Drake’s Brewing Alpha Session NorCal Bitter

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Drake’s Brewing Alpha Session NorCal Bitter. Last Friday night I had the distinct pleasure to work Drake’s First Friday for my kids’ school. The staff at Drake’s Brewing is incredible and they prove yet again how cool the brewing industry is. After having a couple pints of Denogginizer I was encouraged to try Alpha Session…and I am SO glad I did!

From Drake’s Brewing – “Our session beer is 3.8% ABV, but packed with as much hops as we use in our double IPA’s (Citra, Simcoe & German Magnum). All very high in alpha-acids, giving the beer great flavor and aroma. Have an Alpha Session today!”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours a cloudy gold color with a frothy white head, sticky lacing and excellent head retention.

Aroma: Smells amazing! Huge hop presence (Citra and Simcoe), citrus and pine and a light sweet pale malt scent in the background.

Taste: Hop forward with grapefruit, tangerine and pine and the slight flavors of pale malt.

Overall: I absolutely love it. Incredibly sessionable and perfect in so many ways. Listed at 3.8% ABV on Drake’s website, this one was listed at 4.2% ABV at the brewery. I’d love to have a case of Alpha Session in my hands for those times when you want something to session that has great hop character, but that won’t put you on your rear end. Unfortunately I was told they won’t be bottling this gem, so get down to Drake’s Brewing! You’ll be glad you did!

Cheers!

Mark Harvey