Hopped To The Nines (Brouwer's 9th Anniversary IPA)
Elysian Brewing Company

 

Poured into a small shaker pint glass. Pours a quite hazy caramel amber with a thin white head with good retention and lots of wispy lacing. Aroma of bready malt, light citrus hops. Flavor follows with mild malt, light citrus hops and light lemon citrus, slight hints of mint. Medium bodied. Closer in profile to a pale ale; not very hop forward despite its name, but nice light citrus hops supported by a almost neutral malt body that is well balanced with the laid back flavors.A nice looking and easy drinking ale, but not one that got me excited. This is one of a number of "session IPAs" coming out right now. I am entering this as an American IPA, which is the designation listed by Brouwer's on their tap list, but it really fits the profile of a pale ale. I'm not sure if any of the session IPAs I've tasted will stand up side by side with higher ABV American IPAs, it seems unfair to compare them in one category. I'm giving this higher points than I should for an American IPA because of the light hopping, since it's a nice session IPA.