Craft brewery acquisitions! I was just talking about them this morning in my review of Leinenkugel’s Beergarten Tart. I was mentioning the fact that Miller has pretty much left Leinenkugel alone since they bought them in 1988. Of course, Beergarten Tart really isn’t the best example of that, because in my opinion it’s not a very good Berliner Weiss, and not a beer I would go out of my way for. To be fair, Leinenkugel wasn’t a Sierra Nevada or Anchor before Miller bought them. But they do brew good beers, and I’m here to tell you about one of them: Leinenkugel’s IPL.

IPL, as we all know, stands for India Pale Lager. It’s a lot like an IPA but, well, it’s a lager. Ales and lagers are different in that the former uses a top fermenting yeast and the latter a bottom fermenting one, generally at colder temperatures. Then too, lagers are conditioned longer after the brew is complete and at colder temperatures to smooth them out from fruity esters that can be created during the brew.

Here’s what Leinenkugel say about their IPL:

Everything you love about hops comes through more clearly because IPL is a lager instead of an ale. We brew ours with five varieties of hops including Mandarina Bavaria from Germany and Citra® from right here in the U.S. We taste citrus, tropical fruit notes and a little spicy pepper followed by a refreshing crisp finish. Give it a try and see what you discover.

Leinenkugel’s IPL has an alcohol content of 6% by volume with 57 IBUs. I paid $5 for a 20-ounce mug at Taco Mac, and it runs about $8.99 a six-pack in stores.

My mug of Leinenkugel’s IPL arrived a pale ornage color with a thick creamy head and a very resiny and citric hoppy nose with a hint of passion fruit. Taking a sip, the beer has a solid medium malt body, light piney resin and grapefruit, and a long dry bitter finish.

OK, this really wasn’t much different than your average IPA, but it was very tasty indeed and I enjoyed it a lot. I think you will as well. Extra credit for the cool retro label, too.

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