I immediately pulled my favourite glass from the cupboard for this beer.
Before you ask, I flew this glass back to South Africa all the way from the UK. My brother and his friends drank copious amounts of Fuller's at a pub and they received these glasses. My brother then gave one to me. It is one of my favourite glasses.
Saggy Stone Brewing Co consistently puts out great new beers for relatively good prices. Craft beers in South Africa can really get expensive, which might be justified, or it might not, but Saggy Stone has some really fantastic beers that will not cost you an arm and a leg.
When I saw their Session IPA, I knew I just had to get myself a can. They advertise quite heavily on social media, so I have seen their Bear Jam, but I never thought about buying one from their website. (I am not an online shopper in any sense of the word. In fact, when I do order online, I always fear the delivery.)
In any case, when I saw this beer at my local wine shop, I did not hesitate in the slightest to buy me one.
And was I in for a surprise...
First of all, I just love the logo and art design. The person doing the design really deserves a beer. Let us hope that they, one, drink beer, and two, that Saggy Stone paid them with money and beer!
The bear playing guitar is just too good, and I am sure when you drink one too many of this beer, you will also think you are a bear jamming some awesome tunes.
And then secondly, I loved their take on the session IPA. It was light, with only 4% ABV, but the beer was floral, citrusy, hoppy, and not too bitter - typical of the session IPA.
I suspect that most of the IPAs brewed in South Africa follow a similar recipe. They always add citrusy and pine cone hops. I really love this, and I appreciate their efforts.
Even though this can sometimes be monotonous, the same thing over and over again, but a good (sessions) IPA is a good one! So why not change it too much?
As they state on the can, Zestly, Light and Refreshing!
I poured myself this beer, and I made myself a charcuterie-type board - cold cuts, cheese, hummus, spreads, freshly baked bread.
Surprisingly, it worked out so well. The freshness of the beer complimented all of the food.
And like all good things in life, I shared it with friends and family while we enjoyed the evening looking over the mountains and breathing in the fresh coastal air.
And with most IPAs or most beers in fact, I could not help think about life, and where we are today. Even though there is so much pain and so much uncertainty, I am lucky enough to enjoy these types of things. I can buy myself a beer, and enjoy it with good company, good food, and a great view.
I know that there is so much unjust going around, and I know that we are probably headed towards some kind of ecological disaster, socio-economic instability, and so on. But for now, we can only appreciate what we do have, give back as much as we can, help out as much as we as individuals can, and then enjoy life.
In the end, we will all succumb to life itself, and we should just ask ourselves, did we make the most of it?
And drinking a nice IPA is definitely a win in my perspective.
Back to the beer!
The head was beautifully white, thick, and foamy. The aroma coming from the glass was addictive.
The lacing was also good, and the freshness was accentuated by the coldness. But as I drank it, and it heated up a bit (or as it got closer to room temperature), the floral notes started to come to life, even more!
I did not get too much of the malty notes, as the hoppy aroma and taste were overpowering - in all of the good ways.
I will definitely be on the lookout for more of this beer. It was one of those beer as soon as you take the last sip you feel a sadness - a sadness that the beer is done.
In any case, I hope that you will get yourself a cold beer, and enjoy it with friends and family, or even if you enjoy it on your own, that you might feel the presence of all the other beer drinkers out there!
For now, enjoy a cold one.
All of the musings and writings are my own, albeit inspired by the Bear Jam flowing through me. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300.