Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Slow Ride Session IPA from New Belgium


First the good news:  Better than Bud Light. That’s it. Well, maybe a bit more good news. It may be better than Bud. But that is about all.
I probably don’t know what a session IPA should be like, so I had to measure this against my own taste in brews. Ok, I admit it. I love really hoppy and malty brews. High IBUs, moderately high ABVs, robust color, chewy mouth feel. You know. Real IPA.
This brew now in a Sam Adams glass for perfect sniffing and sipping is yellowish to gold, no lacing, and no head after a minute, not much in the way of “nose” It does have a slightly hoppy bitterness on the front end, and none on the back of the tongue. A good burp didn’t give any serious aftertaste either.
My recommendation: Useful for hot days and BBQs where the usual American crap presides. Would be good for hot foods or a brewski when sweating on a hot afternoon. Not a bad beer, just not a good sipping beer. More of a slurping beer. If you want a nice IPA, this isn’t it. If you want an unassuming beer good for washing down spicy food and drinking all day long, this will be a better choice than the macro brews. If possible, buy one or two bottles. Then you won’t have to think up an excuse to finish the six pack.

Image: http://www.newbelgium.com/images/beerfeature/slowride_l.png




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