Sound System
Sons of Kent Brewing Company

473 mL can from the LCBO, included in the Sons of Kent IPA Boombox (Vol. 3). Dated Mar 4 2026 and served barely chilled.

Pours a foggy pale yellow colour, briefly topped with one finger of loose, bubbly white foam that vanishes within ninety seconds or so. A modest collar of frothy suds rings a few patches of film on the surface, with light lace deposition after each sip; looks alright to me. Low-key aroma of fruity, slightly floral hops - melon, passion fruit, citrus and strawberry are all there, but nothing really stands out.

I mean, it tastes just fine, but as with the aroma, there's no real stand-out flavour here. There's some grainy, crackery pale malt action going on, which provides background support for hints of melon, lime and not-quite-ripe strawberry. Lemon-lime citrus pithiness late in the sip, along with some herbal, floral hops; the aftertaste is lightly fruity & citrusy, trending off-dry. Light in body, with active carbonation that feels spritzy on the tongue, resulting in a crisp, smooth mouthfeel. Crushable.

Final Grade: 3.73, a B grade. Sound System is actually pretty good for a session IPA, but is it good enough to be worth buying again? The jury's still out on that one: I get why some hopheads might prefer light pale ales, as there are plenty of situations where drinking 6-7% IPAs one after another is just a bad idea. Personally, I'd rather just drink less of a good IPA; either that or something else entirely (e.g. a pilsner) - these session IPAs almost never do it for me, though I must reiterate that this is a solid one.

At my lady Pamela's house; canned and chilled, 473mL in a Teku glass. From their IPA Mix Pack 3 at the Amherstburg LCBO. No date stamp or lot number. My 20th beer from the Chatham, Ontario brewery, and 13th for 2026. Strongly recommended by Gracie the cat...