Introvert
Left Hand Brewing Company

woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

The FGBS recently had a tasting with the Left Hand B.C. rep & I came away with a buncha CANs for inclusion in The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Brewed on the banks of the mighty St. Vrain Est. 1993"; "An ale with hop aromas of tropical papaya and kiwi with woodsy pine, balanced by honey malt and a clean bitter finish"; "Employee owned, righteously independent (tm)"; "Please recycle".

Once more, I found myself doing a Crack! & inverted Glug with a CAN of beer. I had made a 2017 New Year's resolution not to do these sorts of things unless it was called for, but these CANs have been so fresh that it was just too much of a temptation to overcome. I am so ashamed. In the interim, it formed just over a finger of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with good retention that left behind some nice lacing. Color was Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, prompting yet another impromptu visit from The Gelt Gang of Midas, Croesus & Mammon, all vying for a taste. Nose was kind of odd in that I got the tropical fruit, but it smelled like overripe fruit which is not terribly appealing. It just was not meshing well with the woodiness. Mouthfeel was kinda on the thin side, not watery, but not by much. The taste was more woody than fruity and while this was somewhat of an improvement, it also gave it a vinous aspect, like too much oakiness in a wine. Hmm. As I drank through it, I realized that I was going to need some water afterwards as all I could taste was wood. My apologies, but I would not want to spend a Session with this one. Finish was gaspingly dry thanks to its woody character. For me 1 = enough. YMMV.

I will return to this if I CAN find a bottle.

Jan 28, 2018

HorseheadsHophead from Colorado

3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

L: Hazy orange with a big creamy head. Very good retention and lacing.

S: Pine, a little fennel and spice, big biscuit malt backbone with honey sweetness, and some grapefruit and orange peel.

T: Very piney, with a big biscuit malt backbone. A little grapefruit and orange peel. Finishes lightly dry with a lingering pine sap bitterness.

F: Medium light bodied, with solid carbonation.

Jun 12, 2017

RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

3.19/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Introvert Session IPA has a medium, off-white head, a mostly clear, bubbly, bronze appearance, with moderate lacing left on the glass. Aroma is of hop resin and white bread crust, and the flavor is of strong and bitter hop notes, some sweetness, and white bread. The body is light to mid-range, and Introvert finishes on the dry side.

RJT

Feb 14, 2017

AdmiralOzone from Minnesota

3.48/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pure golden in appearance with a white frothy head that lasts. Overwhelmingly lemony in flavor with just a touch of hop flavor. Still looking for a "session" IPA with some zip.

Jan 02, 2017

Matthew315 from New York

4.04/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

tasting from a spiegelau glass from 40-53 degrees F. very even consistency. decent citrus, orange, peaches and grapefruits evenly mellowing with a pine and a hint of crystal hiding in the background... the malt comes forward around 48 degrees. amazing lacing, head and color like any good beer! definitely worth enjoying!!!

Oct 05, 2016

Tone from Missouri

4.09/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a clear, gold color. 1/2 inch head of an off-white color. Great retention and great lacing. Smells of citrus hops, tea, hint of pine, slight resin, hint of alcohol, citrus, and slight floral. Fits the style of an American IPA. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp, with an average carbonation level. Tastes of pine, tea, citrus hops, slight alcohol, slight resin, tea, and a hint of floral. Overall, good appearance, complexity, blend, and body.

Sep 16, 2016

mfnmbvp from Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle, best by 09/22/16 printed on the bottleneck.

Poured into a Duvel tulip.

A - Pours a hazy cloudy juicy golden orange IPA body with over two fingers of frothy fluffy white head that lingers long, leaving excellent sheets of sticky lacing throughout. Appears aptly carbonated. Some chill haze, some hop / yeast sediment. Looks good.

S - Aroma is pleasant and inviting: soft bready biscuit malt content, some fresh piney hop oils, light dankness, light florals, and a nice earthy yeast presence, slightly bretty, perhaps the same yeast used in Extrovert IPA also? Either way, it's very nice.

T - Taste follows the nose: bready malts & good earthy hop oils / resins / bitterness. Notes of grapefruit, citrus, & orange pith. Again, i'm loving the yeast strand used here, tastes slightly bretty / earthy, with good accompanying yeast-derived fruitiness. Crisp, & super drinkable.

M - Feel is smooth, crisp, clean, earthy, yeast, hoppy, lightly oily / piney / resinous / hop bitterness leftover on the palate. Very fresh & quenching stuff for a hot ass summer day (like today).

Overall, big IPA flavor with a modest abv from Left Hand. Definitely impressed by these, and glad i picked up six packs of both this beer and Extrovert IPA. Nice stuff.

Left Hand Brewing Introvert Session IPA -----4/5.

Jul 24, 2016

oldn00b from Virginia

4.06/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Nose is light, bright and citrusy. Flavor has a nice wallop of pineapple - hop profile brings that in a really great way. Really nice, like, full flavored hop forward session IPA.

Jun 10, 2016

BWED from Colorado

2.92/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz. bottle poured into a willibecher.

A- Bronze, with subpar clarity. Yeast suspended. Dense pad of head is off white in color. Good lacing.

S- Tropical, papaya, a little piney and citrusy.

T- Tropical citrus and pine. Malt is pale and a little grassy.

M- Light body, with a fairly clean finish. Light bitterness. Not long.

O- I wouldn't get this one again. Doesn't look good, and the flavors just don't blend well.

May 07, 2016

ledhed1234 from Massachusetts

3.44/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Quick take is similar to others: a little bitter and dry for a session ale. You want to have 3 of those in an afternoon and this doesn't do it. Get the papaya but the bitter after taste is overpowering. Overall a good tasting beer but not tops in its class.

Apr 20, 2016

NolaHopHead from Louisiana

3.71/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

12 oz bottle. Pours clean bright golden amber, two finger white head that lasts, coating lace. Ripe fruit, grassy, herbal aroma. Taste is balanced up front with a bit of malt sweetness but the hops take over quickly, quite a burst of bitterness. Hops are earthy and grassy with a little pepper kick in the end. Finishes bone dry with lasting back tongue bitterness. Thin to medium mouthfeel. Not a bad session IPA, especially if looking for bitter hops.

Mar 14, 2016

TheStoutLord from Oklahoma

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

L: Decent, but lacey head possibly due to an aggressive pour. Very thick with floating particles, I guess from being unfiltered. Solid golden-orange color.

S: Great citric hoppy smell. Exactly what I want an IPA to smell like.

T: Not living up to the smell in terms of quality. First wave of flavor is just bitter hops, which wouldn't be bad if it gave way to something else significant or was supplemented by another element of flavor. Very little citrus or sweet taste. The end is rather dry and certainly a clear finish for the beer. Drinking more of it, I can begin to taste a little bit of the advetised "woody" flavor, but the hops are so overpowering, especially for a session beer.

F: The feel is aggressive and unrelenting. Pops and crashes and tingles around the tongue at first and leaves a dry sensation afterward.

O: Not a bad IPA, but I feel like there's no point in it being a session beer because its so overwhelmingly hoppy and bitter that people would never drink many anyway.

Jan 24, 2016

Stevem68 from Ohio

3.51/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear light Amber color. Has a nice citrus hop aroma. Flavor is super light. Mild city's flavor followed by a watery meh. Overall this is highly forgettable. A nice smell and a little flavor up front and that all gases away quickly.

Dec 19, 2015

Suds from Missouri

3.24/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Hazy, pale golden with lots of floaties and a clear, white head. The aroma is of muted resiny hops, slightly citric in the smell as well, but the aroma doesn't jump out of the glass. The taste is pleasant...light, with a solid mid-taste bitterness and a lingering hop aftertaste. Medium-light in body, and easy to drink. Good, but not great.

Nov 21, 2015

jlindros from Massachusetts

3.65/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Haven't been a huge fan of their beers lately but figured ice give them another shot with a session ipa.

Pours a light fizzy head fades slowly, messy lacing, incredibly infused with sediment chucks, one of the worst pulp beers I've ever seen, orange pale color.

Nose mild floral grassy hops, little citrus orange peel, into fruity generic tree fruit, touch of toasty malt.

Taste brings some toasty malts, fair malty, more grassy floral hops, little earthy, big grassy slight herbal leafy, into mild generic tree fruit, little apple cider, pear, fair bitterness at first. Then finish is dry with big bitterness, spicy earthy grassy hops, little orange rind.

Mouth is med to lighter bod, decent carb.

Overall not bad, decent hop profile, gets a little big on the bitterness, little extra malty but not bad, light and drinkable but the bitterness really hurts the session tag.

Nov 01, 2015

WoodBrew from Ohio

3.71/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

The Introvert is more Englishy than West Coasty. The beer poured a orangish color....with FLOATIES....hate the floaties...had very thin white head that is leaving a spotty lace. The scent has passion fruit hints. The taste is bitter through the draw and lingers on the pallet. Malt make it start sweet but quickly turns with grapefruit bitterness claiming its stake. The mouthfeel is lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its decent.

Oct 30, 2015

AtrumAnimus from Texas

4.25/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This one pours a nice dark golden color with a nice off white head that is long lived and settles slowing leaving a nice complex lacing down the glass.

The nose is a pleasant pine with grassy notes that have a hint of citrus and elderberry from the Fructose.

The taste is a very pleasant and bitter IPA that subdues the maltiness that would otherwise be quite fruity. Nicely balanced with a hint of complexity. A good solid IPA.

The mouthfeel is pleasantly rich and works with the bitterness lasting through the finish.

Overall this one is a good solid IPA and very drinkable. Pairs well with spicy food and ghost pepper salsa.

Oct 24, 2015

deleted_user_357747

3.46/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25

Thick, billowy head of slightly taupe foam. Bubbly, rocky, lively. A dark amber-honey color with a surprising amount of particulate in it.. Kind of a dull color. Smell is a knockout; rich, piney, fruity, raw. Pineapple, cut grass and pine needles are dominant. Very good, rich aromas. Taste looses some of those fruity qualities, lots of upfront hop action. Blast of early bitterness, fading into a bittered honey-like flavor. Malt tries to counter with some sweetness, but is ultimately overwhelmed by the hopiness. Needs more counterbalance, for sure. Still, for a low-ABV session beer, it's got a lot to give IPA fans. I could mistake this for a beefed up, full-strength IPA.

Oct 21, 2015

slusk from Virginia

3.77/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

L: Pours a clear golden with a fair amount of particulate and a thin white head.

S: Apricot and grapefruit with a bit of honey. Some earthy undercurrent. Light malt

T: Grapefruit, apricot and light pine with a little citrus. Low malt flavor. Finishes quite dry. Not much sweetness. Moderate bitterness

F: Light body, moderate carbonation.

O: Very nice Hop profile and crisp brew. Leans a bit toward the dry side. Overall a good beer. Not as complex as the aroma belies. Not bad though for a session IPA.

Oct 16, 2015

mactrail from Washington

3/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5

Attractive golden color with plenty of foam in the tall glass. Pine and resins in the aroma, with a hint of onion in the nose. So light and wispy in the mouth, but it's still nearly five percent.

Oh, ow, I'm salivating after two sips. A little melon and Stoned Wheat Thins crackers. Serious hop bitterness with a rather slight grapefruit flavor. Very, very dry. There may be some nice flavors buried here, but thinness, the excruciating sharpness, and then the harsh bitterness make this undrinkable.

Oct 06, 2015

Moose90 from Washington

2.57/5  rDev -29.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz bottle

A — Pours a clear and bright yellow color into the glass, very light white head comes and goes quickly, almost no lacing left behind.

S — Smells of grains and light malts, little bit of pils and almost wheat. Just very light and faint. Some lemony, peppery hops come through as well.

T — Taste is incredibly light, and also surprisingly bitter, very dry and bitter, without much else, just grainy and bitter.

M — Light in body, high in carbonation, bubbly, and OK.

O — Alright overall, very dry and bubbly, not much in the flavor department though.

Sep 05, 2015

iheartmyTHO from Georgia

3.49/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Kind of weak for an IPA. It's definitely not the most hop forward IPA I have had. The hops are mild as well as the other flavors that I typically associate with an IPA - citrus, pine, etc. Though all the flavors are balanced. Combined, all this makes this beer pretty easy to drink. It might be a good beer to introduce someone to the IPA style, especially if they hate bitter beers.

Aug 27, 2015

matjack85 from Illinois

3.29/5  rDev -9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I picked this up at the Binny's store in Plainfield, IL as part of a build-your-own six pack for $9.99. making this single 12oz bottle $1.67. No freshness date.

The beer poured a golden/amber color and made a 1-finger white head that dissipated in under a minute. Lacing was decent.,

Really nice fruity smell of orange, pineapple, and papaya.

I don't know what happened to the orange, pineapple, and papaya, but the taste is all bitter grapefruit and even more bitter woody pine. Very little malt presence.

Light to medium body with moderate carbonation.

If it would have kept the smell elements in the flavor I would have rated it higher, but as it is it's just another run of the mill IPA.

Aug 21, 2015

BEERMILER12 from Maine

3.54/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a golden orange color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a thin cap that leaves some decent lacing

S: Some light tropical and earthy hop notes come through along with a honeyed, lightly sweet maltiness. Not too much else going on

T: Follows the nose. Hops are a bit more on the earthy side while providing quite a bit of bitterness. Malt comes through and provides a moderate sweetness and a light biscuity note. Finishes with lingering bitterness

M: Light-medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: An easy drinking session IPA with decent flavors. Bitterness hinders the drinkability a bit, but if you enjoy that then this might be your cup of tea in terms of session IPAs

Aug 20, 2015

hoptheology from South Dakota

2.82/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75

During a humid rainstorm, seemed like a good choice.

A : An apricot hue with 60% opacity, and a big foamy sticky head about 3 fingers tall. The lacing stays with the glass as the head recedes slowly.

S : Mostly sweaty smells, dank, rotted corn, herbal and biscuit notes.

T: Cantaloupe rind (rind only), scrapings of a pine cone, and pasty biscuit malts. Overall none of it meshes and it just ends up tasting disgusting.

F : Creamy and dense, with light carbonation. Ends puckered and dry. Best part of the beer.

O : Won't be having this one again. Too strong and piney to be sessionable. Literally a drain pour and only good to add to my "hads".

Aug 18, 2015