Wee IPA
Summit Brewing Company

 

Smells sour and bitter, sharp. A nice gold color with no head. Not much flavor at first glance besides an oddly flimsy mouthfeel and strong hop aftertaste with a tad of malt in there too. Pretty enjoyable on a hot day. Though I enjoyed the beer, there was nothing to make it stand out from the crowd of IPAs.

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 12 oz. can into a Summit pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a bright amber orange. Moderate amount of bubbles and a big two finger off white head that settles into a thin creamy layer.

Smell: A juicy hop forward aroma of citrus. Upfront citrus hop scent of orange, grapefruit, apricot, and lemon with some pineapple. Malt scent of caramel, grains, and cracker along with yeast. A pretty solid aroma.

Taste: Like it smells, a crisp and juicy hop forward taste with notes of citrus. Citrus hop notes of orange, grapefruit, lemon, and apricot along with pineapple. Malt notes of caramel, cracker, and grains with some yeast. A solid taste.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with a moderate level of carbonation. Crisp, juicy, and smooth.

Overall: A pretty solid session IPA. Nice citrus flavor with a solid caramel malt backing.

 

 

 

L-Oak colored...minimal head...nice lacing

S-Nice fruity aroma...Oranges, tangerines, a bit of passion fruit

T-First impression is a nice bready maltiness. Similar fruit notes follow as on the aroma but overall this is pretty balanced. Maybe leans a little to the malt for the style.

F-I'm impressed with the body on this for a lower abv ipa...It's on the high side of light bodied and does not exhibit much of a watery feeling texture wise.

O-Boy the hop bill for this one had me pretty jacked up and this is a rock solid session IPA but it doesn't burst with the hop goodness I was hoping for. Still, a very nice sessionable balanced IPA.

*Rating for the subset of session IPA

 

it's not hop water, but it's yellow and clear and just kind of beer-y looking. hops are well presented without trying to hide that this is a lower alcohol ipa. mouth is still a bit thin and overall it's not something i'd want to get on its own, but if i ever switch to lite ipa's, i could consider buying this one again.

 

 

As far as session IPAs are concerned, this is better than most. Damning with faint praise. I like the malt base especially with its biscuit, musty grain qualities.

 

 

Citrus and pineapple aroma. Clear and golden, nice-looking bubbles rising to a tall white cream-looking head (from a fairly vigorous pour). As it recedes, it leaves bubbly lacing. Nicely balanced, with citrus and pineapple from the hops and an obvious malty foundation. Just a touch of bitterness on the initial taste and again in the aftertaste. Nice clean and slightly bitter finish. This beer is immediately at or near the top of lower-ABV IPAs / APAs. Well-balanced, good flavor, and good body, which is difficult (it seems) for American craft brewers to achieve in an IPA that is less than 5% ABV. This would be a great summer patio beer.