So Single It's Half
Against The Grain Brewery

 

Built from the second running of "So Double It's Triple, this small beer may not overwhelm with strength, but it's by no means light on taste.

Like many IPAs, the modest ale pours with a burnish gold color that hedges on copper and amber. Its carbonation constructs a fluid creamy and off white head with solid retention and lace. The beer's appearance is neutral overall.

There's no indication of lightness to the nose. It's chocked full of citrus, tropical fruit, and pungent grasses and then balanced with thin caramel and grain- just as any full strength IPA would demonstrate.

And that all carries into taste as well. Red grapefruit juice, apricot, ripe oranges, and herbal grasses waft over the mouth with a fresh acidity that's backed by the faintest of caramel flavor. Leaching light tannin from the spage, the beer also provides a light taste of whole-grain bread and husk counterparts. But these flavors are mild and support the fruity hop flavors of Zythos and Falconer's Flight hop varietals.

A short creamy upstart proves to be fast fleeting as the beer's light body ushers in a clean finish in a hurry. Hop resins and slight alcohols dry the beer beautifully and makes me easily forget the thin middle palate.

The simplified taste and texture works wonderfully for this beer. It's a true session ale that avoids the somewhat muddled character of many of the beers from the brewery.