Esquire: Why the "Session" Beer Trend Makes Zero Sense

I generally prefer higher ABV beers because I'm more into imperial stouts and DIPAs, but I've had some excellent "sessionable" brews - Lawson's Super Session IPA, Westbrook Gose, and Bruery Hottenroth are not short on flavor.

 

Why can't someone enjoy a session ipa because they want something lighter and still hop forward? I think they have a place. If I'm doing something that involves having a beer in my hand all day, I'd rather have something that's low in abv and doesn't destroy my palate by drinking it that long.

 

I think there is a place for session beers just like there is a place for triple IPA's and imperial stouts. Now granted the market has been flooded with session beers of late and most aren't very good but there are a few that are excellent. I mean drink a Stone Go To IPA and tell me that session beers don't a place in the craft beer market.

 

The ones I brought? :-)

 

What's the ABV on haterade?

 

And yet you also say that there are situations where you purposely choose [i.e. you value] the lower ABV...

So, there are situations where the low ABV beer has more value than a higher ABV beer. This is certainly true for me, like when I'm out but have to stay sober for driving or can't have any trace of hangover the next morning.

On the subject of percieved value of low vs high ABV beers this old poll and discussion seems relevant: http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...sumer-than-moderate-to-high-abv-beers.205527/

 

It does but it's closed for further replies or votes. And as far as I'm concerned, value is in the mind of the beholder.

 

While i think the term "sessionable" is stupid I do like that there are low ABV craft beer out there. I have a pretty low tolerance so If I want a second or third beer without getting too drunk it's nice to have low ABV options available. Or if I'm hanging out in Bar talking with friends and don't want to get trashed. My go to is Anderson Valley's Gose because it's delicious.

 

You're example is comparing two completely different products. Pizza vs Filet is like DIPA vs Geuze; the two are completely different. Perhaps the point he is trying to make is this (which is also my contention):

Say you go to that steakhouse and they have a 12oz filet with 14% fat for $11.99. At this same steakhouse, they have a 12oz filet with 1% fat for $11.99. Assuming this is basically the same meat, but one has more unusable pieces of it (ie less alcohol, more fat), which would you choose? If I can get a 9% IPA for $10 six pack, it seems absurd to pay $10 for a six pack of 4% Session IPA (again, assuming the beers are relatively close in taste and nature).

What if you could get that cheese pizza for $8 but you could get a deluxe pizza with 5 of your favorite toppings for $8? You would probably get the deluxe pizza, no? In both cases, the end user feels as if they are getting something for "free".

Of course, there are always a time and place for pizza vs steak, just like there are a time and place for session vs IPA, but for everyday value purposes, I think the session has less value.

 

It seems to me that you express on the one hand a concern for being ripped off by a brewer when buying a lower abv beer, whilst at the same time handing that same brewer a license to steal if the abv is high (by rationalizing the higher prices charged for higher abv beers, in a market where beer prices are unaffected by alcoholic content, unlike high-tax markets with progressive tax scales).

 

I'll be honest (because usually I'm not )...

Any thing labeled 'Session' I automatically associate with 'Boring.' I realize that my pretentious attitude has likely caused me to skip over some otherwise relatively tasty beers, but...it's just the truth.

 

6.66%?

 

After several pages of berating session beers and comparing them to Bud Light the author admits that low ABV beers can be tast and gives examples of ones he they like:

"Sure, there are some nice “drinkable” offerings out there that I love to actually, you know, drink; stuff like Carton Boat Beer, Barrier’s UnImperial IPA, Westbrook Gose (sour beers manage to be the rare low-ABV offerings that are still packed with flavor), and Evil Twin Bikini Beer which checks in at an unfathomable 2.7% ABV. But I drink those beers not because they have a low ABV and I can drink thirty of them in a single night, but rather, because they taste great. In my world, “tasteability” is the only thing that ever truly matters."

Hypocrite. I'm sure it was a just a flamey opinion piece designed to attract beer geek clicks. I wish I hadn't read it now.

 

I understand this point, but you would then also agree that a high ABV beer shouldn't cost substantially more, right? Of course that is rarely the case (see the plethora of $10-$12 4-packs of high ABV beers for proof).

 

I actually liked the article, well, not the tone but the overall message. I never understood why one actively searches for "session beers". If I find a beer that I love that happens to have lower alcohol content then that is fine by me, however I am not going to drink something with worse flavor simply because the ABV is lower. I don't doubt that there are circumstances in which people can justify this action, but I would rather drink two fantastic tasting beers than six okay or just good tasting ones. I don't need to constantly be drinking something, and if I am getting thirsty I can always have some water as I bide my time until my next brew.

 

I'm glad the regarded experts at Esquire could weigh in on this extremely important issue!

Yes there certainly are times when I want a 90 proof bourbon instead of barrel proof Stagg, and there are times when I want something light and hoppy (or sour or not or whatever) instead of not. And not a mention of English brewing tradition in the whole article.

Fake beer snobbery is somehow so much worse than genuine beer snobbery.

 

It makes zero sense because 99% of session beers suck. At least ones that are marketed as such. They're for people who won't drink anything but IPA's. If they would, then they would discover that there are a myriad of styles that are lower ABV.

 

Solid point! We are all borderline if not full on alcoholics here. That's why we are members on a site called beeradvocate. Hard enough beer prices are always going up not to mention stocking up for the cellar. Weight gain is always an issue for beer drinkers and that's one more reason I stay away from the sessions, not to mention they are priced about the same as regular beers. The only thing I drink at 6%< ABV are sours and that's something I'm not kicking anytime soon.

 

I've heard this notion raised before, and each time I have the hardest time with it. Are you really suggesting that one solitary pint of Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen or an English mild on cask can't convey all their best qualities? Because, on its face, that sounds preposterous.