Alpine HFS India Pale Ale
Review Date 2/9/2021 By John Staradumsky
Friends, I give you….Alpine HFS India Pale Ale. If you haven’t enjoyed a beer from San Diego’s Alpine, well, you’re missing out is all I can say. For a time, Alpine beers were distributed here in Georgia, though that no longer seems to be the case. I enjoyed their beers on tap at the Porter Beer bar and in bottles from Total Wine. As often happens, though, beers appear in the state for a time to get what sales they can from fickle beer drinkers, then are gone.
Now the burning question, though: the name? What does HFS stand for? We could be polite and assume it stands for Hop Forward Specialty, but of course if we did, we would be wrong. So, let’s hop on over to the Alpine website and take a look at what they say, shall we?
SHOUT IT FROM THE MOUNTAINTOPS
Yeah, it’s that good! HFS is our GABF 2016 Bronze medal winner in the Strong Ale category. This West Coast-style American IPA is light bodied and full of hop flavor and aroma. It pours a pale gold with a light, fluffy, off-white head. Featuring a combination of Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra hops, HFS presents a bold tropical fruit explosion with hints of grass and pine balanced by a light and bready malt character.
So, there you have it. Shout it from the mountain tops. HFS stands for….Holy F****** S***. I will Leave it to you to fill in the blanks.
Alpine HFS India Pale Ale has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume with 48 IBUs. I paid $3.27 for my can from Craftshack, and the beer sells for $13.99 a six-pack in cans at Total Wine. A few bucks higher than I think it should sell for, but not outrageous these days.
Alpine HFS India Pale Ale pours to a hazy amber orange color with a moderate sized fluffy white head and a robust nose of sweet tropical fruit (pineapple) and more citrus tangerine. Taking a sip, the beer is light to medium in body and very citrusy, full with tangerine and orange jello notes, a hint of pineapple and a more than balancing bitter finish.
While I didn’t head to the mountaintops to shout “Holy F****** S***!” after sipping, I did enjoy this beer a lot, and would certainly buy it again.
Glad I tried it? T
Would I rebuy it??
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, Canned
(D)=Draft