Brewery – Rivertown
Beer – Lil Sipa
Style -Session IPA
ABV – 4.5%
IBU – 55
Sometimes in life, we don’t want to sacrifice flavor for responsibility. That is why we created Lil’ Sipa, our Session IPA. Think of this beer as the one you drink when you want the kick in your face punch of a Double IPA, but not so much the knock you down blow that the higher alcohol of a Double IPA serves up. We found that the combination of Citra, Galaxy, Columbus and Cascade hops partnered up with some good ol’ American 2-row Barley makes the perfect crisp, bright, all day drinkable IPA that doesn’t end up being JUST what you need, but also, just what you want.
What does it mean, Session IPA? It’s a style that some people say doesn’t even really exist… to be an IPA you need to be big, hoppy, bold. Lil Sipa most definitely isn’t those things.
The beer was created by Cincinnati’s Rivertown Brewing to be that go-to beer at the end of a long day. Easy drinking and sessionable, but still packed full of big hoppy flavors, from the dosage of Citra, Galaxy, Columbus and Cascade hops.
It’s a beer that satisfies one need while still meeting others. It doesn’t let you down on any fronts, and its one of my favorite go-to sessionable beers that you can find on shelves around Cincy.
My Thoughts On Rivertown Lil Sipa
It’s a great looking beer when you get it in a glass. Light golden in color, with a thick foamy white head that hangs out on the top forever.
Aromas are packed full of citrus notes. There is a really great orange scent that sits on top of a light straw smell.
The flavor of Lil Sipa is packed full of hops. You can find a ton of the citrus that was making its presence known in the scent, backed up by a crisp, clean body that leaves this light and airy. Not only can you drink more than a couple of these, you want to drink more than a couple of these!
Right, in Australia we only seem to get Sierra Nevada and quite honestly it’s a bit bland. But what I want to know is why is it better in a can than in a bottle? I guess I think that the visual aspect of beer drinking is one of the component parts. But we do get some locally made American Pale Ales that are fantastic. Do you know what hops is in Lil’sipa? With the citrusy hops you mentioned I wonder if it is Citra which is my current choice for dry hopping.
You nailed it… they give it a healthy dose of Citra, Galaxy, Cascade and Columbus hops. 4.5% ABV and 55 IBUs. It’s nice.
Did you get a chance to read my post on Cans>Bottles? It all really comes down to protecting that beer from light. Bottles don’t do it as good as cans, period. There are many other reasons too, but that’s the biggest one.
https://thegnarlygnome.com.dream.website.dream.website/2014/05/08/cansbottles/
Hi Gnarly,
Just had a bottle of this and I concur, it is an excellent session ipa. As a home brewer I sure would like to find a 5 gallon all-grain clone recipe. Any thoughts?
I’m not as smart when it comes to home brewing as some other people are… I’m still brewing 5 gallon extract brews when I actually find the time to brew at all, and I haven’t seen a recipe for a session IPA. I’m sure someone has one around though…
If you shop at either Paradise Homebrewing Supplies or Listermann’s, I’m sure they’d be happy to have you pick their brains and come up with something if they don’t already have something, though.
Paradise
Listermann
Let me know if you come up with something… I’m curious how it turns out!