Inherent Flaw In Session IPA's

I hate the effect of "session" IPAs seem to mean that every new brewery IPA needs to be 7-8% ABV and 80-90 IBUs instead of the more reasonable 5-6% and 60-70 IBUs. And get away charging $1 more per pint. But they are also covering up their otherwise poor brewing practices so it is a win/win for them.

We just moved the IPA scale up for no real purpose other than being stupid and making some more money. The British have probably been thinking that about us Americans for a long time.

 

I agree here. You need just the right amount to tie it all together, Session IPAs just kill my palate. If I want low Abv I'd really prefer Miller Lites. I think Lwasons make awesome beers, just killer IPAs, but even their session beer was just ridiculous. I love bitter beers, stuff like Furious, Hopsickle really work, but they're not a one trick pony.

 

In the US, on a Federal level while beer is not taxed based on alcohol level (a few states' excise taxes are) and is thus "flat" in that respect, "larger operations" pay the full tax rate of $18/barrel while those brewers under 2 million barrels a year pay a discounted rate of $7/barrel on their first 60,000 bbl of production. --- TTB Beer Excise Tax Rate

So, the Federal excise tax on a 67¢ can of Bud from a 30 pk is about a nickel while a $2 can from your local 10k bbl/yr microbrewery's mobile canning unit paid the Feds about 2¢.

 

What beer was that?

 

It would be economy of scale working.

 

Is anyone else just tired of people trying to protect us from the evil intentions of craft brewers and their flawed and crummy session beers?

I cannot understand why people have such a hard time grasping the concept that the brewers came out with a variation of highly hopped low alcohol beers to satisfy the demand that was there in the most popular craft beer style in America. After higher and higher IPA/DIPA beers, this was a natural move and has been a successful one on their parts. Perhaps the name is what some are hung up on. Session ale?-- who cares what you call it? Craft brewers didn't want to call it "light IPA" but essentially that is what they are. Marketing? OK but again who cares?

It also seems some are perceiving that beer drinkers are being "swindled" on the lower alcohol and similar price. Most folks I see with these know EXACTLY what they are drinking and chose it intentionally.

Haters, get over it. Don't buy them if you don't like them. I for one find it another attractive option on the beach for a hop bite with lower alcohol.

 

There are better options than Boat. Boat's decent for a session, but it still has that hoppy water flavor that they all do. The best one I've had is probably Otter Creek Over Easy. And I agree with whoever said you can't have a session after a good IPA or DIPA.

 

Haha

 

Well, that's just dead wrong cos the ABV's of IPA's in particular had been creeping up steadily for a good while before session IPA's hit any kind of national distribution pattern because breweries got caught in the oneupmanship boysclub cycle of making their IPA's bigger, and louder than everyone else's. I'd say to that West Coast breweries in particular were responsible for creating this abv creep.

 

I didn't want to buy into the Boat hype (sorry Jersey), but after having it for the first time over MDW, man, that stuff is good.

Definitely passes Lil Heaven as my favorite Session IPA.

 

I've had neither (though I wish I had), but I recently had a Lawson's Sip of Sunshine followed by Lawson's Super Session #2. Far from seeming watered down, the SS#2 was incredible. If they canned that, it would possibly become my go to beer. Clearly it was built "ground up" to be perfectly balanced between alcohol, hops, malt and mouthfeel. I'd say it was more delicate than Sip, certainly, but had flavor in the same way watermelon has flavor that is subtle and delicious, if less intense than a strawberry.

 

Hanging out Sunday night I had an O'Dub followed by 4 Boats. It was the perfect sequence for a work night, and was more than satisfying. Each Boat just gets more interesting one after another and 077xx is a balanced enough beer it doesn't run over the bright bitter grapefruit flavor of Boat it actually magnifies it.

 

For anyone in the distro for Summit, Surly, and/or Central Waters looking for a "session" ale (American definition - under 5% ABV, and not including Kölsch or Blonde styles), I would recommend:

1. Summit Hopvale Organic Ale. This is a new beer from Summit, and it is very tasty. 4.7% ABV.
2. Surly Bitter Brewer. Summer seasonal. Surly's take on an English-style bitter, which is rare since most craft brewers go for ESB, and not a bitter. 4.0% ABV, so this one actually also fits the English definition of "session."
3. Central Waters Hop Rise. The only one of these that claims to be a Session IPA even though its IBU is actually the lowest of these 3, but it is very flavorful. 4.5% ABV.

 

Pinner is one of the best session ipas out there. It's better than a lot of breweries regular ipas

 

Does it pair well with Doritos?

 

Two people I know and respect, but those are still both total guesses. I don't think we'll ever know how strong Hodgson's Pale Ale was. One point I'd make: in the late 18th century and early 19th century British beer strengths dropped because of the increased malt tax to pay for wars.

 

Ergo, the use of the word opinion twice.

Cheers!

 

I've tried my fair share and am open to the concept even if it is somewhat counterintuitive. Somebody may have commented on this already, but my question is, at what ABV does a beer qualify as "sessionable?" The best example I can share is with Widmer's new session Replay IPA. I actually enjoy it and think it is one of the better session IPAs I've tried, but they also used to make the X-114 IPA which to me was one of the easiest drinking and full flavored IPAs I ever had and came in at only 6% ABV, which to me seems totally sessionable. The Replay is different and not just a watered down IPA even at 4.5%, so I can appreciate what they are doing, but I also wish they would just bring back the X-114 permanently.

Also, does sessionable only refer to the ABV or should it also include drinkability? Like I said, the X-114 was very drinkable because it was so crisp and refreshing unlike some other IPAs which may be unfiltered or overly bitter/dry. In this case it doesn't really matter what the ABV is for me as I'm unlikely to put back more than a few IPAs which fall into the latter category.

For my money, the best "sessionable" IPA by my standards right now might be SN's Hop Hunter. Very crisp and easy drinking and I think it's only 6.2%.

 

@G_Z_a ... "Sessionable" is like "cheesy" (as in food); a term used when the real term would be inaccurate. A food can be "cheesy" while containing no actual cheese whatsoever. Likewise, a beer is called "sessionable" when it, in fact, is not a session beer.

On this site, the term "session beer" is defined:

session beer
n.
Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish - a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. (link)

Historically, "session beer" was (so I've read on this site and elsewhere) an English term that meant no higher than 4% ABV.

 

Overall i agree with the OP. I'm sure part of it has to do with i drink quite a bit of high ABV IPA's which may sku my opinion. However some Sessions, like Carton Boat, is a great representation of the style.