23-05-2025
Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA is a throwback. It's a toss up whether that's good
Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA is a throwback. It's a toss up whether that's good
Welcome back to FTW's Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.
Breckenridge feels like it's always been there. Maybe not with the cache of a Sam Adams or a Sierra Nevada, but lurking on the shelves of your local bottle shop since you hit drinking age.
The brewer has, in fact, only been around since 1990. Which, sources tell me is 35 years ago and... good god. My own existential crisis aside, it seemed to embody the rising tide of craft brewing in that era. It made interesting beers outside the lagers that dominated America's macrobreweries. It had funky packaging and art. It came from the exotic land of Colorado, home of John Elway and neon ski pants. What wasn't to like?
Despite all these positives, it never seemed to break through the way its peers did. Even now, as part of a national conglomerate (Tilray), Breckenridge feels more like the Errict Rhett in a league of Emmitt Smiths. Now that I've appropriately remembered a guy -- not an insult! Rhett was good! For the time! -- let's take a look at Breckenridge's new spring seasonal.
Spring Forward Grapefruit IPA: C+
It pours with a little less carbonation than expected, but still leaves a quarter inch head that lingers well after the bottle has emptied. The smell off the top is split between resin-y hops and grapefruit. Together it's a little rough, but also appealing in a "oh, so this could be interesting" kind of way.
The first sip is more bitter than expected for a spring beer. The hops are tart but not especially juicy or danky. That puts a lot of the lift onto the grapefruit, which gets it about halfway up before running out of gas. The citrus lingers in the aftertaste and does mellow out that bitter hop taste, but the overall impression feels like a throwback to the early days of IPAs.
Except, you know, with fruit.
It's a little underwhelming and surprisingly... divisive? for a national craft brewer like Breckenridge. Which, honestly, makes me respect the effort a little more. There's a certain crispness that I appreciate. But the IPA of it all is a little simple and single note. You can do better.
Would I drink it instead of a Hamm's?
This a pass/fail mechanism where I compare whatever I'm drinking to my baseline cheap beer. That's the standby from the land of sky-blue waters, Hamm's. So the question to answer is: on a typical day, would I drink Breckenridge's Spring Forward IPA over a cold can of Hamm's?
It's a totally fine pale ale. I'll stick with the Hamm's, though.
