Jun 3, 2014

Great Divide Lasso IPA

I believe that Lasso IPA, a 5% ABV brew from Great Divide, was meant to be one of the new breed of “sessionable” IPAs. The company describes the beer as being brewed “…with a robust roundup of Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops, its sessionable simplicity proves bigger isn’t always better.” I wouldn’t call this beer robust in the least. In fact, it’s actually got a fairly simplified aroma and flavor profile.

I understand a breweries want to get in the new space that seems popular — sessionable IPAs in this case — but Great Divide have much better products in their line-up, especially when it comes to IPAs. The several bottles of their Rumble in my fridge as I type this is testament to that. As a fan of the brewery’s products (love Yeti, Hibernation, Rumble, etc…), Lasso feels like a miss to me, an attempt to jump on the bandwagon.

Great Divide Lasso IPA photo

Appearance

Golden amber in color with a dense cap of off-white foam, the brew certainly looks the part.

Aroma

It’s got a clean aroma with hints of grass, grapefruit, herbal notes and toasted bread.

Taste

Lasso has a simple hop character — grass, grapefruit and soft pine. There’s a touch of a grain/malt backbone to help balance everything out. It’s got a clean, crisp and refreshing character, but nothing to really make me want to come back. It’s an IPA.

Overall

Don’t get me wrong, Lasso IPA is a decent enough beer. It’s an easy drinking IPA and is fairly approachable with a light hop bite at 50 IBU. There’s just nothing with it that leaves a lasting impression, something to draw me back in the future like their Rumble currently possesses.

Rating: 3.25/5

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