What's your favorite Session IPA?

New style alert! SIPA (Session India Pale Ale)...

 

Your eye roll captures my feelings about "Session IPAs". They are all basically just pale ales with copious amounts of late and/or dry hopping. People will buy anything that says "IPA" on the label. Breweries know this. That's why there's black, white, and red IPAs, Belgian IPAs, rye IPAs, and probably a half dozen more that I've never even heard of.

 

What if you like the bitterness and hops and you want an IPA profile at a sub 5% abv? If it is such a stupid style to make, why are so many people buying and enjoying them? Inferior palates?

 

Yes people have inferior palates... and give into marketing... and buy anything that says IPA.

If I want hops and bitterness in a low ABV that doesn't taste like hop water - I buy a pale ale.

 

That's hilarious. I'll remind myself that. And my wife. She happens to love the bitter simcoe dry finish of GoTo IPA. She went to college in Chico and drank SNPA for years. Such a great beer, but over the years she has grown to love even more bitterness. We drink Pliny together, Port Brewing IPAs, Stone beers, Green Flash and all manner of hop bombs. I love and buy several styles of beer, but she is drawn primarily to super bitter, very dry IPAs. She is also nursing our 6-month old daughter, and Stone GoTo hits all the marks of a delicious hop blast, West Coast IPA AND happens to clock in at 4.5% - significantly more bitter and also lower in alcohol than most American Pale ales that are widely available. It doesn't taste anything like the soon-to-be-retired Stone Pale Ale, but it is much hoppier and it's also lower in alcohol. I'm not biologically able to breastfeed a human, but I sometimes enjoy a GoTo also.

I guess it must be our inferior palate and sheep mentality that doesn't know any better. Thanks for clarifying.

 

Lakefront extended play; and its only 4.2%!

 

I'm just glad we could see eye-to-eye.

 

Or maybe he has been drinking them from the wrong end!?!

Cheers!

 

I second, third, fourth or whatever Carton Boat Beer. By far and away the most flavorful of all session IPAs I've ever had.

HF Walden was pretty fantastic (not sure if it is considered a session IPA as its listed as a session blonde ale) but of course its not like I have the opportunity to drink it whenever I want.

Boat Beer comes in 16 oz cans, my favorite format for IPAs!

 

BOAT makes me proud to be from NJ and if you live in NJ you know that can be hard some times

Lawson's Super Session IPA is a close second

 

Green Flash Mosaic is surprisingly good.

 

Boulevard Pop-Up for sure.

 

Carton Boat Beer (technically not an IPA)
and Oskar Blues Pinner.

Both of these are like crack to me.

 

Little pricey but love BP Even Keel and at 3.8%--can fish all day and enjoy a few.

 

Ice cold Brooklyn Irish Dry Stout. The perfect summer time quaffer.

 

Nailed it. There's no better and it's not close.

 

Unfortunately, no access to FW here. I'd love to try Easy Jack. I'll likely end up going wtih All Day and Pinner.

 

New Belgium Slow Ride
Terrapin Recreational

 

I really enjoyed Lawson's Super Session Citra this winter, and would love to see it again when the weather warms up. Got to try it side by side with some of my favorite pale ales. Very comparable, but slightly lighter in body and with more noticeable bittering hops.

Every time this topic comes up, half the thread is people proclaiming how the style offends their sensibilities.

 

Didnt have one until yesterday when I had baby elephant from rushing duck.