Summer of Session IPAs

Session IPAs are here to stay and this definitely won't be THEIR summer. But another true session beer that's sessionable without having to make that claim is a gose. Goses are popping up all over the country right now, so I'll predict, if anything, we are heading into the Summer of Goses. I'm not complaining. I love goses. I'm gonna try to drink em all.

 

I take the point but bear in mind session beers are those designed specifically for those who have the time and inclination to drink lots over a long period.And there are lots of them. To call anything else a session beer is gross misuse of the term.Like calling a 6 foot man a midget because there aren't many short people around.

12 ounces isn't a beer, it's a sample.

Sessioning is a different thing entirely.You can "session" many beers even those not intended for it.Session beer is a matter of design not of actual use. A 6 seater car is just that even if it only contains the driver. You don't have to drive round with 6 people

 

WE GET IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @marquis

 

Culturally we’re not as different as you think. Light lager is the best selling style in the country, clocking in ~4%. And most will spend hours in a bar drinking multiple Bud Lights, Miller Lites…etc. Beers are sold in 30 packs because they’re consumed in larger volumes. Also, the best selling craft beers are styles like Boston Lager (4.9% abv) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (5% abv on draft).

Sitting around sipping an 8% double IPA is a niche, and most will switch to something lighter. The popularity of the session IPA isn’t a surprise to me, beer is a volume drink, whether it’s in the UK or the US. There’s a reason All Day IPA is killing it at 4.7% abv in 15 packs.


KBS may grab the headlines here on BA, but All Day is paying their bills.

 

Except you don't.

Your first statement I quoted is like me saying, "A marathon for most of us will never mean what a marathon means to you. I think a marathon is 10 miles. I don't care if the literal distance is 26.2 miles, it's 10 miles. Time to move on."

 

No, we aren't that similar and as marquis has endlessly pointed out our beers that we session are usually stronger. The reason is because culturally there are differences between when it is and is not ok to drink. Yes, people have preferences but even if I drank 6 Buds I'm not getting near the session volume he's reffering too. I'd have to drink 10 to get near 8 imperial pints. Bud light is 4.2% same as Carton Boat. Just for argument sake if I drank 8 Carton Boats I'd be drunk, very drunk, at the equivalent of 8 imperial pints. Session beer that marquis is reffering to is less alcohol than that, I believe.

Preferences aside our sessions and session beer strength are different and there IS a reason for it.

 

No, that's not what it means. What it means is that a session for me, and most of us, will never be what it is to him because a) there are reasons our sessions don't run as long and b) our beers don't cater to it.

It's not that I don't care, it's just that there are differences. I could say the same thing about the way he defines it. There isn't a clear definition to this and there are differences built in. If I lived there it would mean to me what it means to him, but I don't.

 

Except, yes there is a clear definition of it. It is a beer that is 4% abv or less. In which case his 7 or 8 pints (while admittedly still somewhat excessive) isn't as outrageous. That's the actual definition. He repeats himself because most don't understand this definition. Again, it's like me going around saying the distance of a marathon is something other than 26.2 miles.

What makes it worse, because we don't have clear definition of what "sessionable" is in the US, you have people reply in these threads with 5%, 6%, maybe even 7% or higher as to what a "session" beer is to them.

Bar hoppers in the US would be hospitalized if Bud Light was switched to Bud Ice, or if wine all of a sudden came in 12 oz. bottles. We have a very skewed perception of what "sessionable" is in the US craft beer scene today, and I feel the session IPA and its popularity is finally making some realize that beer is a volume drink. And if it's stronger, the size, and rate at which it's consumed, should cater to that strength. It's ridiculous an 8% double IPA comes in a 16 oz. can.

 

I think we agree. I acknowledge Carton Boat, labeled a session ale, is not a true session beer.

I think we disagree on why this difference and lack of understanding comes from, but that's ok.

 

I will agree with the part about leaving work at lunch and having multiple beers. That is not part of our culture. I will also agree that 7 or 8 imperial pints (even if the beer is 3 to 4%) is a fair amount to drink.

I will stick to my point that our current culture is drinking multiple Bud Lights at a bar. Or buying a 30 pack and drinking that with your buddies for football on Sunday.

Craft is SLOWLY changing some of that, but US craft drinking does not have a defined culture yet. It will eventually.

 

I don't know much about sessioning beer and certainly, I know less than our UK friend. However, I do enjoy a good beer reprieve now and then. The escape from higher octane beers is a welcome experience in the right situation. So maybe we're talking less about session beers and more about "break" beers because that's what they mean to me. All Day IPA? Yes please... While I decide what to drink next. I do enjoy a good "break" beer.

You know, cultures and stuff...

 

You have to understand the intent of Sessions.

Craft breweries today become big or well known for the massive once a year releases that they've perfected. Here is the problem with that though, that isn't steady income for the brewery. These beers are usually expensive, require massive time to age or brew, and are high alcohol/filling.

So what is the fix? A solid IPA like Jai Alai, Heady Topper, or Pliny? Well those beers are great and all, but they can be expensive, rare, get you drunk quickly and most unfortunately, make you feel full (not hungry/bloated) even quicker.

This is where the idea has come from, at least from what I've been told from distributors and brewery reps. Small and big breweries alike would all like a beer that can be on the shelf, that is easily and readily produced, that people can afford and session. This creates return customers for the same product and creates a steady moving product on the shelf, that's steady income for the brewery.

I could write a lot more on the topic, but I'm replying from my phone at work. Hope this sheds some light on why you see so many and why they will more than likely be here to stay.

 

I wouldn't worry about that. Isn't that what these threads are for?

 

Give me a 4.5-5% ABV beer that tastes good and I'll buy it. I couldn't care less what you call it.

 

Don't let @marquis move the goal posts on you. At 4.2% Boat is well under Lew Bryson's 4.5% ABV cap on sessions, and he is the reigning authority on what an American session is.
You are right our sessions are different than Briton's as is our work week, football, and ability to move out of the 17th century. I don't know if you've been to England but the reason their beer can be so subtle is they boil all flavor out of their food. Their most flavorful food is mediocre crap curry. There is no flavor in their life to encourage boldness in their beers, and they hate their home lives so they need to burn as many hours in a pub as possible.
The real key to a session beer is wanting to stick with it over time and stay conversational all the while. That is exactly Boat and I'm glad more beers like it have been coming along.

 

Wasn't the whole premise of this thread "American Session IPA's"??? If All Day (we can agree this is marketed as as SIPA) is "killing it at 4.7%", obviously there is a difference in the way the markets define "session". For clarity's sake, I'm not arguing with your textbook definition of "session beer". I'm simply pointing out the real-world application of that label, as it relates to the actual topic of the OP.

The fact is, I have yet to find an American IPA labeled session that I would want to actually session; or even drink with any regularity. That's not to suggest they don't exist. I just got tired of being desappointed by them and stopped trying to convince myself I'd find one I like.

 

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/bon-...capital-of-world--by-french-chef-6555660.html

 

I would crush BOAT on the reg if it was available near me. Session beer or not.

 

Backyard session IPA from Saugatuck is tits. I'd still buy it if the called it an IPA or pale ale because it tastes good

 

Wow, International Hatred Day?? I for one love a good session beer, and am happy when I find a good one! For me Whirlpool by Nightshift (4.1%) is amazing when I want a lil something doing yard work or moving about outside. And, guess what, it still tastes good! If its good, drink it, if its not, pass and grab a Gose, or a Pale Ale, or a (dare I say it?) a BMC. Slow your roll everyone. I for one am stocking up on Whirlpool by day and as much Trillium (usually 6-8%) during the evening.