I'm not a huge fan of Session IPAs, I find them unbalanced and a bit harsh, so I was intrigued to sample this offering, to see if it brought anything different to the party.
I really enjoyed the Galaxy version of the Hop Adventure series, and I've never heard of Aramis before, so again, I had some curiosity around this one too.
I started off with the Hop Adventure. I know nothing about the Aramis, so I was going into this one blind. I didn't look up any hop profiles or characteristics before drinking the beer, I didn't want any preconceptions.
It pours very clear, with a small enough head, that dissipates quickly. The beer is clean and just lets the hops come to the fore.
Herbs and Spices are the order of the day here, peppery to start giving way to herbal vegetable notes. Quite understated, but pleasant nonetheless.
This is a pretty good beer, unmistakably O'Hara's, but certainly new and different enough to be worth a purchase.
I moved on to the 'OPSession after that. Again pouring incredibly clear, it is a shade or three darker than the previous. The head doesn't fade so quickly, and leaves some lacing down the glass.
There's nothing on the nose, which surprised me given this is ostensibly an IPA. Upon drinking you do get some bitterness, but not a lot of aroma, or anything really.
That bitterness could probably be construed as crispness, and this is a different take on the Session IPA style, but I find myself pining for some late addition hop character. The bitterness is not balanced by anything from the malt side of proceedings, but I expect that with Session IPAs.
The Aramis is definitely the best of these two beers, and I'd certainly encourage anyone curious about what that particular hop is about to give it a try.
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