Why Session Beer?

I have 5 children, ages 1 - 14. That is correct.

 

This is the best time of the year when so many good sessions come out just in time for good weather!

 

session beers: because summer exists and some of us like to have one of those days where we drink in the daytime but don't want to get wasted off 3 IPAs at ~7% abv. We want to drink for hours on end without getting too drunk to keep drinking. 6 beers at ~4% are gonna suffice my want of alcohol without sending me into the darkside. also, they aren't going to fill me up as much so that BBQ i'm cooking up isn't going to bloat me up like a blimp.

 

I am skipping ahead seven pages so forgive me if this has been mentioned. but I too have noticed a bunch of session beers hitting store shelves. and yeah, they are lower in alcohol and nice for certain seasons or at certain times of day, or just when you want a beer (or a few) but don't want to get slammed. that said I started thinking about this and reasoned it must be less expensive to produce, lower malt and hop content, call it a gourmet beer, and charge the same as the bigger beers, the breweries must make good margins on these small beers.

 

It's gotta be a lifestyle thing because the idea of spending hours upon hours drinking the same beer has zero appeal to me.

How bout session foods? Let's eat these session hot dogs for the next 8 hours!

No idea where this mindset comes from. But I'll admit I'm fairly off the mainstream in my lifestyle choices.

 

By skipping ahead you missed the price and cost discussion. I'll skip to the answer, your conclusion is wrong.

 

why don't you summarize it for me Chris, because I'm not scrolling back

 

Where is the unlike button?

Uninformed on so many levels. All Day IPA isn't Founders biggest seller because so many of us are dumb.

Craft beer enthusiasts were the FIRST to embrace this trend not out of ignorance or some subliminal marketing but simply that there was an appealing alternative. "Session beer" is here because a lot of people enjoy beer for more than getting drunk.

Those who are sweating the silly cost discussion need a new hobby or just switch to grain alcohol.

 

the best most sessionable beer out there these days is Anchor California Lager. if I could get that fresh everyday, I would probably never need another beer, ever. the recent Stone offering of a session IPA is hop water not beer. if you are into paying ten bucks for that, go for it

 

If you like drinking various lagered beers, I find that many of the German lager styles lend themselves nicely to being true session beers, as most of the ABVs range from the low 4s to mid 5%s. Still high according to the British system, but for American's this isn't bad. Give authentic German pils, hefeweizen (actually an ale), Helles, or Dunkels a try and you might find some more sessionable, highly flavorful beers that don't seem watered down or adulterated.

 

To me it is about price. As i have said before, why would I pay $10 for a six pack of 4% Session IPA when i can pay $8 for a six pack of 7% Torpedo? Why would I pay $10 for a six pack of 5% stout when I can get a six pack of 8% for the same price? I like having a nice buzz without being drunk. If I am going to ingest 200 calories, I feel better knowing they aren't "empty" calories, which is why I avoid sweet tea, soda, and low abv beers.

 

Per another related thread, I'm curious about the age of posters here. I'm willing to guess--maybe even bet--that those who don't "get" session beers are younger than those who do.

 

I don't get why price/alcohol is such a big deal for many? Just recently, I bought a six pack of Odell St. Lupulin and Loose Leaf. Both are the same price. St. Lupulin is very good, but I love Loose Leaf and will certainly be drinking much more of that now that it is in Houston. I have also been drinking Saint Arnold Boiler Room (3.5% Berliner Weisse) on almost a daily basis since it has been released a few weeks ago. Not to mention session strength cask has been an obsession of mine since I worked a few summers in the UK, and seriously miss that in the States. No I can't possible imagine why anybody would want to drink good "session beer" I just don't get most posts in this thread.

 

The higher alcohol beers have empty calories just like low abv beers. The nutrients in both high and low alcohol beers are probably roughly the same. The majority of the increase in calories comes from the increase in alcohol.

 

And those who think "session beer" means "low-alcohol IPA" are the youngest.

 

I don't think physical age has as much to do with it as beer experience.

I bet that those to pigeonhole themselves to particular styles are the least aware to what session beer is overall, just as they are unaware to the complexities of subtitles of styles other than their preferred.

I'm 21. Yes, I like session IPAs for what they are- low ABV, tasty hop bombs. Sometimes they do the trick, but if I were to truly have a beer session, you better bet I'd pick a different style. I'd rather drink 4 well crafted German pils, helles, or hefeweizens than 4 session IPAs. Session beers != session IPAs, but session IPAs aren't half as bad as the 'old' people on this site claim they are. IPA lite, sure. "Hop iced tea" or "hop horse piss", hell no.

 

I guess the kids are alright.

 

I would love to watch you buying music. Clearly you would expect to pay less for works involving such as solo voices or instruments than for amplified rock bands.Because of course you don't get as much NOISE. But you're buying music not loudness and it's possible for a relatively quiet but exquisitely crafted piece to be more enjoyable than having your eardrums blasted.
By the way, a 20 ounce (Imperial pint) of session strength beer comes in at under 200 calories.

 

Session strength isn't low ABV. It's normal. Under 3% is low ABV.

 

There are very few days I plan to drink all day. And if I would,it sure wouldn't be the same one over and over. That's why we got away from macros right? Unless I am in a remote area,or at a wedding,I stick with variety.