Tag Archives: india session ale

Midway ISA – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Midway India Session Ale”.  The beer pours an orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of mild tropical fruit, melon and some sweetness.  The flavour is of mild tropical fruits, melon, herbal and low bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.6% with an IBU of 30.  Much like many ISA’s I wish this beer had some malt presence but it was pretty tasty.

Commercial Description:  Paying tribute to the city we call home, Midway IPA is sessionable and refreshing, or as we like to refer to it – easy drinking. With a lower ABV, balanced IBU’s, and a tropical fruit aroma, make Midway your new go-to, have more than one, easy drinking IPA.

Golden Enigma Smash ISA – Strange Fellows Brewing

by Mike

From Strange Fellows Brewing Company in East Vancouver comes their “Golden Enigma Smash ISA”.  This Single Malt Single Hop beer was made with Enigma hops and Golden Promise malts.  The beer pours a straw yellow colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of citrus, maybe a hint of tropical fruits and some floral hops.  The flavour is of citrus, mild tropical fruit, citrus rind, resin, biscuit and some low bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5.5% with an IBU of 45.  Single malt single hop beers can sometimes fall into the bland territory but this one was a nice refreshing one and I will be having more in the future.

Commercial Description:  This Single Malt and Single Hop SMaSH Pale Ale was brewed with the big Aussi hop Enigma and the Scottish malt variety Golden Promise. Balanced between a sweet malt backbone and assertive resinous, fruity hop character this Session Pale Ale reveals in an uncomplicated way the nature of these unique ingredient varieties.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Fish and Chips, Strong Cheese, Burgers

Main Sail ISA – Bowen Island Brewing

by Mike

From Bowen Island Brewing now brewed in Kamloops by Kamloops Brewing Company comes their “Main Sail ISA”.  The beer pours a copper colour with an off white head.  The aroma consists of herbal and grassy hops with some malt backbone.  The flavour is of toffee, citrusy lemon, herbal as well as mild bitterness, pine and resin.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.3% with an IBU of 40.  This is a mild flavour ale as is expected in an India Session Ale but it is pretty tasty none the less.

Commercial Description:  This light bodied session ale is easy drinking and lower in alcohol. With refreshing citrus and floral notes, this well balanced session ale has a light malt body and a medium level of bitterness.

19 IPA – Vancouver Island Brewing

by Mike

From Victoria BC’s Vancouver Island Brewing comes their “19 IPA” actually an India Session Ale.  The beer pours an orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of citrus, tropical fruit, bready malts and floral hops.  The flavour is of mild resin, citrus, mild tropical fruit, bread and caramel malts, pine and bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.8% with an IBU of 47.  While calling it an IPA is a miss representation it is a pretty darn tasty India Session Ale.

Commercial Description:  Tropical in taste with floral notes, this everyday IPA was made to accompany you on any adventure.

East Van SMaSH (Amarillo) – Bomber Brewing

by Mike

From Bomber Brewing in East Vancouver comes their “East Van SMaSH (Amarillo)” the latest India Session Ale in their Single Malt and Single Hop series of beers.  The beer uses German Munich malts and a Vermont Ale yeast.  The beer pours a mild cloudy copper colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of citrus, grapefruit, peach, melon, caramel and floral hops.  The flavour is of citrus, grapefruit, peach, melon, caramel, resin and bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.4%.  The East Van SMaSH is always a good beer but this batch was one of my favourite so far.