Thomas Hooker Hop Meadow IPA

Thomas Hooker Hop Meadow IPA

HOP MEADOW INDIA PALE ALE. The American cousin of our ESB. This pale ale was originally brewed in 19th century England to survive the long ocean voyages to their troops stationed in India - hence the name India Pale Ale. To keep the beer from spoiling during these four- to six-month odysseys, they produced a stronger, more generously hopped ale. Our creamy IPA emphasizes traditional West Coast Chinook and Cascade hops to yield a hophead’s delight of a brew: just-right complexity that’s not too sweet - or over-the-top with hops.
3.4
338 reviews
Bloomfield, United States

Community reviews

3.2 Bottle courtesy of Adam of Somalia, thanks! Hazy yellow color, white head. Aroma of lemon and straw. Taste is bitter lemongrass.
4.8 An incredible cream style IPA. e. Well balanced with just the right hop bite. One of my go to IPAs.
3.7 20 oz. draft at The Corner Pug in West Hartford, CT. Golden amber, filtered, nice white head and good lacing. Malty and hoppy to the nose, some west coast hops with pine and citrus. Taste is similar, perfect amount of bittering hops. Citrus and piney hops really come through. Solid IPA from my hometown of Bloomfield, CT.!!!
3.6 Pours a reddish orange with a thick foamy cream-colored head. Aroma is slightly citrus with a nutty aroma. Taste is sweet with a underlying bitterness that mixes well with a roasted nut note. Clean and smooth.
3.6 Beautiful clear orange pour under a thick tan head and nice lacing. Light to moderate hops, nice flavor, lightly sweet, very well balanced.
3.8 I tried this beer at a really cool pub/restaurant near Hartford, though I can’t remember the name. The beer is a nice IPA with good northwest hops, a nice color and great aroma. Didn’t try anything else from Hooker, but I would make a stop based on this beer.
3.6 Aroma is pine, spices and a hint of sweetish malts. The flavor is grapefruit, citrus, slightly sweet malts and a long and very bitter finish.
3.8 10th August 2012 GBBF. Hazy amber beer, little pale cream coloured head. Smooth palate, fairly silky. Sweet hops - a little pine, trace of mint. Sweet pineapple and tangerine with lesser notes of mango and orange. Finishes semi dry. Just a sweet and tasty IPA, easy drinking.
3.8 this is a great ipa. its got bite, the hops are there and you feel it. I love this beer, i have had this fresh from the tanks, unfiltered before bottling at the brewery. great color, strong aroma, well balanced. every hop head needs to try this!
3.3 12 ounce bottle from Whole Foods Market Darien. Pours a clear copper color with a medium sized tan frothy head. Decent head retention. Aroma of floral hops with strong caramel malts. The taste is caramel malts, bitter resin and citrus hops. Medium bodied. Decent.
2.7 bottle. amber with small head. hoppy bitterness, but not much flavor. grew on me slightly as i drank it, but this seems quite mediocre.
3.2 Starts dank, resiny and knotty, no citrus here. Dark, deep orange like some Belgian candied ales - but this will be anything but sweet. Heavy malt profile not unlike barleywine, and a hard bitter follow through. Agreed that it’s derived from English bitter beers than American IPA’s. Mean if not that memorable
3.6 Originally reviewed: 12/5/08. This is a gorgeous brew. Pours a very dark brownish/orange, much darker than any other IPA I’ve ever had. Huge foamy head on top that retains throughout the whole drink. Great lacing rings attached to glass. The smell in this one is a little underwhelming. Pretty basic and not that strong. Some piney hops, very little citrus. Slight malt scent evens it out. Mouthfeel is a little watery and thin too. A little too slick on the tongue. The drinkability stays high though as it is easy to consume. I love the flavor though. For the other shortcomings, this brew comes through with a vengeance in hoppy bitter flavor. Good hop bite on the finish without a stringent aftertaste. Pleasant bready aftertaste begs me to keep sipping. Slight citrusy flavor lingers a bit in the middle, but again finishes nicely bitter. I’m glad I tried this. I would get again, but I’d like to try on tap for sure.
2.0 From a tap, barely any hop smell, quite interesting. Darker than yer typpy ipa. Initially quite mild and more spicey than an ipa. However, that hop bitter thing starts happenen as the session continues. Builds to provide a long bitter finish. If you like ipa give this a try, tho as a lager lover Im not impressed.
3.3 Draught from david copperfield. Bright bronze. Very sweet and floral. Strong grapefruit taste.
3.2 Pours deep amber with an off white head. Aroma is hoppy citrus, grass and caramel. Taste is bitter with a sweet finish. Slick with low carbonation.
3.8 Pours medium orange amber with a beaded white head. Aroma is a pungent bouquet of piney, citrus hops with prominent grapefruit notes. Taste is plenty of citrus, pine, and resin with a relatively light malt backbone. Medium bodied with a soft mouthfeel and bitterness for an IPA. Very drinkable beer. Pretty good.
3.5 12oz bottle. Pours a clean orange with a small white head. Aroma of fresh cut grass, orange peel, and some stale grain. Not as bright as I hoped for. Medium bodied for an ipa with more citrus overtones and some bitter west coast pine and grass notes. Definately a malt forward ipa. The finish starts with citrus and ends with pine.
3.7 International great Beer festival, 2011. The aroma is caramel, bread, earth, pine, very nice. The appearance is clear gold, red tinge, white head. The flavor is caramel, bread, citrus and pine hops. The finish is pine and citrus. Medium/thick in body. Very good. If you didn’t know better, you’d swear this was an IIPA.
3.7 My final CT beer of the 5 pack and probably best of the bunch. Pours nice bright copper with soapy head. Fruity and floral aroma. Taste is of tropical fruits and banana, light hop bitterness, caramel, earth, and cloves. Lingering finish and crisp. Nice surprise
3.9 Coppery amber in color with an off-white head. Aroma is of floral hoppiness. Tastes of hops, banana, citrus, and spice. Enough of a kick of sweetness to distinguish it from most run-of-the-mill IPAs. Clean and crisp in the finish.
3.7 The body is brownish amber in color and though the head recedes quickly, the lacing is incredibly complex. The aroma and flavor both are piney and floral with a notable presence from the caramel malt base. The bitterness is light and subdued, and there is some grapefruit in the finish. Solid overall, but slightly understated for my preference.
2.4 12 oz bottle born on 2011-05-18. It pours a medium amber with a foamy off-white head. Smell is fruity, sweet and spicy. There is some orange and some herbal notes. The flavor is malty with a mediocre hoppiness that is sort of blunt. There is a sharp sweetness to start and the middle is okay, the end is just bitterness, not really piney or citrusy, just bitterness. It isn’t that bitter. I have had alot of better IPAs.
3.5 Slightly cloudy deep amber pour with a moderate off-white head. Aroma is malt, caramel, citrus, and hops. Flavor is nicely balanced and the bitterness lingers. Good stuff.
3.3 Hazy gold colour withwhite lacing. Aroma of earth and a little caramel. Citrus, pine and malty taste. A blanced beer, just seems to be missing something
3.4 Bottle. Amber beer with a cream colored head. Earth and spice aroma with caramel. Grapefruit and pine flavor with spice and earth. Medium bodied. Good bitterness. Grapefruit and spice lingers with pine and earth.
1.9 12 ounce bottle. Pours a dark copper color with a medium white head. The aroma is massive butterscotch- oh this isn’t good. The flavor is likewise dominated by a buttery flavor that I can only surmise is an infection. Seriously, how do you sell bottles that are like this? I hope they recalled the batch. Some pine and citrus try to come through. Horrible.
2.7 12oz bottle thanks to AirForceHops Appearance: Pours hazy amber with a medium sized off-white head and some lacing Aroma: Butterscotch, vanilla, sweet caramel and bitter spices Taste: Sweet caramel, herbal flavor and bitter hops OK, I wouldn’t go searching for this one though.
3.0 Deep amber orange, slightly murky. Aroma is sweet, rich, and malty. Some cookie dough and even raisin / prune notes, and also floral hops. The body is full and creamy, the flavor leans towards the sweet side. A nice bitterness on the finish, but doesn’t feel like 72 IBU’s thanks to the caramel sweet backbone. Average brew, a little too sweet for me.
3.2 Interesting IPA. 12 oz bottle from ABC. Very smooth and creamy but not as much hop bite as I would’ve expected considering the ABV. Caramel apple and a tough of ruby red grapefruit. Really, very creamy.