Judge's Review: 87 Rating - Down Under IPA by pFriem Family Brewers

Down Under IPA by pFriem Family Brewers was reviewed as an American India Pale Ale ( #21A ). The beer poured had a nice light brown hue with a little chill haze.  Again, it had very nice carbonation that had tiny bubbles that was almost fluffy. The aroma was a bit subdued with malt sweetness and hoppiness.  Most of the time, an American IPA the aroma is quite evident, meaning a hop explosion in the nose, but this was very subtle.  The flavors of this beer also had a nice balance of malt and hops and again on the light side. The hop flavor was pine and had just the necessary amount to justify calling it an India Pale Ale. This beer just makes the guidelines of an American India Pale Ale with very light malt and a light hoppiness flavor. The mouthfeel and body of this beer was medium with a very good carbonation level. I'm almost willing to call this " session ", however, it clocks in at 7.2% abv within the 5.5-7.5% for this style and so it does have a little bit of alcohol.  With this much alcohol you really can't call this " session " , however, it is almost perplexing because it is just light all around in malt and hop bittering.  Most IPA's can be very big - in malt and hop bitterness, but this is not the case here.  However, it does have the prerequisite alcohol level for an IPA. Neverless, this is still an enjoyable beer that finishes very smooth with a bit of bitterness at the end.