Its two minutes past five, Friday evening. I’m in my comfortable jeans, on the porch out back and I’ve got a cool, new brew in my hand. The crack of a bat echoes from a nearby ball field and the birds are chatting it up in the nearby oak. I’m not sure what else a man could wish for.

My first Wild Goose was their brown lager and while a decent drink, my sights weren’t set especially high for this follow-up. There was nothing special of note in the color, carbonation or head of this IPA. It was your pretty typical orange with a constant stir of bubbles, rushing to the top. There was some substantial lace to make up for the less than substantial head, I suppose.

It smelled a bit more like beer and bit less like hops than I was hoping for. It was yeasty and thin, not bursting with citrus, pine or flowers. There was a bit more interest when it hit my tongue. A particular strain of citrus, reminiscent of a favorite flavor of Life Saver I had as a kid, seemed to pop up front. Besides that, it finished more earthy, but in a juvenile sort of way like it wasn’t quite sure what it was shooting for.

I feel like each beer has its place. In previous posts, I’ve painted pictures where that perfect beer complemented the situation and made life grand. This beer would be a decent introduction to craft brews for someone not quite bold enough to really plunge in. It seemed sessionable enough for the 20something that is too used to pounding back the Buds, but ‘craft enough’ for the beer geek looking for a little more. All in all, I guess you could say its a good compromise.

ABV: 6.1%

Grade: B-