Are "session IPAs" improving?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by AlcahueteJ, Jul 14, 2014.

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  1. BKBassist

    BKBassist Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2013 New York

    As far as the commonly available ones in my area, they are getting better. Still not something I pick up regularly, but they have their time and place (and thats not outdoors for this city dweller! No "lawnmower beers" when your lawn is concrete :astonished:)

    For commonly seen stuff, I'll choose Go To > Easy Jack > Bouncy House > All Day. Founders is one of my favorite breweries but All Day is about the weakest session IPA out there IMO, despite being one of the first widely available versions.
     
  2. Jeffries55

    Jeffries55 Initiate (0) Sep 5, 2013 New York

    Go-To has probably the best nose of all the session beers, but to me it falls completely flat on flavor... to me, it's the epitome of everything that people here on BA complain about when it comes to session IPA's... "Hop Water." It's just straight up bitter hop water, no body to back up the hops... I am baffled as to why it receives so much praise, but everyone is entitled to their opinion and has different taste buds :slight_smile:
     
  3. denver10

    denver10 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,155) Nov 17, 2010 New Mexico
    Pooh-Bah

    Co-signed.
     
  4. Hendry

    Hendry Pooh-Bah (1,831) Mar 8, 2013 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    Session IPAs are definitely improving, with the most shining recent examples being Stone Go To for a widely distributed brand, and less available I've had Lawson's Super Session Citra (Citra, Amarillo released this week), Russian River Dribble Belt, Alpine Baby Face, all excellent beers.
     
  5. Guzzle_McBrew

    Guzzle_McBrew Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2014 Connecticut

    Dribble belt is an APA, although I feel there is sometimes little distinction between APA and Session IPA. It is definitely tasty, though.
     
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  6. Treyliff

    Treyliff Grand Pooh-Bah (5,025) Aug 10, 2010 West Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Most of the ones I've had just taste like pale ales to me.
     
  7. SaCkErZ9

    SaCkErZ9 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,057) Feb 27, 2005 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    How the hell is a beer with 4.2% abv considered an IPA? That's like saying Guinness is an Imperial Stout! I thought I was annoyed at this "style" before, but now I am completely perturbed.
     
  8. ToddThompson

    ToddThompson Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2012 North Carolina

    Totally agree with the "HopWater" description. This change from mostly Two Hearted's and Dirtwolf's to Session IPAs has not been kind. All these sessions are really missing the mark and are extremely thin but hey, I'm still enjoying an IPA and not getting "as" fat
     
  9. WhatANicePub

    WhatANicePub Zealot (712) Jul 1, 2009 Scotland

    IPA is traditionally a low-to-medium-strength beer.
     
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  10. TillTheMedicineTakes

    TillTheMedicineTakes Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2014 Colorado

    Fat Slim from Oskar Blues is my favorite so far.
    Beats Go-To, Union Jack (even though the nose on this is great),nooner..and others I can't recall.
     
  11. sharpski

    sharpski Grand Pooh-Bah (3,100) Oct 11, 2010 Oregon
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Because the terms "style" and "marketing descriptor" get used interchangeably, even if they're not very similar. It hurts less if you don't try to shoehorn marketing terms into the BJCP or other style guides. "Session IPA" is used to sell beer on shelves, that's all.
     
  12. MNAle

    MNAle Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2011 Minnesota

    Defending the "purity" of the IPA style is an interesting position given the wide variations out there. The American IPA has endless variations which bear only passing resemblance to the original IPA style (English). BTW, the English IPA is lower ABV than American, generally.

    The real question in this thread (:wink:) should be is 4.9-5% ABV a session beer? :slight_smile:
     
  13. dortenzio1991

    dortenzio1991 Crusader (486) Aug 12, 2011 Connecticut

    I just recently tried Two Raods Lil Heaven. Quite tasty for a session IPA
     
  14. Danny1217

    Danny1217 Initiate (0) Jul 15, 2011 Florida

    I hope no one gets upset at me for saying this, but that Lawson's beer is probably rated that high because anything Lawson's and anything with a bunch of citra gets inflated ratings.
     
    PSU_Mike, dedbeer, macesq and 2 others like this.
  15. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,463) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Agree completely. I used to think the "hop tea" comments about session IPAs were uncalled for, then I had Stone Go To and understood where some people were coming from.
     
  16. GreenMtnMike

    GreenMtnMike Initiate (0) May 30, 2013 Pennsylvania

    I received a few cans of Ponto in a trade and really enjoyed them. Thanks for the heads up on Sunshine Daydream, can't wait to check it out.
     
  17. Domingo

    Domingo Grand Pooh-Bah (4,252) Apr 23, 2005 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah

    While I also despise the term "session IPA" (or anything else that ends in "IPA" needlessly), I do think these beers deviate pretty from from APA's, too. They're their own style, unfortunately.

    Before it's too late, maybe we should start calling them "American Session Ale" or even just "Mild Hoppy Ale" before it's too late. Give it a year and we'll have "Imperial Session IPA" - mark it down.
     
  18. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,463) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Remember that these labels we assign beers are always changing. Greene King IPA is 3.6% and has been brewed for over 100 years.
     
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  19. bulletrain76

    bulletrain76 Maven (1,311) Nov 6, 2007 California

    I'll take my favorite session IPAs over almost any higher alcohol IPA almost all the time these days. They're different styles of beer, plain and simple. You've got to want to drink a lighter beer to like them. I generally like lighter beers, and I like hops. Not everyone wants to drink 6%+ beer all the time and the market is clearly reflecting that.
     
    BrooDood, thomda11, GuitarIPA and 3 others like this.
  20. geneseohawk

    geneseohawk Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2008 Illinois

    I never knew they weren't any good to start? Improving? No. Becoming more popular and others brewing them-yes. I like them....
     
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