Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Baby Daddy Session IPA

**Aroma:** “Surprisingly malty nose with light caramel and toastiness. Mild paper oxidation. Faint hops aroma is earthy, like damp soil, but hard to find. Cloves, orange peel, toast, yeast, and hints of black pepper..” **Flavor:** “More hops in the flavor, offering an herbal blend of mint and marjoram, but the malt is far more forward— grainy with some toasty notes. Papery oxidation here, too, and mild bitterness. Hops flavor seems muddled and indistinct. Instead, I get a more saison-like quality with yeast esters and phenols. Cloves and even a bit of cracked black pepper, then a dry, bitter nish.” **Overall:** “Is this a session saison? The yeasty aromatics and avors seem more at home in a Biere de Table than in an American session IPA. I actually quite like this beer, but it works better as a generic Belgian-style table beer. Tartness when I swallow lingers on the back of the tongue. Very dry finish.”

**Aroma:** “Citrusy, lemony, with a bit of tangerine and tropical fruit punch. Little to no malt aroma. Mild hops nose with light coconut and pineapple notes.” **Flavor:** “More tangerine in the flavor than in the aroma, but less of the lemony citrus. Juicy hops flavor with enough malt sweetness to support it. Bitterness balances the malt without overpowering. More of that coconut and pineapple, buoyed by the caramel malt and light toffee. Bitterness lasts into the aftertaste, but some malt stays with it.” **Overall:** “One of the better session IPAs I’ve had, like a Deschutes Fresh Squeezed ‘Lite.’ Tropical-fruit character combined with caramel malt depth makes it imminently drinkable. I could easily knock back several of these and make it a true session—something I can’t always say about this style. The overall impression is that this seems sweet for a session IPA, but the flavors work well enough.”

**Aroma:** “A touch of butterscotch immediately hints at diacetyl. Pine and resin hops aroma take over with oranges and herbs—perhaps some Mexican oregano. Grassy, earthy hops with woody undertones. Medium-toasted malt fruity esters of peach and cherry.” **Flavor:** “Citrus fruit and pine hops flavor. Light malty, grainy flavor in the background. Oranges, grapefruit, and grass. Slight biscuity notes. Pleasant tart bitterness, then the butterscotch barrels in. Reminds me of the old days with Red Hook or Bert Grant’s beers. The diacetyl softens the palate, but is an acquired taste. The base beer seems good.” **Overall:** “Could use more hops flavor to match the intensity of the bitterness. Buttery aroma was out of place. An enjoyable pale ale that calls itself an IPA. Earthy/dank undertones give the beer a gravity or heft, but the diacetyl is too dominant, relative to the hops.”