Groove Session Ale
Tree Brewing Co.

 

Poured from a can into a tulip glass. The lack of head really let me down, like nothing. Clear, small carbonation
Despite being a little high in ABV it seemed like a sessional beer to me but overall lacked much character and I was not as impressed as I'd hope. Maybe had my hopes up too much.

Tree Brewing tries to get in on the trend toward "session" ales, but I would argue that this one seems to be a stretch of the word "session"--it's darker than most session ales (split the difference between gold and copper), higher ABV (I would argue 5% is stretching it just a touch when we're talking sessionable beers), and has a much heavier character than most versions of the (quasi-)style I've tried. In fact, given the malt-forward character here (bready, crackery, toasted), it echoes more of an English ale.

Still, it's a good,substantial brew. Just somewhat unexpected, and not something I'd really want to "session," despite the name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tall can poured into a tulip glass. a golden honey amber color, yellow just grading into orange, with a moderate amount of rich white head. Aroma is mellow and classy I suppose, freshly hulled grains, a faint spice that almost suggests ginger, the odd citrus or tropical spectre darts in and out of awareness. Grass and hay. Aroma whispers "drinkable" and other safe words denoting that the average consumer of adjunct lagers does not have to be (that) afraid. Taste is malt-forward, quite sweet but with enough hops to keep things firmly anchored in the "crisp and dry" style space ... Lightly honeyed breakfast cereal, faint grape bubblegum, underripe stone fruit like apricots. The mellow toasted malts are adding some complexity but largely playing it very safe, and the Palisade/Cascade hops are doing likewise, delivering some light pineapple perhaps. Certainly gets points for that elusive quality of "balance" but this is admittedly an exercise in mindfulness and deliberate concentration for me, at least right now. Dried apricot and toast elements do become more salient about half way through. Grassy, floral hops are detectable in the dryish finish, and perhaps the body is just a hair thicker than advertised (not a bad trait). Carbonation is assertive but not aggressive. This bucks the recent session IPA trend in favor of a more conservative approach to flavor and honestly its not bad. Gentle and refined, perhaps just barely manages to avoid mediocrity. Or perhaps my mood is not conducive to this style right at the moment. Either way, I have provided enough description for you to judge and compare. Groovy ....

 

 

 

Poured from 500mL tall can into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: medium golden hue with a haze-free body and a moderate effervescence. Head is a thick finger of frothy ivory foam. I don't know if I would call this a blonde ale, but the brewers bill this as simply a "session ale", so I guess I can't fault them for that. I rather like the look of this beer, though.

Smell: sweet malt with a refreshing lemony element; it reminds me a little bit of grains of paradise except more tolerable. There are also floral notes. It's rather working for me!

Taste: flavor is just like the aroma, although there are hints of toastiness in the malt as well. Usually these sweet, floral, toasty brews don't work for me, but this one is. It is walking the line between a blonde ale and a pale ale, I would say.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a big carbonation and a very satisfying creaminess. I am a fan!

Overall: this beer simply works for me. It might not objectively be the greatest thing in the world, but I could see myself quaffing many of these at a barbecue or camping trip. Bam!