12/29/2023 0 Comments Kirkland session ipa![]() ![]() Keep in mind that issues like these are highlighted during a blind panel test as you are actively comparing one beer to several others. The mid-palate was bland and seltzer-like with some astringency that occurs whenever you pair even slight bitterness with no sugar for balance. However, the beer tasted musty with flavors you would expect from an actual old beer despite its modest age. ![]() As it warmed, the aroma shifted to birthday cake and buttery frosting. In the aroma, you were rewarded with red grapefruit, vibrant orange peel, and angel food cake. The beer was a nice, hazy golden color with modest foam. For the sake of transparency, it should be noted that one of the beers I have tasted in the past: Odell’s Good Behavior.īrewery: Oskar Blues Brewery Longmont, COįormat: 12oz can served in stemless wine tasterįreshness: Canned on 12/03/19 = 54 days oldĮvaluated as blind entry #3, what would later be revealed as Oskar Blues one-y stood out with some flavor issues. Then, beers were evaluated solely on personal enjoyment with details spelled out as to why. ![]() The evaluation was done first as pass/fail for basic criteria for the style. If there was an additional can of the beer available, then that was poured into the glass for photos. For pictures herein, the second half of each beer was poured into the glass. After the evaluation was complete, beers were revealed and numbers were matched with the beer names. Beers were brought out two at a time, with approximately half of the beer poured into the glass for evaluation. Glasses were labeled 1-8 with a white paint marker. Beers were chilled to identical temperatures then served blind in identical glassware. The methods for this blind tasting are identical to my Oktoberfest blind tasting. Both hazy and clear low-calorie IPAs were eligible in this blind test since there are simply not enough distributed low-calorie IPAs out there to split them up in this manner. Southern Tier’s Swipe Light did not make the cut since it markets itself simply as a “Refreshing Ale.” Stone’s new Neverending Haze meets the ABV requirement, but doesn’t market itself as low calorie on the can or paper carton. As long as the brewery made an effort to imply the beer is both low calorie and hoppy, it met the criteria for this test. As far as I’m concerned, there is no real-world difference between IPA, APA, and Session IPA when the alcohol level is already below 5%. I rounded up six different beers that met my inclusion criteria: 1) somewhere on the official in-store packaging had to be the words “Calorie” or “Cal” and either “IPA” or “Pale Ale,” and 2) ABV had to be under 5%. In order to reduce some bias, this test was done blind as described below. I’ve done my best to explain why I liked or disliked a beer in this test. I don’t intend this list to either proclaim the best Low-Calorie IPA available today nor do I wish for lower-ranked beers to be labeled as “bad.” Rather, when pitted against each other, some of these beers were more enjoyable when tested by a single reviewer. Goose Island’s So-Lo IPA, Lagunitas DayTime IPA, and Avery Pacer IPA were omitted as The Full Pint focuses on independent craft beer. Please note this lineup is not exhaustive of what is available in the American market today. Saint Archer, now owned by MillerCoors, reportedly will run a Super Bowl ad for their Saint Archer Gold, a lager with 95 calories. ![]() Michelob ULTRA is perhaps the most well-known beer out there that touts its low-calorie status. Macro breweries, though, have included calories for years on select brands as a selling point. For the most part, craft beers do not include any nutrition facts since they are not required by law. For 2020, several nationally distributed breweries are introducing Low-Calorie IPAs, which for all intents and purposes are the same as Session IPAs but now have official calories on the label. Session IPA was a great trend that we saw rise and fall with Founder’s All Day IPA really the only one with some longevity in the marketplace. American craft beer as a whole is taking a huge sales hit from the surge in demand for hard seltzer and hard kombucha, which offer up fruity, light-bodied alternatives to stereotypical heavy, filling craft beer. Low-Calorie IPA is already a trend for craft beer in 2020. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |