Beer For The Rest of Us – Trophy Brewing’s “Trophy Wife” Session IPA

Over the years, my beer intake at live music venues has progressively declined. My wife and I are self professed ‘rail riders’ – as close as we can get to our band, the better – and long ago did I tire of fighting my way back to my spot through college kids who were well past being able to handle their liquor. Having said that, I don’t mind grabbing a beer once inside, and perhaps another at intermission, and hanging onto it for a while through the concert. Besides, there’s always the typically suspect selection at the smaller, more regional venues we usually find ourselves in.

Imagine my surprise on our last visit to Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre, when past the macro taps and into the bottle and can cooler I spied a favorite from a local brewery, Trophy’s Brewing’s Session IPA “Trophy Wife”, and recently canned to boot. As it turns out, Trophy had only begun canning at all a few months prior, and the Trophy Wife I had that night was barely a couple weeks old. I first tasted the beer at the brewery’s original spot, their incredibly cozy “brewing and pizza” location on West Morgan Street near downtown and conveniently near the Lincoln. (If you visit this spot, try a couple of the beers at least, but don’t sleep on the pizza either, trust me.) But that night, at the nearby theater, my thoughts were such: favorite venue, great band, and a surprising beer find in a can to boot? I’m a relatively simple person, I suppose, because this was absolutely a winning night.

As far as I can tell, distribution remains very local to the Raleigh area, so if you find yourself down that way, give this one a shot, especially if you are looking for deliciousness at a highly manageable abv.

Here’s a quick run down on the beer:

Trophy Brewing Session Wife Session IPA, Raleigh, NC. 4.9% ABV

Tasting: Light, dry, white cracker maltiness leads to a beer that’s hardly one note. Leading is a moderate level of oranges, along with fresh grassiness, onion?, and a non overwhelming pithy bitterness. A welcoming, larger than your typical session IPA body is a standout feature as well. Plenty of flavor at this lower alcohol level, perfect for pregaming your favorite band, or any of a number of different situations.