Inherent Flaw In Session IPA's

ScottK22 4/12/15
For me it comes down to this. I would choose to drink 4 pale ales over 5 or 6 session IPA's any day of the week


Yep

 

I agree with this 99% of the time. Their are times though when I am at a picnic or bbq where my will power and planning need the low alcohol options to save me from some bad decisions on the quantity side.

 

I find that sessions are tolerable as long as you start out with them. Just don't have a regular IPA or DIPA before switching to a session.

 

Actually I find the better path is to drink an excellent IPA first because it smooths over the watery ones that follow,... I have room in my palate for a session IPA with a really good hop nose and can overlook the "thinness" of the ale. So there are a few that are just good enough mentioned up thread, and two more I would like to try out of NJ and MA that don't seem to be distributed out west.

 

Agree that SN Hop Hunter is a great session IPA with tremendous flavor and only 6.2% ABV which is low for an IPA. Another option is to roll with SN Pale Ale which has much more flavor than watered down session IPA's and checks in at 5.6%. Hop Hunter is fantastic!

 

Two Roads Lil Heaven anyone?

 

Things change, especially in the USA. IPA here no longer denotes a defined "Style" of beer, it is a flavor descriptor that simply means "hoppy" Brewers hang IPA on almost anything, wheat beers, porters, lagers, low ABV pale ales ect.
They have a point, as even folks that cringe when they see this probably know what to expect when tasting said beer and people that don't care find it useful when making a purchase of something new to them.

 

The highest I've seen for a session IPA is 5% abv. Most are 4.5% or less. Individual tolerance aside, there is nothing sessionable about a beer at 5.6% abv, especially not one at 6.2%.

For every 1% you increase in abv, that’s a much larger increase in overall alcohol intake, especially when “sessioning” multiple beers.

Let’s take your standard session IPA at 4.5%, in a 12 oz. can that has about 16 grams of alcohol. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale at a “meager” 5.6% has about 20 grams, or a 25% increase in alcohol. There’s a reason @marquis states multiple times on the forums that he "sessions" true session strength ales at 4% or less, and will never do this with a >5% abv ale.

 

At last years NHC, Jeremy Kosmicki gave a talk on Founders brewing. He said all day is only 50% base malt, adjuncts, car-pils (they use it often in their recipes), and other specialty malts. Which specialty malts and adjuncts and % were not given out.

 

Session IPAs IMO are good for two things: drinking a large quantity or drinking in very hot weather. I'm not inclined to take a sixer of IPAs to the beach all day but I could take a sixer of a good session (my favorite is Pinner). I'm not big on drinking beer in large quantities at one setting and if I do it's probably going to be something from a macro (Coors light or Yuengling).

 

Has any brewery taken the tact to brew a regular IPA then remove the alcohol to bring it into the sessionable range. Using more grain and adding a step I am sure is not ideal, but since the prices of these beers are not any less than most crafts it would work financially.

 

I think if I found myself in a surrounding where I felt like pounding beers, i.e. going down real smooth, I would go for these, but otherwise I am more concerned with getting the most bang for my buck. If I am going to drop $ on beer for home I am more likely to spend $9.99 on a six pack of a regular IPA than a Session IPA if the flavor is fuller

 

I think its just the alcohol that you're not tasting

 

There definitely seems to be something lacking in American brewing.

Everything is brewed big with high abv, then we get the lower abv alternative labelled as "session" or "summer" that basically has the malt backbone taken out.

I'd just like full-flavored lower abv beers as standard (like in UK) without it being a gimmicky niche.

 

This is why I drink pale ales instead of session ipa's...

 

"It's not my favorite thing so it shouldn't exist!!" Some of you dudes are nuts!

I'm personally digging the hoppy session ales. Fresh Easy Jack in a can and Pinner have been my favorites of late.

 

Why do you people bitch so much about the mere existence of this kind of beer? It's a growing trend, so I'm sure someone is buying them (a lot, in fact, so people must like them too). This thread, and all others like it, is nothing more than "my beer is better than your beer because I say so".

The americans love excess argument is also horseshit. Just because it's a "session beer", or it's "sessionable" doesn't mean one has to drink 10 of them. Sometimes, one or two is enough regardless of the strength.

 

I'll go out on a limb and say that herein the US, we separate IPAs into American and English versions, and I think because the English/European hops are not as flavorful as American varieties, thus maybe American hops should be the defining character for a true IPA.

 

Hence, Founders has a 'secret' that is the key to success in brewing this type of beer.

 

Though not my favorite style (particularly for lack of flavor), I have found a few good ones.

BP's Even Keel was already mentioned at least once and I believe that clocks in @ 3.8 abv. The session IPA that is my favorite (so far) falls a little high at 4.9% abv but it's delicious, Fat Head's Sunshine Daydream. Actually surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.