter and more citrus side of the hops balanced well with the sweet malt. Good.

3.5 A dark amber with red tint and a small head. The aroma has bread and caramel. The flavor has the bread and caramel and is balanced with a nice bitterness. A dry and smooth finish makes for an excellent amber.

2.4 Poured from 12 oz. bottle. Foam erupted from the bottle as soon as I began to release the cap. Murky orange-copper with a large volume of dark chunks of sediment, huge billows of ivory colored foam and excellent lacing. Nice head and lacing, but otherwise an ugly beer. Aroma of pine, citrus, floral hops, bread and caramel with a little muskiness as well. Taste of citrus, pine, caramel, bread and floral hops. Full body and medium/high carbonation. While the flavor is a lot better than the appearance, I'm not keen to consume all that sediment. So, this one gets poured down the drain. I suspect this bottle may was "off," so, I will (with due caution) give this beer a second chance and rerate it if I come across it again.

3.5 amber color; fruity, citrusy aroma; nice citrusy, hoppy flavor on a fairly light malt background with light caramel notes; well balanced

2.5 obviously fruity hop smell...taste is hoppy too but not too badly...right on edge for me...ever so slightly sweet finish after hops...bitterness dissipates fairly quickly...hops is just about the only taste of this beer though

3.9 12 ounce bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating. Pours slightly cloudy orange copper color with a 2 finger dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with some moderate streaming carbonation. Aromas of grapefruit, orange zest, lemon zest, caramel, toast, bread, floral, grass, light pine, and floral earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of hop and malt notes; with solid strength. Taste of grapefruit, orange zest, lemon zest, floral, grass, caramel, toast, bread, pine, and floral earthiness. Moderate pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, orange/lemon zest, floral, grass, pine, caramel, toast, bread, and floral earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of hop and malt flavors; with a crisp malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a smooth, crisp, and moderately sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very nice hoppy amber ale style. All around good balance and complexity of hop and malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.

3.7 Draft at the Thirsty Dog tasting room in Akron. Golden amber pour with some haze. Thick head with good lacing. Pine and citrus aroma with resin, grasses, and a malty presence. Well balanced. Not boozy for such a powerful hop presence. Clean finish, slight bitter.

3.1 Bottle at home. Aroma of sweet caramel malts and pine. Taste follows suit - simple but nicely balanced, it has a distant fruitiness with notes of apricot and apple. The finish is pleasantly crisp and refreshing, with some lingering piney hops and a cider like sweetness.

2.0 Pours a clear gold with just a tinge of orange. Nowhere close to amber appearance. Ample 2 finger white head with good lacing. Strong citrus aroma with a little bit of caramel. Smells pretty sweet. Starts out with a little bit of caramel malt. A huge buttered popcorn off flavor overpowers things. Finishes somewhat earthy/piney bitter and dry. This is all over the place and not in a good way. Mouthfeel and carb are ok. I like hoppy reds. This fails to live up in a big way. Flavors are all over the place and the buttery flavor is way off-putting. Will not be having this again.

3.3 Big Top Beverage Mart, Rosyln variety case: Pours a light amber color with a whitish head. Citrus, flowers, and a bit of bready malt. Taste is rather hoppy with a substantial malt backbone. Finish isn’t exactly my favorite. Aftertaste is sustained, but mild. Not bad.

3.5 Bottle sample at a tasting at kerenmk’s place. Thanks kerenmk. Pours yellow to orange shiny with a nice head, aroma of malt, grass, greenness and apricot, flavor is bitter, extremely carbonated with grass, malt, low sweetness, medium bodied

3.4 355 mL bottle. The second beer I’ve tried from these guys that foams ridiculously upon opening without giving any other sign of infection!? Not much going on in the nose, which is disappointing. The flavour contains a solid malt backbone, which is good, but needs a bigger contribution from the hops.

3.6 Bottle shared at a tasting at our place. Cloudy amber with a big, frothy head. Hoppy - mainly citrus/ grapefruit - and delicate aroma, delicate bitter and a little grainy taste, medium body, fizzy, hoppy finish. Tasty.

3.4 Bottle. Pours cloudy orange with a white minimal head. Aroma is citrus, mango, bread, caramel and pine, Taste is light+ sweet and bitter. Body is light+, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. Finishes light sweet with biscuit and hops.

3.6 Bottle at Papsø. Hazy orange coloured with a medium sized white head. Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel, cookies and hops. Sweet and fruity flavour of caramel, bread and hops. Hoppy finish.

3.3 12 fl oz bottle. Pours hazy orange with a small white head. Aroma is spiced and soapy. Bitter, toasted malty and herbal. Dry and bitter finish.

3.3 Bottle. Hazy copper with a white head. Soapy, citrus, perfumy hops. Light malt body biscuit/knækbrød. Light/medium body, oily texture, medium carbonation. Light/medium sweet and bitter.

3.4 Bottle 35,5 cl. Pours a hazy golden with a white head. Biscuity malt nose combined with some citrusy hops. Medium body, sweet biscuity malt and a very fruity note. A little late hops. Decent and easy going. 120713

3.4 Pours medium clear amber. Head is white and leaves a nice lattice on the sides of the glass. Nose is a quality overall balance of fresh caramel malt and bready complexities and light citrus, floral, and spicy hops. Further evalutation of the hops definitely lends the spicy, grapefrut rind aroma/flavor. Flavor is full with the caramels but finishes dry and has a firm bitteress that balances the sweetness well. I enjoyed this as it was very fresh. Glad they didn’t call it an IPA.

3.3 Bottle sample at a tasting at kerenmk’s place. Thanks kerenmk. Almost clear copper-amber. Aroma of malt, some caramel and floral and slightly citric hops, a bit stale. Flavor has some sweetish maltiness, slightly caramelly, and nice bitter floral and grapefruity hops. Medium-bodied, a bit over-carbonated. A bit past its prime but still quite pleasant.

3.4 Bottle. Pours amber with off white head. Some lacing. Grapefruit aroma. Flavor of caramel and some citrusy hops. Definitely wasn’t expecting this to be an amber based on the name. Tasted much more like a pale ale. Overall a solid beer.

3.3 The pour left an incredibly, fluffy head. This is one of the thickest heads I’ve seen from a brew yet. It has an extremely, well balanced hops aroma. It is golden in color. It’s an quality, hops oriented brew full of flavor and taste.

3.5 Hoppy aroma. Balanced with a good crisp body and a strong, dry, bitter hoppy finish.

3.7 Pours a chameleon color: it’s actually a lighter gold in the light, a darker gold toward amber away from it, hazy with some sediment, and a really huge and quickly forming rocky off-white head that stacks up tall and leaves some intricate clumpy lace. Nose presents as an intensely dry floral pine combo with some grapefruit peel and a dash of sweet grain. If there’s any sweetness, the bitterness completely covers it up, and some tartness actually shows up. Lighter bodied, lots of carbonation, with a puckering dry finish. It doesn’t look or act like what you’d expect of an amber. Not sure on the freshness of the bottle I got, but the hops are fairly in your face for a mere 43 IBUs. It’s almost like a ginger ale. Beer cocktail folks could do something with this and gin. It’s a fairly decent brew in its own right, but definitely a surprise.

3.5 Clear copper. Hops dominate. Lingering bitterness that’s a touch on the harsh side. Expected amber maltiness, but this is a hoppy beer first.

3.3 I really liked it, but wasn't sure whether to rate it as an Amber(what it said on the bottle) or a Pale Ale(what it tasted like). Too malty for a Pale; too hoppy for an Amber...still enjoyed drinking it though.

3.4 Pours a dark amber with small white head. Smells of hops and a little citrus. Strong flavor. Pine, little citrus, and lots of hops keep your palate occupied. Overall good beer. Thirsty Dog proves themselves time and time again.