Budding Thoughts
Novel Strand Brewing Company

they call it a "small hoppy ale" not a session ipa, but thats what it really is. oddly enough a little maltier than some of their others, just a little caramel color to this one from the tap under a nice white head. not overly hazy here, and with a pretty big southern hemisphere hop profile on it, again, like many of their others in here, eschewing the bitterness for the dry hop focus, but in the end this was my least favorite of the beers we had in here, like it is afraid to commit to being old school and balanced by some maltiness, but also too shy to go all in as a modern hazy ipa, and its lost in the no mans land in between. its not under flavored, but the bit of grain to it covers up the best nuances of the hops, still feels oily and tastes like citrus, i get some classic simcoe grapefruit here, too hoppy for those who like a more mild ale, a golden or a blonde or even an esb or an amber, but then a little grain driven for those who need something explicitly hoppy at the same time, fresh and well enough made, just maybe not their best recipe here in the early going. good carbonation and drinkable though, just not my favorite.