No, seriously. What genius was sitting around and thought, “We’ve done cherry, lemon, strawberry, orange, tangerine, cranberry, apple, watermelon, raspberry, apricot, and blueberry? You know what we need? A beer flavored with a fruit enjoyed only by people born before the Korean War!”

Grapefruit is a flavor often detected by IPA drinkers sniffing and and slurping their beers. It’s that dry, tart flavor that is often brought to life by the Cascade, Chinook, Citra and Warrior hop varieties.

Some breweries go ahead and add pink grapefruit juice to their beer. In the case of Shiner’s Ruby Redbird, the fruit pairs well with the spicy ginger to make for an unique, great summer varietal. In Stone’s Stochasticity Grapefruit Slam IPA, Ballast Point’s Grapefruit Sculpin, and Abita’s Grapefruit Harvest IPA, the fruit flavor is used to enhance and complement the hops.

As I have noted previously, Abita is one of those brewery mainstays in my house. Andygator is a fixture in my fridge, while Purple Haze makes regular appearances during the summer. As a brewery, they do no wrong in my eyes. Even when their beer stinks (see also Jockamo IPA), I will drink it with a smile.

The Grapefruit Harvest IPA presents a predicament because this beer has no business calling itself an IPA. The Beer Judge Certification Program and, as a result, most beer competitions, say that IPAs have an International Bitterness Unit score higher than 40. At 40, this offering from Abita doesn’t qualify as a true IPA. I’m not sure it matters. Let Abita call it what it will. It’s still a complex beer. It’s big and golden with all the markers of a pale ale. The carbonation burn masks the lack of hoppy character, while the fruit juice arrives midway through and lasts through the aftertaste.

Altogether, Abita makes a good beer here. But, let’s not lie to one another. We’re among friends. This is not an IPA.

Brewer: Abita Brewing Company

Beer: Grapefruit Harvest IPA

Style: IPA/Fruit beer

ABV: 6.0% IBU: 40

Container: 12 oz. bottle

Price: $2.90 (purchased as a single) Point of Purchase: Abe’s Cold Beer, Bethlehem, Pa.

To The Eye: Golden and hazy. I poured too hard so I got a thick head that eased into a nice lacing.

To The Nose: Citrusy with hints of the grapefruit. Usually IPAs smell piney and orangey to me. This one was grapefruity.

To The Palate: Highly carbonated, which added some burn to the hops. The hoppy bitterness was there. As far as Abita goes, it’s better than the Jockamo IPA. Inoffensive overall. Very drinkable but not what I would consider an IPA.

Aftertaste: Dry with a faint, lingering pink grapefruit flavor.

Boozy Factor: Pretty low, as is the case with most Abita beers.

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 as highest: 7.5