Expression Session
Strand Brewing Co.

500ml bottle, undated, poured into a 14oz snifter glass. Enjoyed on 4.3.17, reviewed from Tasting Journal.

The beer pours and orange copper color, light chill haze with two fingers of white soapy head, great retention and exceptional lace. The aroma is decent, light piney hops, some grassy notes, lightly floral and herbal with a bit of honey sweetness and cracker malt. The flavors are herbal and grassy, lemony citrus with an almost tea like flavor, a touch of pine, strong cereal grains and mineral water. The mouthfeel is good, coating, lively, crisp with a lighter body that is pretty bubbly with an easy and smooth finish.

Verdict: A decent session IPA from Strand. Not my favorite beer from them, but still a worthy entry. It's light, crushable and pretty inoffensive though the tea flavor wasn't my thing. Now, on a hot day, I could easily go through a few of these without issue.

 

Not bad, but not my favorite session ipa. A bit malty, and bready for me. It lacked the big citrus, and bitterness that you get from a lot of session IPA's.

a: a slightly cloudy burnt orange color with some faint golden amber notes. large 2-3 finger white frothy white head that leaves a nice lacing

s: much strong aroma than i expected. juicy pineapple, ripe mango, a hint of passion fruit and strawberry. in the background is a nice combination of caramel and bready malt

t: taste isn't quite as juicy as the nose. there is a faint combination of mango & pineapple, but your hit with a surprising amount of bitterness upfront that comes from an earthy tea leaf flavor mixed with mild grapefruit. that fades to a nice mild bready malt presence and some light caramel sweetness. flavor ends with just a hint of mango and lemongrass

m: its a lighter mouthfeel, with a slightly high amount of carbonation, but that carbonation is whats really helping the tropical flavors find their way in here

o: i'd be shocked if you told me this was 3.8%. there are some real nice (yet subtle) flavors in here. i enjoy the combination of sweet, tropical, and bitterness. i've seen session beers that rely to heavily on bitterness and are one-sided. this is not one of those. theres a nice balance of flavors in here that will not bore you, and are quite nice to drink

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Strand Brewing Company in Torrance, CA.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy beige head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus fruit, citrus zest, and grapefruit juice aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest and floral flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that has a bit of an unrefined hop presence in the flavor.