Session Ale Appreciation Thread

Since my "sessions" usually involve food, the table beer I recommend is Jester King's Le Petit Prince. At 2.9% ABV, you can drink it all day and still maintain your edge. (Disclaimer: this is not to be construed as medical advice. )

 

A "5.3%+" session ale strikes me as an Oxymoronic Ale...

 

A 5.3% session ale is basically a 5.3% imperial ale.

 

Shorter sessions.

 

Speed Session?

 

I have been in pubs in the UK that have Timothy Taylor Landlord on cask. The bartenders unironically said it was a strong ale cause it was 4.1% ABV ha (bottled it says 4.3%, but sometimes beers on cask will have a bit lower ABV). They also had Best Bitter (now called Boltmaker) at 4% and Dark Mild at 3.5% ABV. All incredible, and some of my favorites.

 

Yeah - I hear yah, and I don't necessarily disagree. My comment wasn't a criticism. My joke was that brewers might call their 5% beer a session beer while others might call their 5% an imperial beer. Put them in the same place on draught and then "imperial" and "session" become two ships that pass in the night. Maybe they are even the same beer. Beer nuts probably wouldn't be thrilled with either classification, but any criticism would probably be coming from a place of love of those two categories.

I don't have a favorite session ale. In my mind, such beers are English and relatively low ABV. My tastes in that realm lean old-school, so some beers at 4.0% that I would be extremely happy to drink again would include: J.W. Lees Bitter, Harvey's Sussex Best, Timothy Taylor's Boltmaker, and Wye Valley HPA. (I guess that last brewer isn't old enough to be old, nor new enough to be new. ) Unfortunately, I don't have as many 3.8% beers that I could enthusiastically include, but I suppose McMullen AK and Black Sheep Best would be in that category as well. I've unfortunately never had any of these particular 3.8/4.0 beers in multiple rounds in one sitting, so I don't feel like I can use them as answers to your question though.

Boltmaker:


... and J.W. Lees Bitter in their ugly grip glass:

 

Looks aren't necessarily deceiving.

 

Considering we process a single drink per hour, which for beer is defined as a 12 oz. beer at 5%, you're talking some lengthy sessions with anything over 4%. Unless your goal is to be loose-legged.

Especially considering most craft beers today are in 16 oz. cans.

@LesDewitt4beer I would make a hard cutoff, and while I think 5.3% is far too high, I would still make a cutoff. Whatever you choose, your thread!

Because if you don't, this thread will devolve REAL fast based on previous threads about session beers in my 19 years here on Beer Advocate.

I prefer 4% or lower as my cutoff if we're talking true British session ales, but that's just me.

 

Berkshire Lager, 4.5% - so good, crisp and clean, a little grass and a little biscuit, this is a winner! Balanced hop and malt - delicious! Cheers!

 

I'm glad someone (else) interjected with a Lager.

I'm having a fresh Trumer, post-workout, and am continuously amazed at the great flavor characters squeezed out of a 4.9 beer.

Okay, maybe not quite "session," but pretty close with what I see on shelves anymore.

 

Sticking to ales, here's one from a local I can't say enough about:
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/50290/605344/?ba=steveh#review