It really is amazing how craft beer can design just keeps on getting more and fun and exciting. HUB's newest canned release, as well as their first seasonal can, features a hard to resist illustration of "Mr. Yeti" by Portland artist Martin Ontiveros. For years this brew has been available on draft and in 22 oz. bottles, also with incredible artwork by Ontiveros, and now for the first time its available in cans. If you see some, get some. Did we mention that this, and every other beer that Hopworks brews, is totally organic? Just a side note. Also, we just found out that HUB barrel-ages some of this and pours it under the name "Kentucky Christmas". That is surely incredible...

From the Hopworks Urban Brewery site:

"This mythological beer emerges from the depths of our brewery every winter. Made with Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops and six organic malts. “A-Bomb” has a complex floral, spicy and citrus hoppiness backed up by just the right amount of malt sweetness.

Don’t turn your back on the BEAST!"

Here we go...

Pour - dark auburn in color with a big beastly, snow-white head on top. Loads of sticky lacing inside the glass. 

Aroma - citrusy, piny, grassy, molasses-y. Very nice aromas of sweet oranges and caramel. Very balanced between hop aroma and malt aroma. 

Taste - the first taste reminds me of grapefruit with some sugar on top. Its both puckering and citrusy but with a sweetness. Each additional sip brings about similar sweet citrus flavors from the hops and malts working together. There is certainly a good deal of pineyness here as well. Each sip is completed with a not-too-dry and not-too-bitter finish. Nice lingering hop flavors and malty sweetness sticking to the tongue. This isn't too heavy but certainly has some bigger flavors. 

Overall - this beast has some bite but has an overall balanced temperement. Great hop flavors and aromas and a winter brew that doesn't taste like someting you'd rather eat than drink. This should appeal to the hopheads as well as the maltheads. Its big but not too scary. This is the type of monster that you're happy comes along with a few of his friends.

Note - you can check out more of Martin Ontiveros' artwork over on his website MartinHead.Com