Bullpen Session
Goose Island Beer Co.

From their website: "Bullpen Session is a New England Style Session IPA from the Goose Island Brewhouse in Philadelphia. Brewed with generous amounts of oats, this beer has a slightly hazy appearance with a medium body. Late and dry hop additions of Azacca, El Dorado, and Centennial yield intense aromas of pineapple, mango, and tangerine. This beer is our liquid tribute to the community of Philadelphia and one if our most beloved sports teams. Cheers to Goose Island, the Phillies, and baseball!"
Notes via stream of consciousness: For an NEIPA this is surprisingly only slightly hazy. In fact, it's what I'd call mostly clear. It has less haze than a witbier! It's golden in color beneath a full head of white foam that seems to be holding quite well. Ahh, I see, looking at their notes that they call it "slightly hazy", so maybe I can give them some slack on that. I would have normally expected it to be almost cloudy though. The aroma is lacking for an IPA. It's floral, herbal, and mildly citrusy. I'm wondering if this is the right beer because it doesn't seem anything like a NEIPA so far. Onward... the flavor delivers a basic golden malt although there is a rustic character to it that I'm going to say is coming from oats. The hop flavors are subdued, but stronger than the aroma lets on, and include some apple, berries, tangerine, soft mango, and pine. It's surprisingly bitter for a NEIPA, at least one done in the fruity vein, and it finishes quite dry with lingering generic tropical fruit and herbs. In the mouth it's medium bodied and gently crisp. It's smooth but it isn't what I'd expect of a NEIPA that's loaded with extra proteins and a silky, almost fuller feeling body. And there you have it, a failure on all four counts to make up a NEIPA. If only they'd just called it an IPA it would have been fine. You've really got to judge it to style though, right? At least for the numbers. Hedonistically it's not bad - in fact I rather like it. It's got the bitterness of an IPA but a little bit of the refreshing quality from fruity hops. I almost forgot to note that the head held up really well, and it left some impressive torn-sheets and wide splashes of lacing about the glass.