On Facebook, there is a group called Non-Alcoholic Beer (shoutout to my NAB friends!). There is a beer that has a fun country club look and has made its presence in many user pictures in that group. The name of the brewery is Rescue Club and they have a nautical thematic can/logo design and I love it. I like the double meaning that I interpret from a life preserver, as it relates to sobriety. It’s just a fun look. I was excited to try it. After all, when I was drinking high-octane beers like normies, the label was half the reason I bought some of the beers I tried. So, how did this go?
This week, we’re drinking an IPA from Rescue Club. Rescue Club is a non-alcoholic subsidiary of Zero Gravity Craft Brewery in Vermont. The can is reminiscent of a nautical flag with a light blue stripe across it and ‘Rescue Club’ is written in a fun country-club-esque script. The 12 oz. can cracks open with a familiar crisp sound and pours a surprisingly light yellow in color. Being an IPA, I would expect something a little closer to caramel in color, especially since this is advertised as an IPA and not a hazy IPA or New England IPA (even though it’s from New England). The head is also an unexpected crisp white.
The aroma still brings some hoppiness into the air which breeds hope that Rescue Club may have filtered the crap out of their beer, but it still holds a hoppy heft to it. On first taste, however, this dream is shattered. There is a great balance to the brew and it offers a nice light session mouth feel, but the lack of overpowering hops is a bit of a letdown. I know each IPA is different, but I have come to expect certain flavor profiles from a flagship IPA.
Untappd gives this IPA from Rescue Club a 3.6 out of 5. I would have to agree. To be fair, it is a good beer. It’s just very light- in color, in hops, in mouthfeel. It’s more like a lager with a higher hop profile. In fact, I would be so bold as to label this as an IPL, an India Pale Lager. If you like your IPAs light and easy to drink, especially with summer coming, this may be the perfect beer for you. If you’re looking for something hop-heavy and bitter, this is probably taking you in the wrong direction.
HAPPY EVERY HOUR: Sober Curator Justin Lamb is dedicated to tasting great (and sometimes not so great) NA beers and showcasing his amazing collection of memorabilia from the ’90s.
RECOVERY PODCASTLAND: Want more Justin in your life? We don’t blame you! Check out his podcast, Friend Request. Justin has in-depth interviews with people he follows on social media, as well as his own social media followers. Friend Request dives deeper than the likes and comments. With each episode, Justin strives to foster a more meaningful conversation with each individual he connects with. Justin ties each interview together with the commonalities and struggles that are not only extremely relatable but also fall across the entire spectrum of the human experience.
CURATED CRAFTS: Curating the Perfect Gift – A Kickass Custom Winnebago Tonka Truck
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