Esquire: Why the "Session" Beer Trend Makes Zero Sense

Yes, that's what I'm saying.

 

Plenty of breweries do the session thing really well. Session IPAs and Goses can both be very good. To me, it's a way to drink a great tasting brew with much less calories. It's also great when I play sports and don't wanna get buzzed..

 

I really think people are missing the intent here too. If you are defending session beers by saying some taste good then you are not getting at the core issue the author was driving at, which is INTENT. We can drink beer for many reasons - to get drunk, to quench our thirst, for the flavor, to pair with foods and enhance dining, etc. but session beers imply a new intent...that you drink something just to drink it, which is odd to me. The moment you say you want something sessionable you are no longer looking for flavor alone (else you would ask for a good tasting beer), for something refreshing (you would ask for a refreshing drink), something low calorie (you would ask for that), instead you are saying that you want something that for some reason you can drink a lot of and my question is "why?"

I can actually see some instances in which I could justify it, but no one here is actually talking about the right parts of the topic. There are high ABV beers that are refreshing and high ABV beers that taste great, also high ABV beers that have lower than average calories.....in this circumstance it seems like you just want to drink a lot of something and instead of tackling that question head on you are distracting from the core issue by citing by-products of the session idea.

 

What a terrible selling point then. I come home from work, crack open a bottle, enjoy it, and move on with my night. Beers that I have to drink several of to "really get it"...just don't have a place in my fridge. Either something tastes good, or it doesn't. And if they start to taste better the more you drink of them, surely we have to start to figure the effect of sobriety, or the lessening thereof, into the equation?

 

Oof. What a miserable premise. As noted by others above, the purpose of lower abv beer isn't just to drink them all day. I often drink beer for my job, or drink beer while interviewing brewers or whatnot. If I'm drinking full pours of Russian Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs or even IPAs while doing that I'm going to get sloppy with my work. It's great to have low ABV options available. I don't golf, but low ABV beers are great for softball games, picnics, barbecues, etc.

If you like to get a good buzz going and you have a designated driver lined up (or can walk or take public transportation or something) then good on you. But if you'd like to have a couple beers and maintain your ability for rational thought, then you're probably like me and you like a low ABV option.

 

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. The term session IPA has only been around for a couple of years now anyway. Before that, it seemed there was a least one thread a week here just debating the definition of session beer. Usually about whether or not they were strictly < 4% or whether or not it could apply to non-English styles. And even though BA's are just the vocal minority within the craft beer community, having more session beers available is something many users back then were always asking for and now they've got it.

Personally, I don't actually use the term session beer all that often, but I am a huge fan of flavorful, relatively low ABV (sub 6%) beers. Give me a 12-pack of Mirror Pond Pale Ale (5%abv) and I'll happily sit there and drink them all day.

Where's Ding when we need him?

 

This was the blog post that first brought Carton and their Boat beer to my attention. It made enough sense to me then I went over to the brewery. Now I am by there almost every week. Maybe it helps explain better?

 

The term "session" bothers me...it's a pale ale people.

 

Interesting article.
I personally dont care all too much about 'session' beers, though. The one's ive had have all pretty much underwhelmed me.

But i could give a shit. Ill drink what i want, when i want it and however much of it i please. Besides, "sessioning" one beer all night gets boring IMO. Variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have 6 different styles in one night.

 

This was going to be my point. This is why comparing bourbon or chicken pot pie to beer is unfair. The flavors don't develop in your chicken pot pie as you continue to eat it, and the flavors of a bourbon will not continue to develop the more you drink it.

 

I AM THE 10%!

 

They taste great to begin with and only get better the more you drink in a sitting. Intensity and immediacy of flavor do not equal complexity of flavor. I'm sorry you are unable and/or unwilling to experience this.

 

I actually ran across that video before and it still makes little sense to me. I think must of what he is saying is gibberish really and I don't mean to sound like a dick. I don't know of any beer that will "evolve" by drinking more of it....that sounds like getting drunk to me. So if I keep drinking that beer that was a 3.5 to begin with...once I've had a gallon I may rate it a 5.0? I also think that if you can't stop after drinking one or two that indicates more of a self-control issue than anything else. Why not just drink one or two of a great beer (regardless of its ABV) then take a break and drink some more later?

 

You really can't think of a single reason that anybody would want to have a few beers without the end result of being drunk? Not one? Wanting something that tastes good is implied. Do you ask a bartender for a good tasting, refreshing beer? No. No one does. Let's try not to skew this into people who want something you don't having some problem.

Oh, and point me to all the low calorie high ABV beers.

 

I am worried about your anger clouding your comprehension skills.

"I can actually see some instances in which I could justify it, but no one here is actually talking about the right parts of the topic."

 

Also, good taste is NOT implied....which is why people have to ask for "good tasting sessionable beers" if good taste was implied then this would make little sense. I DO ask for a good tasting, refreshing beer and I think many do. Calm down friend.

 

They ask for good tasting stouts and IPAs as well. People don't seek out food and beer to not like it.

 

Jumping in for Marquis here, if you think low ABV session beers are, in essence, light on flavour then you've been drinking the wrong session beers.

 

Right.....but saying that good tasting is implied in sessionable is just not true....nor is it implied in stouts or anything else.

 

Oh, poppycock. Whoever said great taste equated to intensity of flavor? I certainly didn't. As to immediacy, we diverge on the length of time. I find it debatable, indeed, that a beverage requires 24oz-36oz of consumption before it hits its peak. We agree that something like Weihenstephaner Hefe is delicious to begin with. I get that in the first couple ounces, and by the end of the bottle or pint, I've had my full share of enjoyment. Successive bottles or pints have never miraculously tasted better.