Hill Farmstead Abner
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Tasting Notes
Abner opens with an assertive wave of tropical and citrus aromatics — think grapefruit pith, mango, and a resinous pine backbone that signals its Pacific Northwest hop heritage. On the palate, a firm bitterness is balanced by a malt base substantial enough to keep the beer from feeling hollow, with notes of pale biscuit and stone fruit weaving through the hop character. The body is medium-full, with enough weight to carry the bitterness without turning syrupy. The finish is long, dry, and resinous, with lingering citrus oils that make the next sip feel earned.
About the Brewery
Hill Farmstead Brewery operates out of Greensboro Bend, Vermont, a rural setting that has become something of a pilgrimage destination for serious beer enthusiasts. Founded by Shaun Hill in 2010, the brewery consistently ranks among the highest-rated in the world on major beer review platforms. Hill Farmstead is known for its rigorous attention to ingredient sourcing, its pastoral New England sensibility, and a lineup that spans hop-forward ales, farmhouse saisons, and barrel-aged stouts.
Food Pairings
The beer's assertive bitterness and tropical hop character make it a natural match for spicy Thai or Indian dishes, where the fruit notes temper heat without being overwhelmed by it. A sharp, aged cheddar or a raw-milk hard cheese provides fat and salinity that soften the resinous edge of the hops. Grilled pork with a citrus or mango glaze mirrors the beer's own fruit tones, while a classic cheeseburger with caramelized onions gives the malt backbone something to work against. Avoid delicate foods — this beer is assertive enough to dominate lighter fare.
Style Guide
American Double or Imperial IPAs take the hop-forward blueprint of a standard American IPA and scale everything upward — more hops, more malt, and a higher ABV that typically falls between 7.5% and 10%. The style originated in the early 2000s as American craft brewers pushed hop intensity to new extremes, with Russian River's Pliny the Elder often cited as a defining early benchmark. Where a standard IPA offers bitterness with moderate body, a Double IPA layers that bitterness over a more substantial malt foundation, preventing the beer from reading as thin despite its aggressive hopping. It sits apart from barleywines by prioritizing hop character over malt sweetness.