Drakes Alpha Session Ale

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
San Leandro, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker

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Draft. Amber beer with a cream colore head. Grapefruit aroma. Grapefruit and light grain flavor with light tropical fruits. Medium-light bodied. Grapefruit and light grain lingers. I wanted to like this more.

Thanks to Sean from bay area beers on trade...Pours hazy gold. Aromas of grass, pine, citrus rind and barn hey, malt character is low but has some interesting fruity fermentation characteristics . Medium bodied with more mouth-feel than the 3.8% alcohol would suggest. Flavors of grassy hops all the way though the palate. Some residual bitterness lingers. Finish is medium bitter that sicks on your tongue for a while. A good Session IPA, much like the Founders All Day IPA, but with more body and finesse despite the even lower alcohol content. Great session beer IPA. A-

Drake’s Alpha Session. Tap at The Raglan in OB. Clear light yellow gold with a one finger white, down to a thick ring and island after a minute. Big floral nose with lots a tropical fruit hops, pine behind. Flavor follows suit, less tropicals. Lots of bitterness added, light cracker malt at some point. Dry finish, bitterness at a 6-7. Thin body with moderate carbonation. Quite tasty, though maybe I like Founders All Day IPA more. It was less bitter (but 1% more) with more balance (but 1% more), which one would expect.

22oz bottle. Rating #17. Hazy golden/yellow pour with a nice white head. Ni e hop aroma, a little pepper and light pine. Big bitterness upfront, a little onion, but not in a bad way. Nice hoppy drinker for sure. (2384)

Bomber Bottle. Nice grapefruit hop aroma. Taste is bitter and hops, body is light. Really refreshing beer, wish it came in bulk packs. Great BBQ beer.

Bomber from Bev4Less. Pours a fizzy yellow pilsner color, with minimal foam. Almost no nose, but what is there is faint ale quality with a dose of the dank bitterness suggested by the style. Taste is all strong bitterness up front, and with just a touch of sweet light malt in the mid and late palate to help bring this baby home. It’s a nice brew, and in a glut of BIG monster beers, it’s quite refreshing to have something you really can start drinking at beer-thirty.

This is what o have been waiting for on the west coast!!! So awesomem! Drinks really well, nice and hoppy and light but full palate. Piney resins, citrus fruits, floral and green flavors, a lot of nice stuff here, definitely not one dimensional. Reminds me of a HFS pale, nice to have it available in quantity for once!

10 ounce sample on tap at Jupiter in Berkeley. The aroma on this is heavy on citrus--mostly grapefruit. Some passionfruit and pine is also present, though. Really nice aroma. Transparent golden body with some orange hues present. Smallish off-white head present with no lacing. Starts quite hoppy with mango and a little piney hoppiness. Some orange flavored hops then comes through towards the middle. Very light maltiness present with a lingering mild piney hop bitterness. Good sessionable stuff. Wish more brewers did this kind of stuff!

A - Served a clear golden-orange color with a thin finger of frothy white head. The head faded quite quickly leaving behind some decent lacing in the process. S - Aroma is bursting with lots of bit citrus and pine hops. Lots of tropical fruits. There is also just a bit of sweet caramel malts. T - The beer kicks off with lots of big citrus hop with lots of tropical fruits. There is some nice bitterness alongside. Through the middle, lots of piney hops join in alongside with more bitterness. There is some sweet caramel malts that come through alongside. The finish is full of lots of hops and bitterness that linger for quite some time. M - The beer feels medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer feels smooth with a some strong dryness from all the hops. D - Very drinkable. There is an amazing amount of hop flavor here for the relatively low abv level. One of the best session ales I have had in quite some time.

Appearance: Pours a vibrant yellow gold with a tight white creamy head.

Aroma: Tangerine, grapefruit and spice.

Taste: Grapefruit, pine, earthy grainy yeast. Finishes clean, fruity and bitter.

Mouthfeel: Watery with average carbonation.

Overall: I love the spirit of this beer, one of my favorite new styles. Compared to Ballast Point Even Keel and the San Diego Session Ale, this beer lacks that little something that tricks your mouth and mind into thinking you are drinking a big dry IPA when you are not.