Today’s review is a beer from Lidl that isn’t part of their new range. It’s a staple in the shops I believe and after some digging I believe it is a contract brew from Eichbaum Brewery in Mannheim, Germany. This is the Session IPA from a series of beers called ‘Steam Brew’. A whole premise and backstory has been created for the six beers in the series with characters on the front being resistance fighters in a dystopian steampunk world where beer is outlawed. Slightly bizarre, I know.

The beer pours a surprisingly hazy straw gold, with a light carbonation rolling up the glass. There is actually quite a pleasant nose on the beer with a decent citrus aroma and a malty, almost toast like, quality to it. Flavour wise the beer is okay but in my mind it tastes much more like a premium lager than an IPA. Hardly any hop comes through and lacks that distinctive IPA bitterness. It’s quite smooth and refreshing with a little tang but pretty average overall.

A quick note on the can art: I actually think the art is very detailed and I believe even won a German Design Award this year. It features ‘The Sister’, one of the resistance fighters in the universe.

This is not a bad beer at all but I would argue it is not an IPA. It smells and tastes like a lager to me. Citrus and malt play a big role on the aroma. If you think of it as a premium style lager then it’s actually not half bad and on a hot summers day I’d happily sink a few of these. In fact I’d prefer it over some of your bog standard supermarket macro lagers. I also sort of like the cheesy backstory given to these beer so I will pick the others up if I come across them.

Score: 5/10

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Additional Information:

• Hops: Vic Secret
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: 35
• ABV: 4.9%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!
• Purchase Price: £1.79
• Purchase Location: Lidl