Fresh Hop Session IPA
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

 

Reviewed from notes. Poured from the 12 oz. can into a Cycle Brewing goblet.

A: Bright gold, with a mild haze. Forms about a finger's worth of white head with fantastic retention atop a decent amount of visible carbonation. Very pretty for sure.

S: Not a huge aroma but nice enough. Grassy, tropical fruits, and a bit dank. Mild melon and herbal hops as well. A light cracker and two-row malt bill.

T: Herbal and dank, tropical fruit and melon hops. A modest but definite grassiness here as well, and a bit of lemony citrus rind. Cracker malt body; some sips suggest pilsner malts as well, but I don’t get it on others. It finishes with more grassy, dank, and melon bitterness, with a bit of a tinny alpha bitterness I don’t dig.

M: A light body, but as expected for a “session” IPA. Low alcohol presence, and good carbonation sensation.

O: I’m not crazy about this malt bill – I still think there’s some pilsner malt here giving a bit of sulfurous character, but I’m not completely convinced it’s not something coming from the hops. And the Strata hops...this may be the first beer I’ve had with Strata as a prominent component (at least that I’ve been aware of), and based on this one I’m not in love with the flavors. The mildly tinny bitterness I could do without, and it doesn’t seem to have the heavy dry-hopping I was hoping for on the session IPA. It’s fine, but nothing I'd actively look for again.

A- Golden-amber pour with a foamy, creamy white head, dissipating to a lingering soapy ring. Layered, soapy lacing. Nice.
S- Surprisingly complex nose of pine, floral hops, tangerine, and a soft, underlying earthiness.
T- Nicely balanced with a cracker malt base, strong piney notes, some floral hop and a bit of citrus.
M- Crisp, almost zippy, and incredibly refreshing.
O- Probably my favorite session IPA so far. Full of flavor and utterly crushable. Fridge-stocker fav...

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a lightly hazed golden color with a one finger head of pure white foam. The head fades rather slowly over time to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the brew is a nice blend of pine and earthy hops with a little bit of a citrus smell. Along with these aromas comes some notes of tangerine and orange and a little bit of grass.
Taste – The taste begins with a cracker malt taste with some citrus hop and a little bit of fruit flavors of tangerine and harvest fruit. The dank hop are slightly lighter upfront, but get more pronounced as the flavor advances all while the sweeter fruit fades. The dank hop are mainly of a pine and herb nature with a little bit of an earthy hop flavor as well, which with the transitions that occurred, leave one with a lightly sweet, and nicely danked and lightly citrus hopped flavor to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is light and crisp with a carbonation level that is fairly high. For the session style and the hop flavor profile being a mix of dank and citrus, the feel is rather fantastic and makes for an easy drinking brew.
Overall – This is a rather tasty and flavorful IPA with an easy drinking feel and nice hop blend.

 

 

 

 

 

12oz can. Poured out a clear, golden orange color with a small, white head of foam. Smelled floral and fruity with a touch of pine. Sweet citrus, toasted caramel and a hint of piney bitterness.

 

 

 

look - light orangish copper color with a big lasting white head and sticky lacing
Smell - Very herbal slight dank a little bit of citrus and grass
Taste - Very Herbal like the scent a little bitter citrus pine taste
Feel - medium light body with a crisp carbanation
Overall - REally good session IPA. This new Strata hop is interesting and would like to see it in another one of there beers to check it out.

 

Mild grassy hop aroma, pours a clear amber with a full white head. Light bodied, mild pop of citrus, which fades out to a mild bitter finish. Light and easy drinking beer.

 

Taste: crisp herbal almost sharp floral hop, fresh finish. Dry hop nose. Pale gold, mostly clear, refined white foam head and ring lace. Medium light body. Good for summer. 41 IBUs

From the bottom of the can: "PKGD 101717C05:20"

Appearance: The head is large and white with good retention. The beer has a medium-light gold body with just a bit of haze.

Aroma: The beer has a very strong hop oil aroma, similar to the residue (not the lupulin) that collects on the outside of hop bines. It also has a soap-like wildflower aroma that develops in the beer. In the background there is a very light bit of tangerine that is perceptible. It has a very interesting aroma that is fun to keep smelling.

Taste; The aromatic characters transfer heavily into the flavor of the beer. It has that hop bine oil character that is a bit earthy and raw without being vegital or grassy. There is a bit of a flour flavor to the beer giving it just a light touch of bread character. It's a pretty awesome tasting beer.

Mouthfeel: It's very clean and refreshing. The beer is just enjoyable to drink. It has low bitterness but it pokes you just enough to give you that bitter satisfaction that can only come from hops. The beer finishes off-dry but never feeling sweet.

Overall: It's a really impressive beer. I would challenge anyone who isn't a fan of the Session IPA to give this a shot. It is a bit high on the ABV scale for a Session IPA ("ALC. 4.8% BY VOL." as indicated by the can) but as a whole the beer simply works. I would drink it again and I would highly recommend it.