This is Huvila’s Hop Overdose Ale (H.O.D.A.) that they brewed for Blackdoor, a beer pub in Helsinki. This India Pale Ale, or probably better classified as a strongly hopped golden ale, is hopped with First Gold, Tomahawk and Styrian Golding, and boasts an IBU of 100. I’m a little afraid the bitterness will be too overpowering, since this a ‘milk shop’ (i.e. under 4.7%) beer. But lets see how it does.

[easyreview title=”Huvila Black Door H.O.D.A.” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The color is golden, with just a hint of amber, and the beer is slightly hazy. When pouring a low white head is formed, that quickly collapses, leaving almost no lacing on the glass.” cat1rating=”3″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is full of floral and fruity (slight citrus and pineapple) hop tones, with some slight maltiness in the background. Nothing special in the aroma department, as the beer has a quite light, but pleasant aroma.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”As you take a sip, you are almost immediately hit by a wave of massive bitterness, and as such the beer does exactly what it says on the bottle (‘If life feels bitter – then taste this’). There is not space for much else in the flavour department, but you get some hints of caramel and floral hops hidden behind the bitterness. This is, as expected, a quite unbalanced beer, with way too little maltiness and alcohol to mellow out the bitterness, but I still feel this is more pleasant than other similar attempts at low alcohol-super bitter IPAs (e.g. as the Mufloni Intianpässi).” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a light body, with moderate carbonation, and together with the dry and bitter finish, this beer is a little harsh to drink. As mentioned earlier, this could really use more body, but then again the alcohol level rises, making impossible to sell it in grocery stores here in Finland.” cat4rating=”2.5″ summary=”An OK beer, that suffers from the same problems as similar attempts at a low alcohol-super bitter beer. Still, a brave attempt by Malmgårdin Panimo, to bring a beer like this out on the market. Would not drink again, but I enjoyed the experience of tasting one.”]