Hoponius Union West Coast Style Hoppy Lager

Review Date 10/4/2024  By John Staradumsky

  Style: India Pale Lager   Brewery: Jack's Abby   Country: USA   State: Massachusetts   $ Per OZ: $.13 (B)   ABV: 6.5%

I’m on the fence about India Pale Lager, called IPL for short. It’s basically a lager, often brewed with pilsner malts and IPA hops. It is usually cold conditioned too, and can be bottom fermented. There are many variations. Why I’m on the fence about the style is because oftimes what you end up with is not that much different from an IPA.

That said, there are examples that I think really nail the theme of the style, most noteworthy being Samuel Adams Double Agent and Ballast Point Fathom.  If anyone was going to excel at IPL, though, it had to be Jack’s Abby. The lager brewery. And they did just that with Hoponius Union West Coast Style Hoppy Lager.

Jack’s Abby says this about Hoponius Union on the can label:

You’re holding the OG Hoppy Lager! Hoponius was brewed to prove lagers could compete with West Coast IPAs and bring beautifully bitter flavors and fruity aromas to a crisp lager.

The label also cites Citra and Centennial hops and a step infusion mash. The beer has 6.5% alcohol by volume and I paid $3.99 for my pint can from Half Time. Total Wine sells it for $13.49 a 4-pack of pint cans in Columbia, South Carolina. If you really like the beer, and you live near Braden, Florida, they sell it there for $18.99 for a 12-pack of 12-ounce cans. My can is stamped CANNED ON 06/07/23. I drank it on November 19^th of that same year.

Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union West Coast Style Hoppy Lager pours to a hazy orange amber color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of citrus and pine. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body, appropriate for a lager. It immediately bursts with classic American West Coast IPA grapefruit and pine-but this is IPL, so the only fruit is from the hops. The finish is quite bitter and rounds the beer out wonderfully. One of the best IPLs I’ve ever tasted, it even has a grassy finish reminiscent of a tasty lager.