Summer of Session IPAs

I'm not at all sure where you've been to in England, but you're certainly not describing my experiences there on 20 or so different visits of a week to a month long.

 

He's either trolling or ignorant.

 

They can market it however they want. For example Rogue calls their Dead Guy a "Maibock" and many consider Boston Lager a Vienna lager despite no actually Vienna/Munich malts in the recipe.

All Day is a good example though, in that I wouldn't "session" it, because I find it too high in alcohol. There's no hard cut-off, so now you have beers like Oskar Blue's Pinner at 4.9% calling itself a session IPA, and then Even Keel at 3.8% also a session IPA.

Not only is it considerably more alcohol being 1% higher, it's a bit unfair to compare the two, because the higher alcohol allows more malt to be used, increasing body and balance. If there's no cut-off, why can't 5.5% be a session IPA? It's still lower than the average IPA.

 

Well, as you've pointed out many times that’s actually to be expected. If flavorful UK beers don't travel well and/or lose some on being bottled, that's also true of the flavorful beers being increasingly produced here. Then combine that with the loss of aroma and flavor that takes place during shipment.... Frankly I'd be surprised if you had had any other experience.

 

@HopBomb515 I don't mean to belabor the point, but @marquis would not be constantly correcting people if people stopped using the term "session beer" incorrectly. He has stated in other discussions that he doesn't mind that US drinking "sessions" might be different, or that other beers might be "sessionable" or that people are "sessioning" certain beers, but when you use the term "session beer" it has a specific definition based on the beer's ABV, independent of sessions, sessionability, or any other criteria.

 

I'm going with troll. And a good one at that.

I think we're on the same page. The original question at hand was whether or not the style of American SIPA (as loosely defined and market-buzzword-driven as it may be) will continue to thrive. I believe it will, even though I don't particularly care for it.

 

Indeed. While failing because his version of cuisine had run it's course in America in the 30s-70s a has been French chef tried to convince the world there was hope in the old world. ny.eater.com/2012/5/31/6581995/latelier-de-joel-robuchon-to-close-on-june-30

 

Well since you're talking about resetting the goal posts, Bryson himself started out at 5% or less for his Session Beer campaign and has since done a mea culpa and re-set it to under 4.5%. His original point was not to define session, per se, but rather to promote the idea of flavorful low ABV beers and he frankly admitted that he originally picked under 5% as a starting place because there were so few examples in the US at the time he started the Session beer campaign. Indeed, he's quite willing to entertain discussion of the idea the goal posts should be reset to the International Standard set by British brewers if there's hope of getting bars and brewers on board.

 

Then it sounds like your (and marquis') issue is more with the way breweries are marketing those beers here in America. Which is understandable I suppose. This thread was about the plethora of offerings labeled as such currently on shelves. It's kind of hard to discourage people (consumers) from using the term "incorrectly" in that context.

 

IMO, no beer is a session beer, even if it is labeled as such. I just can't drink more than a few of the same beer in a row, no matter how good it is. For example, I had access to unlimited Zombie Dust last night and despite the ridiculous deliciousness, I was tired of it by the time I finished my 3rd glass.

 

It's the same beer, slightly tweaked. They think it will sell better being called a "session IPA," which is probably true. A few months ago I bought an out of date case for $15 and I wasn't complaining.
However, that is about the only circumstance where I will pay for a session IPA. In fact, I've tasted a lot of them but I believe that was the only one I actually bought. REGULAR IPA all day, every day for this guy.

 

Give me a good hoppy pilsener like Two Roads Ol Factory Pils or Sierra Nevada Nooner as a session beer to enjoy a bunch of during the summer over MANY (not all) session IPAs. That being said, there is a time and a place for lower ABV beer so long as it still tastes good. I'm not drinking Double Jack with the boys by the pool even though it is a great beer.

 

This made me laugh out loud.

 

A definition is what it is, not what you do with it. I know what a racing car is but I'm aware of my limitations and wouldn't try to be competitive in one.But it's a racing car by design even if I only sit in it.
Zombie Dust in any case fails the test.It's far too strong anyway too easy to get tired of.

 

Strange how now we are talking about the percentage allowance in order to still be considered a "Session." I thought this was fairly obvious, anything at or under 5% ABV is a Session beer (which should be common sense considering that Budweiser @ 5%, Heineken @5%, and Harbin @ 5.5% are the three very highest ABV among the top 10 largest selling beers in the world per 2014 stats, and on top of that, the definition on BeerAdvocate agrees with this 5% distinction making Harbin the only one out of the "sessionable" category).

Anything or anyone listing it as otherwise is just simply wrong, your opinion is literally irrelevant. Pinner is 4.9% and All Day is 4.7%, they followed the same established and clear definition and therefore are sessions. It's understood among breweries, craft beer websites, and bars. Bars in the US even base their pours on national averages from the widest beer consumption groups and statistics (5% being the average for beer in a 16 Oz serving, 13% for wine in a 5 Oz serving, and 40% for liquor in a 1.5 Oz shot). Thus, anything under 5% is what became deemed as sessionable.

This isn't really up for debate. Ever been to a craft beer bar and wondered why some beers come in tulips, snifters, etc? I'll give you a hint, considering kegs have roughly a 65%+ mark up its not just the price. It's so you stay longer and so you don't get destroyed from that one delicious 10%+ ABV beer mis-poured into a 16 Oz American Pint you guzzled down in 15 minutes.

And don't kid yourself whoever said it, diferent culture or not, 12 ounces is not a sample of anything. Not to mention it works out best for packaging, inventory, and pricing. Whoever has worked with beer knows how awful it is when you get a box of 20 German 16.9 Oz bottles... I'll take the 12 22 oz bombers or 4 - 6pks/ 6 - 4 pks that America uses any day of the week. Last but not least, what "beer" are you drinking over there in a 20oz that's so far below 5%?

 

Sierra Nevada has been making a session IPA since 1980. It is called Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

That is my go to session ale...

 

As long as people don't stop drinking on beaches, I don't see SIPAs going out of style. There has to be a shake-out, though. My guess is that in a few years, only a couple (Go-To, All-Day, Left of the Dial) will remain.

 

Sorry but SNPA is a much better brew than any "session IPA".

 

Just for clarity their Imperial pints are 19.2 of our ounces, 20 of theirs. That's right we can't agree on whats a pint, whats an ounce or whats a session beer.

 

Well I thought it was obvious when I mentioned Zombie Dust that I was not referring to the traditional British definition of "session" beer. I don't even think that definition is relevant in a thread about the American session IPA trend, since there are many examples in it that probably don't strictly follow your definition. I'm just saying there is not a beer that is really "sessionable" (Americanized definition) in that I can drink it over in a row without getting tired of it. Something like ZD is about as close as it comes for me, and still then I get tired of it pretty quickly.