Why Session Beer?

The opposite reasons you just said: drink more with less of a buzz. Sipping on an RIS isn't as cool as knocking back several milds.

 

when i drink, the goal is rarely to get a buzz. i love beer. love drinking it, brewing it, talking about it, etc.
i'd rather have a 3-4% APA, BPA, mild, berliner than a coke. prob better for you too.

as far as having more hop flavor... it's hard to categorize all session beers v. all normal/higher ABV beers and compare hop presence, but i understand what you are trying to get at. i think "GO TO" had more hop FLAVOR than "STONE IPA", but that's due to the hop bursting technique employed. that being said, Stone IPA is also much more bitter than GO TO.

 

I don't drink to get buzzed. Obviously sometimes I get buzzed, but I generally drink because it tastes good and I just want a beer.

I don't think session beers are any more or less flavorful than their high ABV bretheren. Some low ABV stuff is great, complex, and full of flavor, while some high ABV stuff is distractingly boozy and dense. The opposite is of course true as well, where some high ABV stuff is complex and awesome and some low ABV stuff is bland and unoriginal.

 

I too like a strong beer but I'm a man that likes variety and drinking half beers and capping them gets old. These sessional ipas allow you to drink the whole thing and enjoy the hops more without the abv sometimes overpowering the aftertaste. Sounds kinda of narrow minded but all I drink are pale ales, ipas, and strong ales. This sessional boom is by far a money maker for the craft brew industry. It could be the only way to get these newbies to try all ipas.

 

Great flavor and not getting drunk quickly is my draw to the lower abv beers.

 

If you're just drinking to get a buz, try tequila

 

Like others said, it's about NOT getting a buzz. If your plan is to get one everytime you drink, then session beers are not for you. Go to town on the 9% all the time.
Personally, I don't like getting buzzed all the time - just not where I'm at anymore. Therefore I like lower ABV. and I like beer, not wine cooler, so I won't drink those. What "more" are you talking about? 4.5%ABV is 4.5%, if it's a wine cooler, hard cider, beer, etc.

 

I love my big bold beers. However I am not going to drink a 6 pack of Lagunitas Maximus IPA on a hot Summer day while tending to a day of bbq'n. I will however Session with a nice Kolsch or the Genesis Dry Hopped Session Ale.
While if I have friends over, I wont bring out the big bad boys I will bring out a session style beer that we can all enjoy, plus they can get home safe.

 

Drinking one good Beer with High ABV >>>> Drinking several session beers

 

As far as quality goes? Beer is made from malt and hops (for the most part), and naturally fermented; wine coolers are HFCS and neutral grain alcohol. You tell me which one you get more out of.

 

It's a beer that you can drink for hours on end without having to count how many you have had yet still stay reasonably functional. They are necessarily of low ABV and without extreme characteristics but instead are just easy drinking. A good session beer seems to put on weight the more of it you drink and after a few pints you suddenly find that regardless of what other beers are on offer you'll stick with what you are drinking.
With selection of ingredients a decent session beer isn't that far behind its much stronger brothers but unlike them you don't get palate fatigue but palate enhancement.
I'm minded of the story about a conversation between a young bull and an old bull' The young bull said "Let's run down into the field and have one of those cows" and the old bull said "lets walk down and have them all"

 

Some beers are brewed in a way that they only fully reveal their true depths of flavor and subtlety after #4 or so. In order for the drinker to get to this point without getting drunk, it helps if the ABV is lower.

Also, many people like to settle in with their friends -- and an "old friend" beer -- and not have to think about what bottle/style/etc. they'll be opening (and/or taking pictures of/posting to social media) next.

 

It depends on the beer. Some strong beers can be a hot mess, while at the same time some low abv beers taste glorious.

 

Also, if you live in an area with extremely hot summers, "session" offerings (which is to say anything with a reasonable ABV, whether a session IPA, APA, Berliner, etc.) just make more sense certain times of the year. Not that I won't drink something burly in the summer, but they certainly aren't my go-tos. Gotta have something lighter and more refreshing on hand.

 

If I want to get buzzed I drink Whisky or Gin. A beer is something to sip slowly and enjoy. Enjoying a few beers is like throwing the ropes off the sailboat and slowly moving out to sea...

 

And thats why I said a GOOD high abv beer.

 

others have put it well in this thread. If you just want to get "buzzed" drink liquor. If you want to have a pleasant evening with friends, have a session beer.

 

I still don't understand this concept of "more flavor." Things can have different flavors, subtle flavors, intense flavors, etc, but how can something have more flavor? Also, if abv equates to flavor and more flavor is optimal, why not just sip on some everclear?