Sun Drops is Karl Strauss’s take on the low-alcohol hazy IPA, a 4.0% beer built for afternoons when you want the hop character without the weight. It is a small, sessionable beer from San Diego’s oldest surviving craft brewery, the kind of thing that makes sense on a hot day and does not ask much of you in return.

The basics

• Brewery: Karl Strauss Brewing Company (San Diego, CA)
• Style: Hazy IPA
• ABV: 4.0%
• IBU: 12

What to expect

Sun Drops pours a pale, hazy gold with a soft white head. The aroma is light and citrusy, more gentle fruit than sharp hop bite, and the body stays light and smooth all the way through. At 4.0% it drinks like a beer designed to be refreshing first and hoppy second: soft malt, a little citrus, low bitterness, and a clean finish that does not linger. It is easy drinking in the truest sense, the kind of beer you can have two of without thinking about it.

Our rating

4.0/10

Rated by Alex (4). Alex gave this one a 4, and we think that is honest. Sun Drops does what a session hazy IPA should do: it is light, soft, and easy to drink. But it also never gives you much to hold onto. The hop character is faint, the body is thin, and once the refreshment fades there is not a lot left to come back for. It works as a light beer for a hot afternoon, and as a hazy IPA it leaves us wanting more.