Name: New Belgium Slow Ride
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 4.5%
Well someone has finally outdone Miller Fortune with the heaviest push as far as in-store and magazine advertising for a beer is concerned and that someone is New Belgium Brewing. I present to you Slow Ride, New Belgium's session IPA. The advertising for this beer is about as close as you can get to having TV & movie ads without actually having TV & movie ads. In fact, if you're expecting an obligatory Foghat reference, you're not going to get one.
Seriously I have never seen such a huge advertising push for a craft beer before Slow Ride came along; Though I am trying to figure out what exactly that....thing is on the label. It looks like some mad scientist decided to breed a bicycle & and couch and this is the end result. So a Couch-Bike.....or Bike-Couch? Either way, it looks comfortable!
Appearance - A surprisingly bright and fairly clear yellow color with just a hint of carbonation. The head is surprisingly foamy and the lacing, while very soapy, is plentiful.
Aroma - Very strong grapefruit & passion fruit notes on the front of the nose. I'm also getting some yeastiness, a bit of toffee maltiness and just a touch of hop bitterness
Taste - The front of the palate is pretty bitter hop forward with some citrus & passion fruit notes along with some mils toffee sweetness and a light biscuit flavor . The aftertaste is quite dry with just a hint of bitter hops and yeastiness.
When it comes to session beers, there are some that have been great and others that I could've done without. Thankfully I think Slow Ride is a good example for how to do a Session IPA right. Don't be fooled at first. The entire flavor seems pretty dry upon taking the first sips, but as it warms up, it becomes a lot more vibrant than what you are initially led to believe. I would definitely say this beer is worth checking out if you're in the mood for having a few flavorful beers but not wanting to sacrifice your sobriety in the process.
New Belgium Slow Ride IPA - 8/10
