Lawson's Finest Liquids Unveils Freestyle IPA

Freestyle IPA is the result of a creative collaboration between Lawson’s Finest’s founder, Sean Lawson, and the brewery’s new CEO, Adeline Druart. What began as an impromptu brewing session with no set recipe at the Wizard’s Workshop transformed into a distinctive West Coast-style IPA. Inspired by the spirit of experimentation and innovation, Freestyle IPA showcases the unique Talus hop and delivers a vibrant hop-forward experience with every sip. After its successful debut among staff and guests, Freestyle IPA is now available for wider distribution throughout the Northeast market in 2024.

Freestyle: Small Batches Created on a Whim

Last summer, we hired our new CEO, Adeline Druart, and what better way to join the team than to brew a beer with Sean Lawson himself? The two met at the Wizard’s Workshop (the original Lawson’s Finest Brewery) on brew day with no perceived recipe just a goal to brew something together.

Experimentation and Following Instincts

Much like the early days of Lawson’s Finest, Sean would create beers on a whim using ingredients he had on hand and felt inspired by that day. This day was no different. With a playlist playing in the background that was just as much of a freestyle as the beer they were about to brew, the two got to work.

Coming from the world of cheese, it was important to Adeline that she learn the craft of brewing and experience the process hands-on. Having not brewed a beer before, Adeline was unsure of what the beer would taste like, but she learned from Sean that brewing in the Wizard’s Workshop is instinctual and you have to trust the process.

West Coast Meets East Coast

Knowing that they wanted to try something new, they decided on a West Coast Style IPA. Sean and Adeline did sensory with hops and a whole series of trials with different ingredient combinations on the 1 barrel system. They were able to sample final brews and make adjustments until they found “the beer.” After rounds of experimentation, they decided that Talus was the hop that stood out and made the beer distinctly different than any of our other IPAs.

What makes a West Coast IPA?

Today’s West Coast IPAs are brewed with the intention of getting the most hop character possible to shine through the beer while using a light-colored malt base. Freestyle IPA has no colored or specialty malts which allows the aroma and flavors of the hops to be the star of the show.

Freestyle’s Debut

The first official batch of Freestyle was kegged and consumed quickly by our staff and guests that summer. “Man, this Freestyle IPA is good” was the frequent exclamation upon the first sip which led us to the decision to add Freestyle to our wider distribution calendar for 2024! So, whether you were one of the guest that tried Freestyle in 2023 or not, it is now available throughout our northeast market!

Where to find Freestyle