#session ale

Brewery : Departed Soles Beer : Island Gurl Style : IPA / India Pale Ale / Session Ale / Session IPA / India Session Ale / SIPA Variance : Brewed with Lactose and Aged on Coconut

9 / 10

Dayyyyyum guurrrllll! I feel like just looking at the label to this beer makes me wish I was on a lounge chair right next to Lady Liberty’s hot ass on some kind of tropical island with all of Shaggy’s singles on repeat with this brew served endlessly in a coconut with a little umbrella in it. Yeah, I like the sound of that. This is officially the best beer I’ve had from Departed Soles and even though it doesn’t really live up to the whole “milkshake IPA” like other similar styles do, I’d still put it pretty fucking high on my list of best session IPAs out there. A nice mix of oniony and citrusy hops start things off with a huge bitterness before some more citrus and a light tropical flavor mix in all while leading up to a nice almost spicy hop flavor with a light sweetness to close. I love that a beer this good was made in my home state because there’s very little these days that give me as much Jersey pride as knowing that fantastic brews like this are coming out of fantastic local breweries and since Bon Jovi really isn’t touring too much anymore, that’ll just have to do. I still haven’t gotten the chance to head up to Jersey City and visit these guys yet but after taking my first few sips of this I now know that that is going to have to be a trip that is taken ASAP. If you are a rookie to the IPA or session IPA world, take off your shorts and sit bare assed on the beach because you deserve to be picking sand out of your genitalian crevices because you’re definitely not ready for this bad boy. As for you professionals, throw on bikini or speedo and hit the waves because you should be letting your tongue surf on this gnarly brew as of yesterday. Yup!

Brewery : Aeronaut Beer : Hop Hop & Away! Style : American Pale Ale / Pale Ale / APA / Session IPA / Session Ale / India Session Ale Variance : None

9 / 10

Clearly we have some Superman fans in the house which I am all about because the man of steel has always been one of my favorite superheroes. “Up up and away” was one of Superman’s original catch phrases and now thanks to the amazing folks over at Aeronaut it had been re-imagined as the call of this inhuman rabbit flying through space on their can. Also, is there an innerspace? I know what outer space is but I’m just wondering about the opposite, so if we could get some scientists on this I’d appreciate it. Actually, Trump is still president so science doesn’t exist for now so let’s shelf that idea for the time being. This is one of those rare beers that is so good that it just helps you forget all the shitty things that are happening in the world and is also good enough to erase the Beyonce twins pregnancy photo shoot pictures that I thought were engraved in my mind but now have been washed away by this brew’s amazing flavors. Thanks Aeronaut! Waves of citrusy hops start this off with some grapefruit and zesty flavors before some oniony hops quickly mix in with some more bitterness before ending with some of those juicier mango type flavors along with a mild sweetness. This is an absolutely stellar example of the style and for a beer that only clocks in at 4.6% ABV, it’s flavors surpass most beers twice as potent. If you are looking for a super smooth and sessionable example of the style, snag yourself and everyone you know a can of this because this is one that really should not be missed. As for you cub scout drinkers out there (newbies not 5 year olds…), this is a great starting place on your voyage for your craft merit badge so make sure you pick up a can and scream “Hop Hop And AWAY!!” into the sky before pouring it down your throat!