Session IPAs are trending. The popular breed of beer is packed with the same amount of hoppy flavor as your average India Pale Ale, but with half the ABV. I don’t personally understand the appeal of less buzz for your buck, I’m assuming it has something to do with “enjoying” the taste of hops without spiraling into a drunken stupor.
I’m not a fan of IPAs. Fortunately, for the sake of this taste test, some of my co-workers are.
A handful of D Magazine staffers graciously offered to taste three local varieties of the popular brew. Here’s what happened.
The beer:
A. Deep Ellum Brewing Co. Easy Peasy IPA (5.2% ABV)
B. Community Beer Company Sundial Session IPA (4.5% ABV)
C. Lakewood Hopochondria (3.5% ABV)
Tasting notes:
Deep Ellum Brewing Co. Easy Peasy IPA (5.2% ABV)
- I don’t customarily drink your so-called “session” beers. You know that Peticolas beer called Sit Down Or I’ll Sit You Down? The one that’s 10 percent ABV? That’s a session beer for me. So this one doesn’t impress me. I feel like I could drink about 5 gallons of this while mowing my yard.
- This has a fruity, refreshing, smooth taste. I could sip on this all afternoon. Or maybe not sip. I could go either way. This one is the clear winner.
- Peachy. Not in the ’50s way — the flavor.
- Kinda smoky on the nose but has a nice fruity follow. Not a bad amount of hops, either.
- It’s really tart but I like it. I’m refreshed!
- Great, honey and pear aroma. Nice light body. But too much lingering bitterness for me.
- Bright, smooth finish. Smells great, citrus.
Community Beer Company Sundial Session IPA (4.5% ABV)
Why can I see through this, almost like it’s a lager? I expect my IPAs to be a little cloudy. As for taste, that, too, seems thin. If I came over to your house and you served me this, I wouldn’t punch you or anything. I’d keep drinking it as long as you poured it, in fact. But I wouldn’t buy some for myself on the way home.
The taste is a little duller than A but there’s a smooth consistency. I’d still take it.
After A, this tastes like nothing. Not bad, just milquetoast.
- This is hoppy to the point where I can’t notice anything else. And I like hops.
- This one definitely tastes like beer, but like bad beer you’d drink at a frat party in college because it’s the only beer they have.
- Weird, unpleasant sulfurous aroma. Nice, spicy flavor, like peppercorns.
- Good balance. Strong hops flavor, but not overpowering.
Lakewood Hopochondria (3.5% ABV)
Okay, is this a prank? Did you steal a tube sock from a hobo and strain this beer through it? Because this tastes like you stole a tube sock from a hobo and strained this beer through it. Man, it’s skunky. And the way that skunkiness lingers on the palate makes me want to beat the crap out of that hobo for not better managing his socks.
This one has a very aggressive citrus taste, one that’s not usually associated with IPAs. It’s similar to A and B, yet the light, refreshing taste experienced with the other two is not consistent here. Just…thanks, but no thanks.
- Bitter, like brushing your teeth after drinking citrus.
- Nothing too special about this one. I don’t mind it, but it’s not a standard.
- Nope! This tastes like I imagine really, really old apple juice would taste like.
- Really weak aroma, very thin flavor, mostly a bitterness-bomb.
- Skunkier. More hops flavor. Most bitter of the three.
Tally up:
A. Deep Ellum Brewing Co. Easy Peasy IPA 6
B. Community Beer Company Sundial Session IPA 1
C. Lakewood Hopochondria 0
The winner is:
It was nearly a clean sweep for Deep Ellum Brewing Co.’s Easy Peasy IPA. The session India Pale Ale is 5.2% ABV, which is the highest out of the bunch.
The beer is brewed with northwest aroma hops, and tangerine and lemon peel, which gives it a slightly fruity finish. Easy Peasy was released this past June and can be found on shelves at local liquor and grocery stores.
So, how do you feel about session IPAs? Have a favorite? Let’s talk about it.
