Firestone Walker Easy Jack Summer Session IPA

Brewed By: Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, California

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, Illinois; 2014 (Bottled on 05/13/2014)

Style/ABV: American Pale Ale / Session IPA, 4.5% 

Reported IBUs: 45-50

Session IPAs. Blargh. I've been hesitant to acccept this style: American Pale Ales brewed with more hops and less malts. The end results is usually paper thin hops propped up on a nonexistent malt backbone. It would be like if the Hulk ripped out your spine and asked you to run a marathon. You'd be like, "you green asshole." At any rate, Firestone Walker's Easy Jack is lauded as one of the best Session IPAs. But is it? Ohhh, we will see. Yes we will. About Firestone: 

Tonight I'm looking at a beer from the folks at Firestone Walker Brewing. The brewery was founded by brothers-in-law Adam Firestone (son of Brooks Firestone) and David Walker (husband of Adam's sister). The brothers brewed their first beer in 1996, in a small facility rented from the Firestone Vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. In 2001, the brothers-in-law purchased SLO Brewing Company in Paso Robles, CA, and set up camp. Despite being relatively new to craft beer, the brewery has a ton of accolades, and is known for their Reserve line and their oak barrel brewing system. You can learn more about the history of the brewery here and here. 

The Easy Jack is is a Session IPA that punches in at 4.5% ABV and packs 45-50 IBUs. This has quite the malt and hop bill. The malts include: American Pale Malt, Munich Malt, Malted Wheat, English Carmel-35, Cara Pils, and Rolled Oats. The hop list is: Bavarian Mandarina, Hallertau Melon, Blend of New Zealand, and American Mosaic hops. That's not a bad list of ingredients. The description implies that this one is aggressively dry-hopped, and also features substantial malt backings for a 4.5% beer. But how does it stack up?

The body takes on a light copper/gold color in low light. The body is just ever so slightly hazy, with moderate sized bubbles lazily popping upwards. The head on this one is mostly white, and I kicked up a finger's worth. There's lacing and head retention is good. That's about it. Pretty simple stuff.

Firestone Walker Easy Jack Summer Session IPA

On the aroma: hops, baby. But, there is also some gentle malt backings, namely honey and bread. There's a light cracker character as well. The hops on this one are floral and sweet. I'm definitely getting the Mosaic, with sweet tropical fruits and passion fruit. There's some melon and watermelon on the nose as well, along with some candied hop notes, and nondescript floral hoppiness. It smells sweet, hoppy, malty-sweet, and light. 

Yeah...so the taste is still very much between an APA and an APA with the malt backing dropped off. This one does manage to drop some light cracker malt in the back, but it's still like drinking hop jello. It's such a weird style. BUT, Firestone has effectively nailed this one. The taste drops a lot of big hop character on your tongue, and the front end is surprisingly dense. There's a lot of watery zest and watery pepper up front, along with floral hops and suggestive tropical fruit. Some watermelon rind comes along for the ride, and the back end trails off with floral and grassy bitterness and hints of that cracker note. There's some passion fruit in here as well, along with hints of zesty lime.

This is stupid drinkable at 4.5%, and features a refreshing and zesty light-bodied mouthfeel. This is a beer you can drink by the 6-pack, preferably while sitting out on your patio or while doing house work. Maybe even after mowing your lawn. You never know! This isn't complex, and the palate depth basically unravels in two parts; it's amazing how a beer's balance can change things. Up front: bitter and floral hops, zesty melon and citrus, watery/zesty spice; the back end trails with spice, floral bitterness, watermelon rind, and a little cracker malt backing. It finishes refreshing and clean.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average here. This is a solid Session IPA, but I think there are probably better attempts at this ABV range. I don't know? I'll have to revisit the Founders' All Day IPA. Either way, this is a refreshing beer that you can pound freely and pair with things like brats, pizza, pasta salad, patio barbecue, and things of that ilk. It's also super affordable. Not bad. 

Random Thought: I used two bottles of this beer to simmer onions and brats, and it turned out fantastic. Do use this beer to cook with.