And the Valley Drinks The Deadpool: The NOLA Irish Channel/Hopitioulas Combo

My affinity for NOLA Brewing is pretty well known in these parts, and a few weeks back, while reviewing their Mechahopzilla imperial IPA commenting regular Deadpool's Gun suggested mixing their Hopitoulas IPA, which we reviewed here, with their Irish Channel Stout, which has been a longtime favorite.

It was an odd idea, but in the interest of science, I decided to give it a shot. I had it in my head to come up with some sort of really clever name in tribute to Wade, but in the end The Deadpool kind of sounds like a baddass beer name. If y'all can come up with something better, by all means...

Review

The color of the stout will overwhelm the mix of course, as it's rich and black compared to the pale amber of the Hopitoulas. This all probably works better because the IPA -- and this is probably why I like both Hopitioulas and Mechahopzilla a little better than most IPAs I've tried -- has just enough of a malty front that the hops don't overwhelm you from the jump.

The aroma of the mixture smells mostly like the Irish Channel with that deep, roasted smell, only with a little more of that thick malty bouquet behind it. What was interesting is the way the two flavors still formed pretty stark parallels in the mixture. The maltiness of both beers combined on the open -- rich sweetness, almost like honey but not quite so overpowering -- and it closes with the hops of the IPA that give it a slightly harder bottom. A distinct layer almost. It's an interesting flavor. I don't know that I would ever seek it out again, but if I have both cans in the house I just might go for it again. Definitely worth your time if you have them. Solid four out of five stars.