Inherent Flaw In Session IPA's

Agree and when it comes down to a choice are you going to pound 2-3 cans of BMC or a session IPA when it's 90 and you are thirsty?

 

Pretty sure it was not calked an IPA originally. Changed for marketing?

The cans call it session ale not IPA


Enjoy

 

I did and hated it. It was one and done and I forced the other 5 on guests. No love for that at my house.

 

lol neither!

Beer doesn't quench thirst - gimme water any day...

Beer-wise, I drink whatever I have or crave - outdoor temperature isn't often a factor as I usually drink indoors with the a/c on when its hot *stays cool*

 

I like to describe it as a fist full of hop pellets dropped in club soda. No malt backbone. I've only tasted 2 session IPAs that have seemed to avoid that flavor and it is Green Flash Citra Session and Two Roads Lil' Heaven.

 

alcohol \thread

 

For me it comes down to this. I would choose to drink 4 pale ales over 5 or 6 session IPA's any day of the week.

 

BOAT BEER
Session Ale
ABV: 4.2% | IBU: 35 | SRM: 3.5

Boat Beer is designed to be complex enough to merit drinking a few without being crippled by alcohol. Kolsch yeast and German malts are combined to be crisp and refreshing, while a generous amount of American hops have been added to keep it remarkable. Expect it to dance out of the glass with a whack of grapefruit and open into a crisp, stony tangle of white and yellow fruit with pine and moss notes. An IPA for everyday drinking, drink boat beer when you are thirsty from softball, fishing, or explaining why your team is best.

 

Session beers are inherently watery, because they are nearly all water. This is a feature, not a bug. If you’re not used to this idea you’re probably not going to enjoy them.

 

BMC

 

Session IPAs are craft's version of light beer. There's no such thing as a "wow" light beer nor is there one that will overwhelm you with flavor.

The problem I have with this faux category of beer is that when you slap "IPA" on a beer (even if it has session in front of it) some people are going to expect the beer to share some of the same characteristics as an actual IPA. It does not. Well, it does but only in the most technical sense.

Adjust your expectations, people. These are, to paraphrase a relative of mine, drinkin' beers not thinkin' beers. Find one that's palatable and drink it. If you're not a volume drinker or you're not engaging in an actual session, there's really no reason to bother with these things.

 

The inherent flaw is the BU:GU ratio. Ray Daniels may be old school but some truths don't change every 20 years or so, Making a 4% ABV beer with 60-70 IBUs is never gonna be OK.

Now a 4% ABV beer that attenuates no lower than 1.012 or 1.013, with 40-45 IBUs and a metric shit ton of whirlpool and dry hops...there's only a couple of these out there and surprise, they're everybody's fave.

 

There is clearly a huge market for the session style, IPA or not, based on the fact that more and more breweries are producing beers that fit the bill.
While a session ale (or session IPA) might not always be my first choice, I feel like the style definitely has it's place. It sure has it's place in the market share..

 

Does anyone else hate (or to express it more literally) strongly dislike the term "session" IPA? It makes me cringe

 

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28609/114884/

Like this one that's local which I drank last night, fittingly called, "Whirlpool"? And also fittingly one of the highest ranked "session IPAs" on this site? (it's labeled a pale ale)

 

Whether it's called an IPA or simply a Pale Ale is entirely at the brewer's discretion.
IPA is an ancient style and has existed in many forms over the years. And some brewers such as Bass called its IPA just Pale Ale anyway.In the UK the style evolved into what is basically bitter and although there are some who say that beers like Greene King IPA isn't really an IPA.But it's historically correct to say it is.In any case, nobody brews anything remotely like the beers which gave the style its name so actually what defines an IPA?

 

I was mentioning it simply for completeness. Because if someone looks it up on this website they will not find it under the “American IPA” style.

 

I tried Boat for the first time recently. Still had that same flaw that the OP mentioned.

 

Then, the style is not for you. Moving on.

 

on the website and the can we call it a "session ale" in the description of intention and flavor we refer to "ipa for everyday drinking." fitting "boat is meant to be a session beer for people that enjoy double ipa's" was almost impossible.