Why hello there! I am Andrew and if someone has not done so already, I would like to welcome you to Arlo’s Craft Beer Guide. At Arlo’s we are concerned with great beer, great breweries, the process of brewing great beers and finally, sharing the experience with all of our friends, both new and old! My role with Arlo’s is to bring you different reviews a couple times a month. My goal in doing this is to share my experiences promoting craft beer and the craft beer industry. My reviews will be found here as well as over at my personal blog; CheersDaddy, I thank you for taking the time and interest to read my reviews and if there is ever a beer that you want reviewed all you need to do is let me know or send it to me; Send Andrew Beer. I have been drinking craft beer for about 4 years now after jumping in head first. So with that let’s get on with my inaugural review, I hope you enjoy the ride!
I am a hop head. I love bitter beer.
Not the bitter beer that was the star of those old Keystone Light commercials, but beer with big hoppy bitterness. In most cases when I am shopping for beer at my local Total Wine or Wegman’s (Northern Virginia), I am looking for higher ABV’s in my beer. This may be a case of looking for that next major beer and maximizing my budget not wanting to drink a whole bunch to relax or it is just the direction that the industry is going in (I choose to go with the latter!). But, there are times where the higher ABV beers are the ideal brew, for these times we have been graced with session ales. Session ales are just as they sound, beers that are brewed with the intention of enjoying multiple over a period of time without sending the drinker under the table after one or two. There a quite a few session ales and they are making their way to the “mainstream” craft industry, but my two favorite are Full Sail’s Session Ale and the one I have for you today from Lagunitas.
It’s a hot summer day, you’ve just come in from cutting the grass and you want a beer. You open the fridge and reach for what? I should also mention it is only 11am. If you are anything like me you enjoy a hop monster and look for IBU’s when shopping for your replacement 6 pack. You need a beer that will quench your thirst, give you the bitter flavor you crave and need, but not get you completely plastered after one bottle. It is instances like this that you should reach for the Lagunitas DayTime Ale. This Ale comes in at the low low ABV of just 4.65% but it also packs a punch of hops. I mean I’ve had two writing this and I am still typing in straight lines amazing I know!
DayTime Ale pours a beautiful yellow straw color, with a soft white bubbly head. Prior to tasting I always take a big whiff, because as you know sense of taste is also a part of your sense of smell. On first taste is an extremely crisp and refreshing beer. DayTime is you will get the impact of an Ale twice as powerful as the one in your hand. The hops flavor and smell is accomplished through the process of dry hopping. Dry hopping is a processed utilized by brewers to impart the flavor and texture of the hops in a more concentrated manner. This is done by adding another round of hops to the beer post fermentation or even directly into the keg. What dry hopping does not do is increase the bitterness of the beer.
I will admit that Lagunitas is becoming one of my favorite breweries. I have not found a beer from this brewery that I have hated. Yes, there are brews that are not my favorite, but even those beers are well crafted and consistently well brewed and just may not be my cup ‘o tea as they say. I also enjoy the tongue in cheek attitude with which Lagunitas uses to describe themselves and their art. With DayTime Ale, Lagunitas has given drinkers a top notch sessional beer that even though it is light on ABV it is HUGE on flavor. I recommend picking up a six pack or two for the start of summer. No matter what beer you choose, all that matters is that you are enjoying it and it works for what you need it to at the time.
Cheers!
Andrew Beer
