Our friends at Founders Brewing Company have created a hop-forward, session beer in the same vein as Stone Brewing Company’s GoTo IPA. Yes, tasty session beers have certainly become more common these days as brewers are realizing that consumers are looking for flavorful, yet lower ABV suds. So has Founders – a brewery known for its full-bodied beers and brands – officially reinvented the lawnmower beer? Let’s delve deeper to find out.

The branding on this beer is very appealing, so much so that I found myself battling my ADD via sketching the label rather than actually jotting down tasting notes. A great summer-scene graces the bottle and packaging as we see a beat up Volkswagen heading off the beaten path to a private, secret location where rafting, canoeing and other summer adventures surely can be found. It’s important to note that this sud is now being produced year-round, despite the summer-scene.

Branding aside, let’s see if this beer holds up to its name. According to Founders brewmaster Jeremy Kosmick, this beer took 3 years to perfect. The goal was to create a session beer that wasn’t dumbed down; something that was bursting with flavor yet highly drinkable. After sampling this brew I think they’ve succeeded in their task.

Unlike Stone’s GoToIPA, which was dominated by pineapple aromas, the All Day IPA releases a nice bouquet of citrus and grapefruit once uncapped. The beer pours a very similar color to the GoTo, with a super-clear, orange-gold body accompanied by a thin, white, fuzzy head. So how about the taste?

This beer is definitely smooth, drinkable and well-balanced, despite almost zero malt flavorings. The first sip is citrus-forward, with a prevalent grapefruit bitterness. The more time I spent with this sud, the more flavors I began to notice – most noticeably the pleasant balance between citrus flavors and grassy/pine notes. The beer has a thin mouthfeel and finishes dry, with the slightest hint of light biscuit flavor.

All in all, this is a great hop-forward session brew, clocking in at 4.7ABV. If you are looking for a new, more flavorable lawnmower beer to enjoy throughout the day, and one that can easily transition from lawnmower to snowblower, this year-round, All Day IPA is definitely worth picking up.

Official Quicksud rating:

A tasty session beer



