Tag: session

Beer of the Week: Stoup ISA

By Iron Chef Leftovers

One of the nice things about living in the Northwest is that, despite living in the land of big, hoppy beers, breweries know that there is always a place for a more session version of the IPA – something that has lower alcohol but still has a significant hop profile to keep all of the hopheads happy without killing them with a 7+% ABV beer on a warm day. Stoup Brewing started producing one early in their life, giving drinkers a nice break from the big IPAs.

From the Stoup website:

Silver medal in the Session Ales category at the 2014 Washington Beer Awards ®

ABV: 5%, IBU: 45, Lovibond: 5

A vibrantly golden brew crafted with the Northwest beer drinker in mind. Hopped to satisfy, moderately dry in the finish, and restrained in alcohol content, our India Session Ale is ideal for a long Seattle afternoon of beer consumption with friends. Or alone. Who are we to judge?

untitlasedThe beer pours pale yellow in color with light floral notes on the nose and hints of hops and citrus in the background. the beer starts off on the palate with mild grain before coming in with very light citrus and a pleasant bitterness that keeps building into the finish before fading with more grain with just a hint of citrus peel. Big flavors and nice balance from a session with nice hop bite to keel the hophead in me happy without being palate blowing.

Stoup ISA jams in with a solid set of 3 session players out of 5.

Beer of the Week: Reuben’s Brews Anniversary Session Pale

By Iron Chef Leftovers

untitled2Reuben’s Brews turned 1 in 2013 and to celebrate, they released a few new beers, notably their Anniversary Session Pale. Clocking in at 4.9% ABV and just 25 IBU, it isn’t really a beer that I would normally order, but what the heck, it was new and I will try anything once.

The beer pours hazy pale yellow in color with light grain on the nose and showing hints of citrus. The beer starts out grain forward on the front end before transitioning off to the hops – light citrus and citrus peel that lingers and a pleasant light bitterness, all were surprising considering the IBU on the beer. The beer then finishes long with a delightful yeast finale with hints of bitterness that linger without overpowering. Well balanced and complex despite being easy drinking and smooth, the session pale is a perfect beer to taste hops without blowing out your palate and plenty of other character to make you want to drink a few.

Reuben’s Anniversary Session Pale throws a party and celebrates with 4 papers out of 5.