Parallel 49 Hopnotist
Has it been a year already? It seems like only yesterday that a massively-funded brewing start-up in East Van was setting up shop with dreams of selling metric shittonnes of beer to the world. That brewery, of course, is Parallel 49. Just over a year later they’ve proven all my early concerns about over-production to be bunk, and are producing hit after hit after hit, all of which are welcomed then consumed by a growing fan base of ravenous craft beer devotees. Almost anything Graham With brews is gold, and pretty much everyone out there agrees with me, judging by the increasing stack of trophies and accolades in the corner of the brewery’s tasting room.
To celebrate turning one, they’ve brewed and released that heavy of the craft beer scene, an Imperial IPA. This is big news for a brewery that doesn’t even have a Bitter or a regular IPA in their standard line-up. Their one dalliance with the hoppier side of the fence was Lord of the Hops, and while not a bad beer by any stretch, it just didn’t have enough wow factor seriously challenge the reigning IPA kings of Driftwood Fat Tug, Lighthouse Switchback and Central City IPA.
But Lord of the Hops was not an Imperial. How is their first foray into hops madness? Really fucking awesome, that’s how it is. Hopnotist is everything you could hope for from an Imperial IPA: sticky, hoppy, resiny, citrusy, juicy, wow-in-a-jar awesomeness. Did I mention that, in addition to all this, it’s unfiltered? Yup, this beast pours hazier than my Friday night memories of your mom, and the taste is just as… yeah, not going that far. Let’s just say there’s lots of yeast character in this beer.
In short, this is, in my opinion, the best beer Parallel 49 has brewed to date. It is the best Imperial IPA in BC by far, and that’s a province that has all of: Russell Hop Therapy, Driftwood Twenty Pounder and Central City Imperial IPA. The bitterness of the hops, while present, is balanced out nicely by the huge malt. Just when you think the sugar might be too much, the yeast shows up to give it character, depth and complexity.
I bought three, and I did not buy enough.
Tasting notes:
NOSE Huge citrus flavours, orange, jack fruit, kiwi
APPEARANCE Hazy orange with a lingering tight white head
TASTE Balanced, believe it or not. The high sugar lets the flavours of the hops play rather than let the bitterness dominate
SHOULD I BUY IT? Steal from your mom to buy it. I sure as hell did
Coles notes:
Brewery | Parallel 49 |
From | Vancouver |
Name | Hopnotist |
Style | Imperial IPA |
SOA Now | Gold. Wanna make something of it? |
SOA Potential | Might cellar, but how could you leave it alone that long? |
Drink | Now. |
Indecent dreams I’ve had about this beer in the past week | 9. I went back to sleep twice to get more. |
Availability | Brewery and at select LRS |
Cost | $6.60 per 650ml bottle at the brewery (resupply this Sunday). Slightly more elsewhere. Holy shit that’s cheap. |
Similar BC Beers | Russell Hop Therapy, Driftwood Twenty Pounder and Central City Imperial IPA. |

Here’s a little gold to go on your trophy shelf.
There are cases at the BCL at Cambie and 8th. It’s the hidden gem of BCLs.
Rob
17 May 13 at 12:10
Found it at the Richmond location as well. 3D Glasses!!!
Nick
23 May 13 at 12:40
[…] (and apparently first IPA according to this review), and it is as awesome as this review says: Parallel 49 Hopnotist at Barley Mowat __________________ […]
Discuss your Favourite Beer(s). - Page 10 - Vancouver's Top Classifieds and Automotive Forum - REVscene.net
23 May 13 at 12:42
my gawd, an unbelievably aromatic, massively hoppy, fresh tasting IPA! I am impressed! I’ve brewed a few beers for profit 20 years ago in Seattle but this is amazingly, refreshingly enjoyable!
Howard Wells
25 May 13 at 20:21
Barley Mowat? very clever reference to my collegiate inspiration, Farley. I took a lot of heat for referencing him in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington. We were fighting the loggers in the early 70’s with our environmental “weirdness”.
Howard Wells
25 May 13 at 20:25