I'm just going to start by saying that I absolutely love the label on this can - as well as the others from this brewery. I've already written to the brewery telling them that it would be best if it ends up on a t-shirt very soon.

Hop Slayer is one of the newest canned offerings from Wild Onion and is one of ten (soon to be twelve) Double/Imperial IPAs currently being canned in the US. We're looking forward to cracking this open and enjoying the ride!

From the Wild Onion Brewing site:

"Hops are the story here and the story is BIG!  Five different varieties were used in very deliberate ways. Bitterness hits you up front and then the citrus character follows along with slight earthiness. Malt was not forgotten to balance this beast with just the right amount of sweetness. Enjoy, but enjoy responsibly as to not get slayed!"

Here we go...

Pour - dark orange with some red and brown highlights thrown in. The inch or so of foam is starting to leave some streaks of lacing inside the glass. This looks slightly hazy and a little ominous...I like where this is headed.

Aroma - a big blast of tropical fruits, grapefruit and a pineapple hit me right between the eyes. As soon as I get near this glass it's like someone is shoving my face in a bag of hops. 

Taste - chewy, resiny with plenty of hop bitterness hitting the tip of the tongue and balanced very nicely by lots of tropical fruit sweetness. It has some astringency from all those little green fellas. Not overly cloying and certainly not too hoppy. It leaves my tongue coated with alpha acids (well, probably not literally) and give me a nice warm feeling inside - like I want to go hug a big hop-shaped pillow.

Overall - Want a big IBU-laden and hops-infested IPA? Here ya go! Hop Slayer should provide what many-a-hophead craves - that being lots of hop bitterness with a malty backbone to keep everything in check. You don't want those little green bastards getting out of control and ruining things for your palate. It's nice to be able to say that I love the label on this can and definitely enjoyed what graced the inside of it as well. 

Would I buy more of it? - sure thing. I wouldn't mind having some of these chilling in the fridge at all times, just in case. This is a beer that I don't mind drinking a little on the cold side despite the high alcohol. Something about a nice, cold, strong IPA works wonders on a warm evening.

Note - Wild Onion Brewing is now canning five different brews! They're also going down in the craft can record books for being the first American brewery to can a pumpkin ale! Below is a close-up of one of our favorite labels ever to grace a can of beer! The artist's name is Tim Hooker by the way and he's done the other labels for Wild Onion as well. 

"Viva el Lupulo"