Crowd Control Review: Southern Prohibition Brewing Imperial IPA

Crowd Control is the beer that put Southern Prohibition Brewing on the map outside Mississippi, and it is still the flagship I would hand someone who thinks the Deep South does not do serious IPA. This is Southern Prohibition’s Imperial IPA, dry-hopped hard with Mosaic, and it leans into ripe citrus and mango rather than the sharp, resin-forward bitterness some double IPAs chase. I like it as a benchmark for what a regional brewery can do with one hop variety and a well-built malt base: no gimmicks, just a genuinely well-balanced 8% IPA that drinks easier than the number suggests.

The community rating sits at 3.93 out of 5, a solid score for a beer that has been in year-round rotation for years and gets compared constantly to the bigger national Imperial IPAs. I am looking at it here as a homebrewer who pays close attention to single-hop showcases, since building a beer around one variety and still landing on balance is harder than stacking five hops and hoping they blend. Here is the full breakdown: what Southern Prohibition actually publishes, what the hop bill is doing, how I would serve it, and what to reach for if you cannot find it locally.

At a Glance

That table has a couple of deliberate gaps. Southern Prohibition’s own site lists the style, strength, and hop headline clearly, but does not publish an official IBU or calorie count. The 60 IBU figure and roughly 220-calorie estimate both come from third-party beer databases and retailer listings, not the brewery itself, so I am flagging them as estimates rather than confirmed specs. If you want a plain-English refresher on what that bitterness number actually means, my guide to IBU is a good place to start, especially since a single-hop Imperial IPA can taste more balanced than its bitterness score implies.

Who makes Crowd Control?

Southern Prohibition Brewing, known locally as SoPro, was founded in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 2013 by Quinby Chunn, converting a vacant furniture store downtown into a 20-barrel brewhouse. It opened in the same window that Mississippi finally raised its beer ABV cap from 5% to 8%, a legal change the brewery has more or less built its identity around: Crowd Control lands right at that old ceiling. In 2016 the team helped push through new legislation allowing limited on-site sales in the Hattiesburg taproom, and by 2021 they had cleared another regulatory hurdle to add wine, liquor, and a full food menu, turning the original production brewery into a proper restaurant and bar as well.

More than a decade later, Southern Prohibition distributes to five states across the Southeast, and Crowd Control has stayed one of its four true flagship beers alongside Devil’s Harvest, SoPro Light, and Suzy B, the ones the brewery keeps on hand and ready to go rather than rotating seasonally. If you like tracking how regional Southern breweries built their identity, it is worth comparing Crowd Control with my notes on Lazy Magnolia’s Southern Pecan, another Mississippi original that took a very different route to statewide recognition.

Imperial IPA, one hop, no shortcuts

Crowd Control sits in the Imperial (or Double) IPA category, the stronger, more intensely hopped sibling of a standard IPA. If you want the full breakdown of how that category differs from a regular IPA, my imperial-strength beer guide covers the same “bigger, stronger, more concentrated” logic that applies across imperial styles, not just stouts. For the wider IPA family tree, my guide to different IPA styles and what IPA actually stands for are both useful background before diving into the specifics below.

What makes Crowd Control interesting to me as a brewer is restraint. Southern Prohibition’s own description calls it “a dry-hopped Imperial IPA showcasing Mosaic hops,” and leaves it there, no five-hop laundry list. Mosaic is one of the most versatile modern American hop varieties: blueberry, tangerine, pine resin, and a faint herbal note can all show up depending on how it is used, and dry hopping (adding hops after the boil, for aroma rather than bitterness) is exactly the technique that lets those fruit-forward compounds come through without dragging in harsh vegetal bitterness. My explainer on dry hopping goes deeper into why that timing choice matters so much for aroma-driven IPAs like this one.

The brewery pairs that Mosaic hop bill with what it calls “a solid malt backbone,” which in an 8% beer matters more than people give it credit for. Without enough real malt sweetness underneath, a beer this strong either tastes hollow and boozy or turns cloyingly sweet trying to compensate. Southern Prohibition’s own menu copy describes the flavor as citrus, pine, and mango notes, which tracks with what Mosaic typically delivers when a brewer lets it lead rather than burying it under five competing varieties. An older third-party tasting note from Beer Connoisseur, reviewing what may have been an earlier recipe iteration, described a broader hop bill (Mosaic, Vanguard, Citra, Columbus) and a higher 80 IBU. I am flagging that as a legacy or third-party account rather than the current spec, since it does not match what Southern Prohibition’s own site and menu list today.

Pour, aroma, and tasting notes

Unlike a lot of modern double IPAs, Crowd Control is not a hazy, opaque beer. Third-party judged tastings describe it pouring a light, clear orange with a thick, lasting white head, which lines up with a more traditional West Coast-leaning Imperial IPA build rather than the soft, cloudy New England style. That clarity matters for the drinking experience: a clean pour lets the carbonation do more work lifting the Mosaic aroma out of the glass, rather than the fruit character getting muted by suspended proteins and haze the way it can in an unfiltered NEIPA.

On the nose, expect a big citrus-and-tropical hit first: think tangerine peel and ripe mango leading, with a quieter pine note sitting underneath. The first sip carries that fruit character straight through, backed by the malt sweetness Southern Prohibition talks up in its own copy, before a clean, moderately firm bitterness dries out the finish. At 8% ABV there is real weight and warmth here, more than a session IPA and more than most standard IPAs, but it is not a boozy sipper either. I would put it closer to “flavorful pint you can actually finish” than “special-occasion trophy beer,” which is exactly the gap Southern Prohibition’s own tagline for it (drink fresh, and do not resist) seems to be aiming at.

If you already know the style, the closest comparison on this site is Ghost in the Machine, which goes bigger and more aggressive in scale; Crowd Control reads as the more approachable, everyday version of that same double IPA intensity. For background on how bitterness numbers translate to what you actually taste, the IBU guide is worth a second look here, since a reported 60 IBU reads as more assertive on paper than Crowd Control’s malt-balanced profile actually drinks.

How to serve it

I would pour this into a proper tulip or a standard pint glass, not drink it straight from the can. The clear pour rewards a glass you can actually see through, and a wider bowl at the top helps concentrate that Mosaic aroma before you even take a sip. Southern Prohibition serves it at 50 degrees F in the taproom, cold enough to stay crisp but warm enough that the citrus and pine notes are not muted. Let a fresh pour sit for thirty seconds before the first sip; the aroma opens up noticeably as it settles.

This is a good beer for a backyard cookout, a tailgate, or any gathering where you want one confident IPA rather than a rotating flight. My tailgating beer picks cover how to build a cooler around a range of strengths, and Crowd Control is exactly the “one strong, flavorful anchor beer” slot in that lineup, not something to serve four of back to back unless you plan carefully around the 8% ABV.

Food pairings

A citrus-and-mango-forward Imperial IPA with real malt backbone works best against food that can stand up to both the hop intensity and the alcohol warmth. These are the pairings I would reach for first:

• Spicy curry or chili: Southern Prohibition’s own product notes point straight at this pairing, and it works: the malt sweetness tempers the heat while the citrus hops echo any chili or citrus in the dish.
• Smoked or grilled barbecue: char and smoke need something with enough hop bitterness and carbonation to cut through fat, and Crowd Control has both. See my beer and BBQ pairing guide for a broader rundown of what works with smoked meat.
• Sharp or blue cheese: the fruit-forward hop profile plays well against a pungent, salty cheese board.
• Buffalo wings: hot sauce and citrus hops are a reliable combination, and the malt sweetness takes the edge off vinegar-forward sauces.
• Tacos al pastor or other charred, citrus-marinated meats: pineapple and char both echo the tropical, resinous hop character.
• Dark chocolate desserts: a higher-ABV IPA can stand up to bittersweet chocolate in a way a session beer cannot.

For a mixed group, I would not serve Crowd Control alongside another equally intense double IPA; put it next to something lighter, like a golden or blonde ale, so people who want a break from hop intensity have an obvious option.

Where to buy Crowd Control

Crowd Control is a year-round flagship, distributed across roughly five Southeastern states from the Hattiesburg brewery, and it is regularly stocked in 4-pack and 6-pack 12oz can formats at retailers within that footprint. Outside the Gulf South, availability drops off fast since Southern Prohibition is still a regional operation rather than a nationally distributed brand.

I could not confirm a live Saucey product listing for Crowd Control itself: Southern Prohibition’s distribution footprint does not currently show up in Saucey’s delivery catalog. Rather than send you to a dead end, here are five genuinely comparable Imperial or Double IPAs with confirmed, currently live Saucey listings. Availability still depends on your delivery area.

Five Imperial IPA alternatives to try

These are not swaps for a Mississippi original, but each one delivers a similar big, hop-forward, malt-backed double IPA experience.

Pros and cons

My verdict: is Crowd Control worth trying?

Yes, if you can find it. Crowd Control earns its flagship status by doing one thing well instead of chasing every hop trend at once: a clean Mosaic showcase, a malt base substantial enough to carry 8% ABV without feeling thin or overly boozy, and a clear pour that lets the citrus and mango aroma do the talking. It reads less like a small-batch curiosity and more like a brewery’s answer to “what is the best version of a straightforward double IPA we can make and keep making, every single batch.”

The tradeoffs are mostly about geography and documentation. Southern Prohibition still distributes to a handful of Southeastern states, so unless you live in or near Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, or a neighboring market, you may need to seek it out on a trip rather than a local shelf. And the brewery keeps its published specs lean: no official IBU, no calorie count, just style, strength, and a one-line hop callout. I would rather see that honest gap than an invented number, and it does not change how genuinely solid the beer is in the glass.

My rating: 3.93 out of 5. A confident, well-built regional Imperial IPA that earns its flagship spot on Mosaic hop character and a malt backbone that actually holds up its weight.

FAQs about Crowd Control

FAQs

What style of beer is Crowd Control?

Crowd Control is an Imperial IPA, also called a Double IPA, brewed by Southern Prohibition Brewing in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

How strong is Crowd Control?

Southern Prohibition lists Crowd Control at 8.0% ABV, at the top end of Mississippi’s legal beer strength cap.

What hops are used in Crowd Control?

The brewery describes it as a dry-hopped Imperial IPA showcasing Mosaic hops, giving it a citrus, pine, and mango character.

How many calories are in Crowd Control?

Southern Prohibition does not publish an official calorie figure. Third-party retailer listings estimate around 220 calories per 12 fl oz can, but this is not a confirmed brewery number.

What is the IBU of Crowd Control?

Third-party beer databases list 60 IBU. The brewery’s own site does not publish an official bitterness figure, so treat 60 as an estimate rather than a confirmed spec.

Where can I buy Crowd Control?

It is distributed to roughly five Southeastern states from the Hattiesburg brewery. It is not currently listed on Saucey; check local retailers within that distribution footprint or the brewery’s own taproom.