Big Rock Brewery River Valley – Session IPA at 5.5% ABV (355 ml, packaged on 4-Mar-2025, acquired 28-Apr-2025, reviewed 30-Apr-2025)
Appearance: clear pale amber with one finger of rocky pale amber head, excellent retention and moderate soapy lacing. (4/5) Aroma: bready caramel, grass, citrus, pine, earth. (6/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-high bitter. (6/10) Palate: medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry medium duration finish. (3/5)
A “Session IPA” at above five percent ABV? Big Rock really doesn’t understand the whole “craft beer” thing AT ALL, do they? Hardly surprising, since they were perfectly situated to take full advantage of the craft beer resurgence over the past decade or more, but instead boldly chose to continue to do exactly the same thing they’d been doing for the decade before that. Good job, guys, good job. Anyway, that’s not to say that this is a bad beer, and certainly for the price (I didn’t buy it but my kid tells me it’s cheap) it’s a decent enough, if somewhat old-fashioned, offering. (12/20)
6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
