Oskar Blues Pinner Review

Name: Oskar Blues Pinner
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 4.9%
IBUs: 35

On to the other beer from Oskar Blues with their Pinner IPA, which is a session IPA. Aside from being called a Throwback IPA (which I'm not sure how the terminology applies to the beer), this is a beer that was released last year as the newest addition to their year-round line up and believe it or not, I've seen this beer more often in stores than their regular IPA. I'm not sure if it sells more than the regular IPA or I just haven't been paying attention.

Appearance - Clear bright yellow color with a moderate amount of visible carbonation. The head starts out foamy but takes on a very thin filmy appearance with some good retention. The lacing is very sparse and what's left is mostly soapy.

Aroma - Citrus hops and mango notes on the front of the nose with some apricot sweetness. I'm picking up on some light pale maltiness with a hint of toffee.

Taste - Mango and citrus hop sweetness followed by some light pale malts. Middle of the palate is where I'm starting to get some sweet apricot notes and more moderate pale maltiness, while the back end of the palate is pretty much dry save for some light bitter hops. Aftertaste is also very dry, with no flavors to speak of that linger around.

Like most session beers, this one starts out with a lot of flavor on the front of the palate, but it all vanishes once you get to the end. With that said, what flavor is in here is very vibrant and probably the best I've seen from a session IPA so far. Hell, I'd even go as far to prefer this over some "regular" IPAs that I've had in recent memory.

In short, if you've never been a fan of session beers, I'd recommend giving this one a try as I think you will be pleasently surprised. As for me, I can't say that I had very high expectations of this beer going into it, which I think made this beer for me all the more enjoyable.

Oskar Blues Pinner - 8.5/10