Five years is a long time for a beer to sit on the bench. Hot Donna last appeared in Fifth Ward's lineup half a decade ago, back when red IPA was still a more common sight on tap lists than it is now, and its return says less about chasing what's popular and more about a recipe the brewery apparently never stopped thinking about.
The malt backbone is the part red IPA usually leans on to separate itself from a standard IPA, and Hot Donna uses it as a foundation for Simcoe, Mosaic, and Chinook hops rather than a competing flavor. Resinous pine and crisp citrus come through without tipping into heavy bitterness, at 40 IBU and 7.2 percent ABV - assertive, but built to stay balanced against that malt rather than fight it. The name undersells the beer a little, in the same way "sweet but boisterous" undersells most red IPAs worth drinking.
It returns in four-packs and on tap starting this Friday. A five-year gap is plenty of time for a style to fall out of favor entirely, and Hot Donna coming back anyway is as good an endorsement as any.