Beer of the Week: Major Pour

From the Beer Writer: Often, craft breweries’ passion-project beers–ales and lagers developed for an organization, cause or entity close to a company and its employees’ hearts–are “special” in some way. This can involve incorporation of rare or seasonal ingredients, or in many cases, pumping up a beer’s alcohol content to imperial levels, all of which results in an above-average price tag. So it’s refreshing to see Abnormal Beer Co. go the opposite route with their just-debuted Major Pour IPA, a beer inspired by a partnership with the Padres Radio Network (97.3 The Fan) to be ideally suited for enjoyment over the course of nine innings of root, root, rooting for the home team. To accomplish that, the Rancho Bernardo operation went with a San Diego-style IPA (i.e., bone-dry) coming in on the lower-end of the alcohol spectrum without venturing into session territory. Their brew crew’s recipe-development judiciousness allowed them to splurge in the hop department, utilizing the extremely popular, multifaceted Strata varietal to lend myriad flavors and aromas to the finished beer. And rather than package Major Pour in 16-ounce cans (or the oversized 19.2-ounce cans that have started to spring up at grocery and liquor stores), Abnormal went with six-packs of 12-ounce cans adorned with the Friars’ pink-mint-and-gold CityConnect color scheme and iconic italic typeface. Hoppy, affordable and quaffable in larger quantities, this is a great baseball beer for fans of hops and our hometown boys in brown and gold. The beer and a variety of new CityConnect-themed Abnormal merch are all available online.

From the Brewer: “We created this beer to be an approachable IPA; not too bitter, not too sweet and with the perfect amount of hops. We are highlighting Strata hops, which are known for crowd-pleasing, fruit-forward notes of strawberry and passion fruit. With a lower ABV (alcohol-by-volume) and smaller format compared to other IPAs, this crusher can be enjoyed all game long! Savor this San Diego IPA through the duration of the baseball season at your favorite tailgating spot, your special nook in the couch or wherever fine adult beverages are enjoyed!”—Jason Martin, Head Brewer, Abnormal Beer Co.