Rating: 5/5

Hammerland by El Segundo brewing is an 8.6% ABV Double India Pale Ale.
Label:

Bright, Clean Crisp, Blueberry dankness… exactly what you expect with a hop bill of Mosaic and Simcoe. Get your nose in the glass and the aromatics will overwhelm you like the double-overhead closeouts down at Hammerland.

==Introduction==

Obtained this guy from El Segundo brewing recently as I wanted to see what this one was all about. A double IPA with a lot of talk behind it. From the makers of power plant triple IPA, I did not expect anything less than awesome, or so I hope. While I would love to compare this one to the already awesome Power Plant, they are different categories of IPA. So let’s see how this one goes. Cheers!

Aromas:

Lots of grassy, citrus, herbal, piney, grapefruit, floral, and dank garlicky hops, biscuit bread, honey, gummy bear hints, peach hints, blueberry and cherry hints, tropical fruit notes like dragon fruit, mango, guava, prickly pear, kiwi, honey dew melon, passion fruit, cantaloupe, lychee fruit and tangerines.

Flavors:

Piney, citrusy, grapefruit, floral, herbal, grassy and danky garlicky hops along with honey, rich tropics such as pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, cherries, dragon fruit, passion fruit, mango, guava, prickly pear, kiwi, honey dew melon, orange peel, biscuit bread, cantaloupe melon, lychee fruit, tangerines, gummi bears and peach notes.

Aftertaste:

Dank piney, herbal, citrus and garlicky hops linger, tropical fruits, biscuit bread, gummi bear notes, strawberry and blueberry hints and peach hints. No alcohol in the taste, easy to moderate drinkability, crisp and refreshing mouth feel as well as a clear golden body.

Overall:

A perfect IPA indeed. This reminds me of some of the hybrid IPAs where it does not lean toward one direction or the other but certain balanced of bitter herbal hops with tropical fruit and malty citrus notes. I can kinda see why this one turned out to be a fan favorite for many. It is is not as complex as Power Plant nor is it it at that Sure Bet IPA level but for being of the best reps for the west coast style, it is surprisingly delicious and well deserving of that gold medal. Get this one where you can find El Segundo stuff like Ramirez Liquor in Boyle Heights for example.

Anime Corner:

Gunner version of Yuna from Final Fantasy X-2 and just for the heck of it, Lucy (Wyldstyle) from the Lego movie were used in this pairing to represent several aspects of the beer. To show case the tropical aspects of the beer, Yuna’s dress shows a patter that almost looks like waves as they approach an island. In this case, her and the aspect of Hammerland goes with respect to the barrel and hammer of her dual guns (Double IPA). The background represents the face of the hammer as it faces the bullet with what seems to be a never ending tunnel as the bullet travels down the barrel. The colors do work with the berry aspects of the beer which reminded me of Wyldstyles highlights and gold body representing the IPA in general. She is getting ready for the beach and with these two girls, they make up the double IPA.

Sources:

http://static.minitokyo.net/downloads/13/04/12713.jpg?1625883245

http://40.media.tumblr.com/9031a91fe550eaa58841468f90f9220b/tumblr_ncd1lydC7O1r3gwo9o1_1280.jpg