I love a good craft beer, but what if there are only basic light beers at the party? What is a craft beer snob to do? Normally I just drink these light beers and after a couple it doesn’t matter anymore, but what if there was a magical way to turn that regular light beer into a craft beer. There is now thanks to Mad Hops.
Mad Hops are flavored drops that you put into your beer to help transform your regular beer into a craft beer. Sound too good to be true? We thought so too, so we decided to put the Mad Hops drops to our Tailgating Challenge.
Mad Hops comes in a variety flavors such as:
-Belgian Orange
-Northwest IPA
-Apple Amber Ale
-Wild Blueberry
-American Pale Ale
-Cherry Wheat
-Irish Porter
Being a big time craft beer fan I had my doubts going into this test and thought what better way to really put Mad Hops to our challenge then with doing a blind taste test. A true craft beer vs Mad Hop drops. Could I tell the difference drinking each while being blind folded? You can see the full video of this test below.
Before we get to the results you may be wondering, what the heck is in Mad Hops? Let’s take a look at the ingredient list on the Wild Blueberry Mad Hops: Natural blueberry flavor, Hop Extract, Artificial Color, Less than 2% Malt and Bitterness extract. Oh and just 18 calories per serving.
Another question you may have is why not just buy a craft beer and call it a day? A few reasons come to mind:
- Regular light beer is CHEAPER than craft beer. Craft beer on average is 3 times more expensive than regular light beer.
- Calories. Light beer has fewer calories than the majority of craft beer. Most light beers are around 100 calories. Most craft beers can come in between 200-300 calories
- The event you are going to does not have craft beer. Just put one of these in your pocket and you’re good to go.
How do you use Mad Hops? It’s super simple. Just squeeze 5-6 drops into your pint glass and then pour your beer. You can also squeeze the drops directly into your beer bottle. There will then be noticeable change to the smell and potentially the color of your beer (Irish Porter is crazy!). Each Mad Hops bottle gets around 18 servings. If you use more than the 5-6 drops to get more flavor the amount of servings will go down.
We were able to get our hands on a majority of the Mad Hops flavor drops and after taste testing, without a blindfold, we came up with our top 4: American Pale Ale, Irish Porter, Mexican Lager and Wild Blueberry. These flavors moved on to our blindfold testing round to see if I could tell the difference between the Mad Hops vs true craft beer.
The American Pale Ale was a closer taste than I expected, but I was able to tell the craft beer vs the Mad Hops, but was impressed with what it did with the regular beer.
Next up, the Mexican Lager added a touch of lime smell and taste to the beer and while it was close I was able to confirm the true craft beer from the Mad Hops.
Next up is the craziest Mad Hops flavor of all: Irish Porter. This literally turns the light beer into a darker, chocolate flavored beer with an incredible head. This was one of the closest battles, but this too I was able to pick out the true craft beer. This flavor is a must try as my mind is still blown from how it transforms the beer. Your friends will lose their mind. I’d add a few more than the suggested 5-6 drops as it will make it an ever richer flavor and darker color.
Finally, it was time for the Wild Blueberry Mad Hops and it got me. I thought the Mad Hops was the craft beer. I’ll be as bold to say the Mad Hops edition was better than the craft beer. I know that is blasphemy for any true beer geek, but I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it. WOW. This flavor is also a must try if you enjoy blueberry or fruitier beers. I challenge you to try our blind taste test and see how you do with this and other flavors. It may be harder than you think.
If you take this challenge Tag Us and let us see how you do.
Overall, we are impressed with what Mad Hops is able to do to a regular beer with only a few drops. In one word INCREDIBLE. I’m a fan of Mad Hops and I will be working to trick my guests in the future to see if they can tell the difference.
Learn more and get your own today by visiting MAD HOPS
Love checking out all the latest and greatest products in an HONEST fashion? Check out our PRODUCT REVIEW section.
We NEVER get paid to do a review. This way we can be honest and keep it real with you. We were sent a few samples with the understanding we would provide our honest thoughts and feedback.
Written By: Luke Lorick 9/9/20
