Hop Country Session IPA
Bale Breaker Brewing Company

12 oz can from Safeway. Dark golden pour, small head. Aroma is grassy, hay, musty. Taste features light caramel malts coupled with a small bitter edge. Silky feel.

 

12oz can (canned 5/11/2020, so maybe a little less fresh than I'd like) into a tulip. Pours a beautiful pale coppery/straw color with a nice clean white head that settles to a light film on the surface.

Aroma is bursting with tropical juicy goodness, as expected from a Bale Breaker beer. Mango, peach, pineapple. Really nice citrusy goodness here.

Taste lacks some of the power of the aroma, but still has a clean hoppy bitterness over a pale dry biscuity malt backbone. Refreshing, but leaves me wanting a little more.

As expected from a session IPA, mouthfeel is light on this one.

Overall a very nice beer. Aroma was the high point for me but very drinkable. Gone before I even know it.

The beer pours a light copper color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive, as I pick up pepper, dry citrus, light dank earth, celery salt and light malt. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, but I really like the dry, lightly bitter finish in this beer. Mouthfeel is actually fairly light, though the beer delivers plenty of flavor. Alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, and drinkability is excellent. The relatively low abv enhances this beer's drinkability considerably.

This is a very nice, easy to appreciate ipa. Very nice.

 

 

 

L: The tiniest touch of haze on an otherwise clear deep orange hue. Super sticky white tight foam laces to the side of the glass and appears to defy gravity.

S: Smells of wet stone minerals and crisp strawberry fields.

T: Similar to the aroma but more on the fresh side. No dank from the Mosaic but still quite good and refreshing.

F: Bigger body than expected for the ABV. I wish they canned this one.

O: Simcoe, Mosaic, and Ekuanot Hops. A great incorporated blend. Sessions like these are near impossible to find in a bottle shop and it's a shame. This would be a regular summer buy for me.

 

Dark yellow color with plenty of foam in the Troubadour tulip. Sprightly carbonation with a watery but refreshing body. Appealing aroma of pine and peach. Fleeting flavor of bread followed by twigs and hints of juniper. A touch of pineapple but then the grapefruit bitterness takes over.

Interesting resiny hop taste. But there is quite a bitter aftertaste, as I often find with these lighter IPAs. It would be a Pale Ale with the nice dose of hop flavor but is too bitter for that. From the 12 oz can purchased at Elizabeth Station in Bellingham.

Dated April 1 -April Fools Day! Nice looking can. You pour a light amber ale, slightly hazy with a frothy head. Your nose receives a piney, lightly floral aroma. Bale Breaker has hit the sessionable IPA pretty much on target with this one. We're not impressed with most sessionable IPA ales, going for a Pale Ale or a lager for lighter ABV. Must say they have done a great job of keeping the "I" in IPA. Good malt base with a solid dose of hop flavors and bitterness. We plan on getting a few more sixers for our next camping trip.

 

 

I received a can from @woemad in a BIF box. Canned on 3/7/2019 and poured into a Bale can-shaped glass (also gifted by @woemad). It pours a cloudy, honey color with a large, bright white head and copious lacing. The nose is malt-forward with subtle lemon peel, resinous pine, and floral hops. Based on the smell I anticipated a sweeter, maltier IPA but it opens with considerable dry bitterness with biscuit and tart, bitter lemon and grapefruit. It has a crisp, dry mouth feel with a pleasant level of carbonation, and the drinking is easy at 5.4% ABV. Overall, "Hop Country" is an apt name for this ale. It's a dry, bitter, session-version of a well-brewed West Coast IPA.

2019-05-03
12oz can served in a tulip. Dated 04/04/19.

Pours a pretty clear golden with a medium sized head. Smell is fresh and floral.

Taste is moderate biscuit, moderate to heavy pine / resin.

Mouthfeel is light, dry, resinous. Overall, solid beer.

12oz can poured into 14oz teku. Poured a lightly cloudy yellowish-orange color with about a half-inch of white head that moderate retention and light lacing.

As expected from the brewery, the aroma is dominated by bright hops. Mostly citrus, but some earthy funk too. Underneath there was just a touch of malt, and no yeast.

Pretty similar on the tongue, with a slight touch of hop bitterness at the back end.

The body was light side of medium, and finished dry. Drinkability was very good, I could easily knock back a few of these. Overall, a really nice brew. Not quite a replacement for the new version of Field 41, but close. Worth a shot if you see it.

 

Look * beautiful golden color and very clear * decent 1-2 finger head out of a 12oz. can * stays pretty foamy and active
Smell * sweet maltiness and some yeast * quite a bit of cattiness and pine * also some nice tropical fruit scents underneath
Taste * decent hop bitterness at first but then sweetens up somewhat * some pine and tropical fruit (mango/pineapple) * dries out a lot and quite quickly
Feel * medium bodied but on the lower end * a bit thinner than expected (but it is labelled as a session ipa?)
Overall * This is a great tasting IPA and not as "sessiony" as expected * the abv is still pretty high here so I am not sure if I'd drink a 6 pack of these while doing yardwork in the summer * tastes lighter than most IPAs so it is closer to a session in that sense * I'm happy with this purchase

12 oz can- Pours clear old golden with a nice pillowy white head that retains, cobwebby lacework. Aroma is mildly dank and pine resin, peppercorns, grainy, a bit of lemon. The taste is exactly what i'm looking for in a session IPA, full flavored, yet medium body, all the descriptors in the aroma are here for the taste, although looking at the can it says 5.4% so i wouldn't call this a session IPA, it's just another good IPA from Bale Breaker.