Summer of Session IPAs

I was pretty much anti Session IPAs when they first came out and I kept thinking, "What's the point?!?" with each one I tried...too bitter and "one note", too watery, just overall pretty meh to me. But I'll admit that something has changed for me recently and I have come across quite a few now that I have enjoyed (maybe breweries are just getting better at them and perfecting the style?) and I am open to trying more now.

I think this style will continue to grow and I am seeing new ones popping up and it does seem like this style could be the sweet spot for many folks.

 

Do you have links for all of this official information. I could be wrong, but I thought a standard beer was 5% abv. in 12 oz. I've also seen wine listed as anywhere from 3 - 5 oz.

If by "over there" you mean the UK, there's a litany of beers in the 3 to 4% abv range. I went to NERAX here in the US last month. Pouring at this cask ale festival were multiple pale ales, golden ales, milds, and bitters in firkins shipped from the UK that fell into this abv range.

And to stay on topic, Ballast Point's Even Keel is one of my favorite "session IPAs" clocking in at 3.8%.

Couldn't agree more, I was the same way. I feel like there's more hits lately than misses. The advent of the "whirl pool" seems to help immensely. I had faith US brewer's would begin to figure this out, if they're good at one thing, it's brewing with hops.

 

Well 16 Oz is an American Pint and 12 Oz is a bottle pint and that is all you will see an adjunct lager or session beer in. The stats are very easy to look up, i believe my first search landed me on Huffington Post, I did a "top 10 beer sales 2014" and it got me straight to that info. What other official info you need?

Average beer abv per a google search =
4.5%-5% beer 5.9% craft beer
12-14% wine
37-40%+ spirits

Anymore specific info you need that I got is more than likely a 2 second Google search, I encourage you to try it yourself

 

The reason why some people tried to redefine session beer in the US , as mentioned in an earlier post , was simply that few low gravity beers actually existed in the US.
The original definition of the term arose through happenstance but more recently the physiological effect justified it.
Alcohol is dehydrating.Water is hydrating by definition.The two components of beer oppose each other.The balance seems to be at 4% ABV ; above that beer dehydrates and below that it is thirst quenching.So despite its origins the 4% cutoff is logical.You can call stronger beers "session" if you wish, it just won't do the job of one.

 

I'm not questioning the top 10 beers in 2014. Regardless, a few items to note.

1) If you're going to reply to someone, please quote their post directly by hitting the "+Quote" or "Reply" buttons in the bottom right hand corner of the post. Or you can simply type, @BAusername to alert the person you've responded to them. You've now replied to both my own and @marquis's posts by replying to the thread only. All users do not continuously check each thread they reply to, and may not see your response. I noticed that you joined two months ago and may not realize this.

2) A "google search" is not in any way a useful or official source of information. I encourage you to follow @jesskidden and his incredibly informative posts and links to useful information. Simply replying with, "I google searched it" and then claiming someone's opinion is "literally irrelevant" because you did so, does not prove anything.

 

Where is this definition you keep referring to? I'd like to read it.

 

I tend to agree, but at 5.6 ABV it is a bit hefty for a true session ale. Oh well, I guess one man's session is another man's....uh....not session.

 

Not on draft! 5% ABV

 

I've had some awful "Session" Ipas but I've also had some great ones. I don't mind trying them but I think the breweries are going a bit overboard. Don't get me wrong Session ipas are my go to in the summer,but I don't think everyone needs to jump into it. Specially paying $13.99 for a 3.2% "IPA"

 

It's funny that you say that. It's just another brewery jumping on the bandwagon. Years ago when "Sessions" first starting coming into play,I had a harpoon salesman complaining saying that HARPOON IPA was and is the first "Session" IPA. I was very amused when I saw them doing a session ipa.

 

FW Easy Jack does not taste like a pale to me. I have only tried 2 session IPAs. Easy Jack is pretty darned tasty.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257708/

Above is the link to the study on pubmed. Below I've quoted the section mentioning 4% ethanol as the cut-off.

"The effects of alcohol on hydration and its diuretic function are historically well recognised. The identification of alcohol as a potent diuretic date back to 1948, where a 10 mL excess urine production was evident following each gram of ethanol consumed [5]. The mechanism subsequently identified is the inhibition of anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) by ethanol [21], although this relationship is evident only in beverages containing greater than 4% (w/v) ethanol [21]."

 

Thanks for that input.
There is of course no governing body in the beer world to decide what is what. You've only got to see those attempts to separate Pale Ale and IPA or Stout and Porter to realise it's a free for all. But that's how it's always been.Session beer in the trade here is well understood though never stated in black and white. Fuller's for example describe their Chiswick Bitter at 3.5% ABV as a session beer, London Pride at 4.1% (more in bottles and cans) is marketed as a Premium strength ale.Landlords in rural areas where customers arrive by car want suitable beer and specify "session strength".......it's not laid down but just generally understood and assumed by the beer trade as a whole.
If "session ale" is negotiable then it's meaningless. That's the way "craft" is becoming. It's used as an inseparable part of the compound noun "craft beer" which when interpreted simply means "beer I like "...

 

I love a great Session IPA but there aren't many great ones around (at least here).

 

That doesn't even mention "session". Perhaps it defines a "non-diuretic alcoholic beverage". It is in no way a definition of "session beer"

 

Yep. This is my issue with the session IPA. Very little depth. I like the taste usually but it thins out so quick that it may as well be hop flavored water. Pales have far more balance, therefore I'll take a quality pale over a session IPA.

 

I was simply replying to his quotation stating the original definition was justified physiologically, and referencing that justification.

 

So there is a colloquial usage of "session beer" where you live. Important knowledge for anyone there, but how do you make the leap to insisting that colloquial usage should serve as a definition in an entirely different part of the world?

A definition .. by definition has to be stated in black and white

 

If a beer tastes good you can call it whatever the hell you want. I like to drink beer that tastes good, be it session IPA, IPA, Pale Ale or whatever.

 

It would also align with "non-intoxicating" beer in the United States. 3.2% ABW (4.0% ABV) beer was legalized in advance of the repeal of Prohibition, by declaring it to be "non-intoxicating", Prohibition ended 9 months later but the 3.2 still lives on in some places like Utah although it's changing even there.