Little Known Brewing Co. Je Ne Sais Quoi – Session IPA at 4.2% ABV (C$3.59 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 473 ml, packaged on 3-May-2017, acquired 4-Aug-2017, reviewed 4-Aug-2017)
Appearance: hazy pale gold with three fingers of fluffy and growing white head, excellent retention and moderate lacing. (4/5) Aroma: grapefruit, grainy pale malt, pine, grass. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body tending slightly thin, moderate carbonation, off-dry lingering building bitter and slightly astringent finish. (3/5)
Pretty respectable for a first-time attempt to scale up a home-brew recipe via contract brewing with Flying Monkeys out of Barrie. (What? It so happens I do sais quoi. I know people, OK?) And this is pretty decent, but even as an inveterate hophead, I have to say the bitterness is a bit unbalanced to the high side for this. It ends up falling prey to the common issue for Session Pales: the lighter malt bill ends up being unable to support the enthusiastic hops in the boil, resulting in a slightly thin and astringent finish. I’m not unhappy with this, but a little tweaking of the recipe might provide some polishing. (13/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
