7MIPA Session IPA
7 Mile Brewery

 

This was the first beer that I ever had from 7 Mile as I had never heard of them before. Picked this up not too long ago at Total Wine in West Orange since I've been attempting to buy local since the pandemic hit. While this was listed as an IPA, this felt and tasted more like an American Pale Ale in nearly aspect. I suppose that this would be fine for a nice, summer day but a beer of this type needs to leave me with a better impression!

Can't say that the first impression that I got from this was a good one as much if it exploded out of the can as soon as I cracked it open. Not a lot of head lingered in the pint glass given how boisterous it was but the lacing left behind was a bit better as there were several frothy rings that lingered in the middle of my pint glass. The somewhat dull, brassy hue of this beer had a few dark bits of sediment in it but that wasn't an issue for me. Grassy with some melon and unappealing dank hops in the nose, the taste was just as heavy-handed on the palate. Grain and pepper spice emerged as this warmed up but this had an underlying feel of being skunked during my session.

There wasn't a lot of booze to this (thankfully) as this needed a lot more going for it. The bottom of the can had a best by date of 6/14 of last year but I've had many beers that was were older when I got around to them and it was rare that they let me down as much as this did. If this was newer, I'd rate it lower as there wasn't much going for it and it wouldn't complete in a crowded category on here. Need to give this another go...

Acquired can in a trade. 7 Mile is not distributed in my home area so I know very little about the brewery. Unfortunately, no indication of canning date so unsure of its relative freshness. Overall, it was a fairly typical Session IPA but seemed to have a bit less taste and body than others I've tried - might possibly be due to a freshness problem. This particular can presented an acceptable product but by no means a standout in a highly competitive market for this IPA style.

Modest one finger head, bright white with a mottled surface, excellent length to the thin lacing strands and they stick well to boot. Faint cloudiness to the dark coppery colored liquid, filled throughout with an active swirl of tiny bubbles, fresh and lively appearance. Explosive tangerine, blood orange to pink grapefruit citrus in the nose, fresh flowers and pine sap, ripe mango, peach and apricot scents, presents a steady biscuit underpinning but minimal sharp notes. Medium-bodied, good bones and in no way flabby, dry enough to keep up a quick pace across the palate. A lot more biscuity, bready notes and peppery accents than in the nose. In turn the papaya, mango, apricot fruit less robust and showy. The primary position of the tangerine, pink grapefruit citrus goes unchallenged. Low alcohol puts it in the sessionable category but the texture is too rough around the edges to consume more than two in a row.