Session beer from Esco's OTHER brewery

The word Caticorn is thrown about quite a bit at my workplace. It’s a noun meaning “liquid stress reliever,” referring to the India pale ale served at nearby Offbeat Brewing Company, a favorite post-work hang for employees at Stone’s headquarters facility. It’s the most oft-ordered beer among cross-street venturing worker bees (although I tend to go for their Bear Arms Brown Ale, but that’s neither here nor there…I’m an oddball on and off the clock).

Caticorn is a nice IPA with more malt body than most brews in North County San Diego. It fits in nicely with the mostly English family of beers produced at Offbeat, but in this season of elevated temperatures, malt body is the last thing I’m looking for. That means no Caticorn, and no Bear Arms for that matter. Fortunately, there was a new option available earlier this week when my department clocked out and sought liquid stress relief — Offbeat Felicita Session IPA.

Coming in at 4.5% alcohol-by-volume, it’s a good hot weather choice since oppressive heat — a constant in Escondido from July through September — can make high-alcohol imbibing sessions dangerous to one’s health. And because it’s both crisp and hoppy (81 International bittering units), it fulfills the need for a potent IPA without the girth and mind-bending qualities that come with most West Coast-style versions of this style. Thanks, neighbors.