Session IPA: Should it be its own style?

It sounds like you'd like something akin to English bitter with ordinary, special, premium, etc (all of which cover a tighter ABV spectrum than what we see as American IPA).

 

I had a few Session IPA's a little while back and felt that the difference in strength really made a big difference in terms of flavour, and with that did sort of warrant a distinction from other IPA's. However, I feel it may be better benefitted as being a sub-category of IPA. I know that causes some issues in terms of how the website would assign beer styles, however I really feel that its necessary to have that distinction, especially for those seeking out IPA's that are lighter through the site.

 

Regardless of whether or not people like them, they are a style. A rather specific one too. Some people don't like the name, some people don't like the beer, and some people don't like both but when they see or hear "session IPA" people know exactly the kind of beer you're talking about. It's a style.

 

i am also chiming in to say that pinner is a solid beer. its the only session ipa that ive enjoyed.

 

Oskar Blues

 

I agree, but it also needs to be spelt out enough that I can understand what you mean in the first sentence, "IPAs are well established and were around..."

To further complicate it, I know that you believe that styles are fuzzy and change over time (I don't disagree) but you also believe that a session beer has a very specific meaning. Some of the American IPAs that are causing this conversation say "session IPA" on the label, but their ABV is usually between 4 and 5 %. If Martyn Cornell's descendants hundreds of years in the future are looking at past evidence to create definitions, they would conclude that beers of 4-5% ABV are in fact session beers. Is the exact definition of session beer changing like anything else or is it too bound by math?

 

I find it amusing that there's no threads arguing about the litany of IPAs at 7% and double IPAs at 8%, for which there is already a distinction. But now that breweries have a separate name in the session IPA for a beer that is 4.5%, there needs to be endless discussion over whether or not this should be a style.

Seems kind of a silly to me.

 

I think the recent uptake in Session Beer (IPA or otherwise) simply comes out of the backlash of the bigger and stronger beers having a real issue being perceived as drinkable or consumable in an amount normally expected for those coming from more macro-brewery based drinks. If anything it's micro-breweries turning the game on the big boys and giving the general populace something to "go to" for when they want 3 or 4 beers, but don't want to end up in a state of inebriation on levels of consuming a 12 pack. I think it's a good idea, not only from a marketing standpoint; but from a cultural standpoint as well. Having said that, I don't think they deserve their own style. I think that it's a level of alcohol more so than an actual style of beer. If anything it's a sub-style of the main root style it branches from. It looks or tastes generally no different than it's more potent root, but the ABV is lower. Specifically Session IPAs are a great example of this. They are more hoppy and big tasting than a Pale Ale, but have lower ABV than the IPA itself in general. Having said that-- there are plenty of IPAs that are around the same level as the Session IPAs so again-- it's more a label and marketing tactic. I think "Ice Beer" when I hear the word "Session" and less of a what it really is.

 

Some Brewers like these beers as that are getting older, have kids, and have to be responsible as they represent the brewery. Then can drink theses as a shift beer, have a second with the guys, and still get home. The ones I know have said this.

 

There are several factors which dovetail together to arrive at 4% ABV being the upper limit for a session beer.
One is simple history, the basic fact that post WW2 practically all normal beer was in this range. Coupled with licensing laws which allowed two specified sessions per day the concept of a session beer emerged. Not cast in stone but generally understood, a beer you could drink throughout a whole session.
Another is physiology.Alcohol is dehydrating , water is hydrating. Beer is a mixture of both and at around 4% they balance.
The concept of a session beer is well understood by the trade. So Fuller's refer to Chiswick Bitter as their session beer but London Pride at 4.2% is their "Premium" bitter.Pride in bottles is a little stronger.
Any pub owner will tell you he stocks at least one session beer , there are customers who will be driving or going back to work for example.
The definition of a session beer was never formally laid down, there isn't any organisation with the authority to do so , it's generally what is accepted by the trade.
Beware of boundary creep. If 4% is a loose limit then surely 4.5% isn't that far off and if 4.5% isn't far off then neither is 5% is it......... but take somebody who can drink session beer pint after pint for hours on end without turning a hair and give him something a shade stronger you'll soon see a difference.

 

Diet IPA

 

Yes they should and they already do. Hence the wording used... "Session IPA"

 

I appreciate your response.
If enough people start to use a word incorrectly, that usage might eventually become accepted as "correct" over time. Language can work like this. Naturally, many of the factors you outline and some that you don't (the amount of time spent at the pub) can be specifically tied to the history and culture on your side of the pond. Perhaps the current American trend is driven by its own specific needs. The current American "craft session" beers are essentially in line with the ABV of the flagship brands of the giant brewing companies like MillerCoors. Americans also need to hydrate less... that's an unprovable fact.

 

Session IPA is just a way to make Pale Ales sound more appealing to the average beer drinker.