Each year, I witness (and, must admit, enjoy) the craft beer breweries marketing hoppier and hoppier beers, as well as increasing the alcohol content and providing a more robust body. I enjoy sipping on the ‘big beers’ such as the Imperial Stouts and the double or, now, ‘Quintuple’ IPAs, but I also like to sit down and have several lighter bodied, yet full mouth feel/full bodied and flavorful, micro crafted beers, especially in the summer.
Hence the session beer.
Simply put, a session beer is a beer with alcohol under 5%, hoppied, but well balanced with no single ingredient dominating your taste buds and not too complex a taste. These are beers that are all grain craft beers, but you are able to drink several at one sitting. I’m not talking about a light beer 'with only half the calories' nor a mass-produced BMC beer, but rather a beer with flavor, lighter month feel, and not taste like you are biting into a grapefruit, or a chocolate bar, or having an alcoholic cup of coffee.
Typically, the session beer is slightly more reasonably priced as well. You will still enjoy the malted barley and hop taste, but able to drink several. The session beer is also a good choice after you’ve had a big brew, say, with 100+ IBU and 8+% ABV.
The session beer is a nice alternative and most breweries market one!
Use the comment section below to list your favorite session beer.
3 comments:
Agree, I love the new beers, but can only have 1 or 2. I just found Narragansett Summer ale - very good, and Full Sail has Pre Prohibition - a lager. Able to have plenty at 'one sitting'.
I feel the craft breweries are now almost fighting to brew and market the "hopiest beer in the industry". I find these beers getting too too hoppied up and too too much alcohol. I just want a good, full flavored beer!
yep. All the craft guys seem to be racing to high octane and big time bitterness. What's wrong with a good full flavored micro craft beer that I can actually drink more than one!
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