Session IPA: Should it be its own style?

Oh how conveniently most of us forget the above point.
Says man, "I don't like them and they shouldn't be a style." Well, if they aren't a style, then what do you mean by "them?"

Beer styles are not chiseled into a giant rock and the style list on BeerAdvocate isn't a definitive holy text. If enough brewers are labeling their beers this way... because enough consumers understand what is being conveyed... then you have an exchange of information and a set of expectations. At this moment, whether infuriating or inaccurate, "session ipas" are a thing. Time will tell if this is a small bump in the road or a meaning with staying power. I'm not sure if I agree with myself at all.

 

There is a clear difference between an IPA and a session IPA. Not sure a new category is nessecary but soemthing to differentiate the two probably is.

 

Sure, but they need a new name. Many people find offense just in the name "session IPA" finding it oxymoronic. Others just despise the term "session", and session IPA's are dismissed out of hand. Perhaps if it had adopted the moniker of "Petaluman Ale" (Daytime was the first Session IPA I ever came across, a full year before any other) or any other name they would be treated with higher regard. They are an easy drinking light beer with wonderful hop flavors and aromas, what the hell is wrong with that? They are also a product of American brewing innovation and ingenuity, and I applaud them. Stop bad mouthing progress.

 

Should it be it's own style? Sorry, no.

 

I think it should be its own style. They differ so much from most IPAs that its hard to compare.

 

I completely agree with this. How are we supposed to grade a beer that can't possible come close to the style it's currently in? They are some really good session beers, they have a different purpose and most definitely a different flavor profile than the stronger beers that are currently in the same category. They need their own category so they aren't being compared to something they are not.

 

No.

 

Clearly yall have not had pinner from Oskar Blues. It's better than many breweries attempts at ipas and it itself is a session.

 

No. there are too many "styles" already

 

I think of it as a type of IPA. As in: imperial and milk are types of stouts. Having said that, I never buy them because its a stupid type.

 

Semantics and goal shifting. You will notice, if you read correctly, that my argument is about price. Not about the correct "style" of a pale ale.

 

Mea culpa , I misread the quotation.

 

Friend, I have misread quite a bit about this whole thread. *Plain English*

I am upset with the idea of a session IPA because it seems like a marketing grab by several brewers. I don't know the ins and outs of brewing, but I find it suspect that a brewery like Stone would charge an equal amount for GoTo as the regular Stone IPA. I'd assume the malt content in GoTo would be far less than the malt in IPA. I'd love for @StoneGreg to chime in.

 

No. It's a pale ale

 

yes but the style should not be named "Session" IPA it should be IPA Light!

 

It's already there.....pale ales

 

Session IPAs are only good for summer BBQ season. It's the only time I entertain drinking them.

And they should be renamed hop sodas, not session IPA.

 

Sometimes I think Beer Advocate should be renamed High ABV Advocate.

 

I thought they were.