Yazoo Hop Project

At KnoxBeerSnobs we like to support Tennessee’s microbrewers. This comes partially because hey, we love your beer and also partially because we’re a little jealous of what you guys get to do everyday. Up for discussion today is Nashville resident Yazoo Brewing Company’s Hop Project. Until recently I had only tried two of Yazoo’s brews: Pale Ale and Dos Perros as those are both pretty easy to come by here in Knox-vegas. As this is our first Yazoo blog post and I don’t want to steal from future possible material let me sum these two beers up this way; they are good and if you haven’t tried them, add that to your list.

Now, this brings us to Hop Project. Don is our resident KnoxBeerSnobs IPA expert but he made the mistake of letting me try one, left another one in my beer fridge and well, I got here first (okay, I did ask him if I could write this one). Before I go any further, let me just say that Yazoo has just gone up a few notches on this KnoxBeerSnob’s beer ladder. Let me be clear: I love this beer.

What makes Hop Project pretty cool is that they use different blends of hops (surprise) but they never use the same blend twice. Don’t believe me? It’s right here on their website. Now what’s even cooler is that you can go out to their blog and checkout what types of hops were used in the brew you’re drinking based on the “bottled on” date on the side of your bottle. The brew I’m drinking has Warrior, Columbus, and Galena.  I may call myself a snob but I’m not going to lie here, I have no idea what these hops are or where they come from. All I know is that they taste good in this beer and this beer tastes good in my mouth.

Now, let’s get down to the specifics. This beer pours amber and is just a touch cloudy. (Sorry for the artistic pic – I was playing with the camera. Also used my Yazoo Pale Ale pint glass – seemed like the closest appropriate glass but if someone has a Hop Project pint glass laying around I’ve got a nice spot for it here – HINT HINT.) It has very little head and smells sweet with a hint of caramel. While this is an IPA it doesn’t flog your tongue like some IPAs can do. You can certainly taste the hops along with a citrus taste that really brings a sweetness to the beer. The finish is moderately bitter and it leaves a great sweet/hoppy aftertaste.

Overall a great brew from our neighbors in Nashville that I am thoroughly enjoying and a little sad I only have one. If you fancy yourself a lover of IPAs, you gotta try this beer. If you love pale ales, you gotta try this beer. If you love craft brewers, you gotta try this beer. If you love America, you gotta try this beer.