Hutton & Smith "Belay On!" Session Ale

From the brewery that is most likely a reformed law firm comes a session ale. Sessions are an odd kind of ale that I'm not really sure I understand. I am told that they hover below the 5.0% ABV mark so that you can drink them slowly and for a long time. I think of them as a style of beer intended for day drinking, I guess.

The straw orange beer has lots of big, resilient bubbles on top that leave a modicum of lacing in their wake. The aroma is citrus on bread dough with a bit of pine and a ping of dank. It's inviting enough, but it's pretty simple.

First sip is MUCH more dank and bitter than I expected. I mean, I thought I smelled a little dank in the aroma, but I did not expect this. This is really dominated by the non-citrus flavors, and the tiny citrus spritz is relegated to the background. The reason I stress that is because this is a session ale that should really be laid back and easy to crush, but this isn't really relaxed at all.

Tip-in is tart, bitter, and dank with a citrus coating (it's not the crushable beer right here). The middle is a very nice mix of tangerines, grapefruits, and oranges on a bed of dough. The finish is overt bitterness on a dank mist above a citrus glaze.

Bottom Line: Not entirely offensive.

1.75/5