Lasso, Great Divide Brewing Co, Denver

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 5 percent

Serving Type: 12-ounce bottle

Malty? Hoppy? Plenty of hops

Reviewed: January 2014

The phrase “sessionable IPA” is something of an oxymoron in the beer world. IPAs, or India Pale Ales, typically have a big hop character and pack an alcoholic punch—not exactly what you’d consider sessionable. But the folks at Great Divide recently released Lasso, which they’re calling the “new frontier of India Pale Ales.” Translation: a brew that is still packed with plenty of hops—Centennial, Cascade, and Columbus—but with a relatively low 5 percent ABV. (By way of comparison, Great Divide’s popular Titan IPA clocks in at 7.1 percent alcohol.) The result is a beer that pours a good-looking golden orange color. The aroma is pleasantly hoppy, with a bit of a citrus smell. The taste starts with hop bite—pine and, again, some citrus—and finishes lighter and bitter. All at 5 percent. A pretty drinkable IPA, if you ask us.

Would we buy it again? A sufficiently hoppy beer with a low ABV that seems to suggest we should drink a few? Yeah, we’ll buy it again.