13 Oct Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop

Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop

Whole Foods Market Brewing (sorely outdated site)

Galleria/Post Oak

NEIPA

ABV: 8.6%

IBUs: 80

Packaging: Draft, 32 oz Crowler, Growler

THIS BEER IS NOT MEANT TO BE KEPT ON THE DL. THEREFORE I WROTE THIS REVIEW OFF OF OUR EDITORIAL CALENDAR SIMPLY TO BRING IT TO YOUR EYES.

When Chris and I first started this blog, before there were any other people even on the team, he and I agreed to try beer styles we weren’t fond of. We agreed to rate them fairly, not just on our opinions, but on the styles, creativity, etc. I’ve bought and written about a handful of beers that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and I did it simply for the cause. But once I could get a hazy IPA like Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop or any of the litany of others, that “for the cause” mindset has been tough to keep in mind. Four of every five beers I’ve written about for the last few months have been these juice-like, fruity, hop bombs, and well… Here’s another one.

I was lucky enough to get a Crowler of Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop by way of Sam. He’s up there enough that they probably oughta put his butt to work, but that’s another story for another time. It’s a fresh hop version of their staple DL Double IPA, and it’s delish.

Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop artwork looks like all the rest of the WFMB brews, as they don’t package like some of the others we cover. The Crowler label is navy blue with lighter blue line art depicting a maze of a brew system with random icons throughout. The Whole Foods Market Brewing company logo sits boldly in the middle of the can in red white and blue.

It pours a dark orange-yellow with a finger of creamy off-white head. It’s hazy, of course, but not as hazy as Wet Hop Explorer. The lace sticks to the side of the glass as if it were trying to climb out.

The aroma of Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop isn’t the bust-outta-the-can-and-fill-the-room smell I was expecting. Instead, it’s a bit more subdued with hints of tropical fruit. I smell pineapples, mangoes and what I want to say is papaya, but I haven’t had one in months, so I’m definitely questioning my senses.

This beer tastes just as fruity as it smells, but the flavors are much more intense than the aromas! Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop starts off clean and bright with a pronounced sharp carbonation. It finishes off smooth and dangerous with mango notes and a mild hop bitterness, especially for 80 IBU. Unlike many other hazy IPAs that I’ve had super fresh, there’s ZERO hop burn. Some folks dig the burn. I’m indifferent. As it warms up, the dangerous smoothness wares off and that 8.6% ABV starts to make itself known a little bit.

As I’m sitting down writing this review, a good friend of mine texted me this:

Bro, my brother just sent me a picture of a Mickeys 40, lol. I haven’t had one of those in almost 10 years. Then I got to thinking, how did we even drink all those OE’s? They are terrible. I mean it’s not like we didn’t have money for good beer.

800’s all day. Erry day back when I was a kid. That is until I figured out what hops were. At any rate, back to the good beer.

Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop compares to the not wet hop version DL Double, duh. I have a terrible memory, so this comparison portion of the review is always tough for me. I want to liken it to a Tired Hands or Julius beer I had one time or another. I’m just glad I don’t have to depend on good friends with good trade partners to get hazy IPAs anymore. I promise, I’ll write about a regular beer soon!

In unfamiliar fashion, Whole Foods Brewing DL Wet Hop is available at all Whole Food locations. Most of these beers never leave the Post Oak location, so you’ve been spared some gas money. With all these Oktoberfest’s going on this weekend, maybe you stop by and grab a big can to go before you bust out the lederhosen.