All Day Grapefruit IPA - Founders Review
When we reach for refreshing summer drinks we always look for something with a little zing, a little pop, and a little shiver to push the sweat aside. That means we need something with lively and refreshing flavors to cool the burn, but that quest is easier pondered than accomplished.
Yet sometimes a sweet little treat with round flavors crosses our path and we have to share about it. This week we took a dip in the citrus pool of Founders All Day Grapefruit IPA brewed for summer with 2-row, Red Wheat, Rolled oats, and Crystal light malt, and rounded out with Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops, and topped with grapefruit zest. Bring all that together and Founders achieves a very sessionable and intriguing 4.7% ABV and 50 IBUs.
Founders All Day Grapefruit has the blueprints for a great summer beer, but part of me is concerned it won’t live up to the hype in my head. But the best thing we can do to test those feelings is try it… so, let’s.
First Impressions:
On the Eyes--Pours golden with a true-to-form grapefruit-pink tint. All Day Grapefruit is hazy and forms very little head.
On the Nose--Grapefruit and melon aromas spring out like a summer fruit cocktail. It’s quite fruity and expressive, and, as a good citrus beer should, it’s actually making my mouth water. Enough salivating, let’s drink.
On the Palate--Canned grapefruit all the way! Very much like eating a tart grapefruit, it has an initial juicy sweetness that is challenged by a dry bitterness. The Citra and Amarillo hops keep it fruity and lively at the start with the Simcoe adding a drop of pine that meshes nicely with the bitter notes of the added grapefruit zest. The body is light with a bite on the tongue which is perfect for a grapefruit beer. The finishing bitterness and dryness don’t linger long, freshening the palate for another sip.
Food Pairings: Grilled meats or vegetables, roasted sweet corn with lots of butter, and good old hot dogs and hamburgers. It’s summer, baby, keep it fun!
Final Thoughts:
I’ve been let down by many beers, especially ones touting fruit specific flavors and sessionability, and I’ll admit those beers made me a cynic. I wasn’t sure if Founders All Day Grapefruit would stack up to the hype in my head, but, thankfully, I was proven wrong. This beer is grapefruit to a T(or shall we say to a capital G), without all the pithiness or excessive bitterness that sometimes come in citrus specific beers. Though I am surprised that Cascade, a hop known for its grapefruit aroma and flavor, isn’t present, I think Founders made some judicious and smart choices with their hop selection. The Citra and Amarillo hops keep it fruity and light and the grapefruit makes it absolutely float. Some flavor specific beers also remain too one-note to be drinkable past one, but All Day Grapefruit brings a complexity that is certainly above its weight as a sessionable beer. It doesn’t get boring or stuck on one sensation but remains fun sip after sip, right into the second mug.
All Day Grapefruit is light and crisp on the back of that malt bill, it’s refreshing and sweet, and it offers the right touch of bitterness you’d expect from a real grapefruit. Get it while you can, Founders only lets the flavor out March-September.
Cheers!
Mr. Brew