OT: Session IPA

[jtbadge]

Busch and Hamm’s are for drinking all day. And taste better than session IPAs.

[ScottW]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

...hopefully cooler heads prevail over the next couple of years and the good ol' Pale Ale comes back in vogue.

With breweries seeing robust sales using recipes that allow them to cheap out on the grain bill, the session IPAs aren't going away anytime soon. But I think this style will slowly fade and be overtaken by something else as consumers (myself included) give up on them.

My recollection (hazy though it may be) is that about 15 years ago you could hardly walk into a bar without seeing people drinking hefeweizens with an orange slice on the rim, regardless of which time of year it was. Seemed like every brewery on the planet made a hef. I definitely see less of that now.

[fignon's barber]

Originally Posted by pdxharth

I suggest looking at modern pale ales. Then tend to be around 5% and brewers are using hop profiles that are more akin to modern IPAs, but just using less. It's different from the session IPA, and in my opinion, much better overall as a daily drinker because of the better balance. My go-to beers right now, and I just save IPAs as a treat.

This right here.

[rab]

Originally Posted by fignon's barber

This right here.

Also agree. Pale ales imo are sorely neglected in the common brewery/brewpub beer lineup. Love a solid single hop pale ale and wish more brewers would play with these, also a great way for people to get familiar w the different hop profiles.

I’ve settled for sessions a number of times just because I don’t want the high abv. Lately been going for something like a golden ale as a good option.
But if you just want hoppy, often way over the top hoppy, without the high alcohol content then the sessions fill that niche I guess.

After a week in Utah and way too many 4.0s though, it will be a while before I bash a session perhaps?

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by CDollarsign

Session IPAs are for when you want to booze all day i.e. drinking session. There are some fine examples that don't go by that moniker.

Yup. When I lived in England in the 1990's the typical tied pub where I lived, Liverpool in the north west, might have a bitter, best bitter and if you were lucky, mild on hand pumps. The alcohol content of these beers might be something like 4.0%, 5.2% and 3.4% respectively, and the best ones were quite tasty. Of course you had American styled lagers which the big breweries would prefer you to buy, as they were cheap to make, serve and fetched a higher price.

If you went to the pub with your friends, say a group of 6, there was a good chance you were going to drink 6 22oz. (Imperial) pints, because everyone bought a round. So a some low abv, lightly carbonated session beer was just the thing. Tennant's Super is not what you need in this situation....

[Hakkalugi]

I haven’t found a session IPA I liked. They all made me feel over-full and the flavors were bland at best. I’m just going to start training so I can go all day on 7% and higher standard IPAs. It’s all about setting your goals.

[K3RRY]

I learned some cool stuff in this thread. Thanks all.

Anyone tried Elysian IPA? If you haven’t and find it at your local store, try it. Delicious and potent.

[Tim Porter]

I'm pretty sure that the "session" moniker refers to pub sessions in Ireland, et al., where there's music, beer, conversation, over a long afternoon/evening. So the beer would be not too heavy or strong.

I've had some Founders Session that I did not like, for the record.

[saab2000]

For years I was local to “HQ”, as we cyclists fondly called the Founders taproom. Their IPAs are best enjoyed on site after a long ride. I don’t understand the concept of a “nice” IPA because most taste like crap and are hard to drink.

I will buy Founders beers but mostly their Breakfast Stout and never the IPAs when sold retail.

Founders taproom is worth the drive if within a few hours. Bring your bike and plan some riding as Grand Rapids has some good riding in all directions. End at Founders and plan to spend the night at one of the hotels within walking distance of the taproom.

[Tandem Rider]

Brewing Beer is all about balance and picking the appropriate beer(s) for the day. To my palate, every session beer is out of balance, all hops. I love IPAs and good hops, don't get me wrong, after a long hot ride or working in the heat all day a Pale Ale is so refreshing, but I can't even choke one down after working in the cold all day. To me, winter is the time for Stouts, Dubbels, Quads, etc. the malts are much more pleasing to the palate. That reminds me, fresh hop beers are coming into season around here... if you haven't had one, it's worth a trip to try. They pick the hops and rush them to the kettle, hopefully in the same morning. Most beers are made from hops that are dried and shipped to the brewery.

[oldpotatoe]

The session IPA. But why do all session IPA's taste like a bottle of Pine Sol?

I get a kick out of beer threads..Seems like if ya ride a bike ya gotta like various IPAs..
and ya gotta like dogs too,
and washing yer car....
and ton's o' time fancy brewed coffee

Never drank an IPA I liked, sorry..
and I have 'had' cats
and don't wash my car..
and have a Kuerig

sorry...

Busch and Hamm’s are for drinking all day. And taste better than session IPAs.

[redir]

Originally Posted by rab

Also agree. Pale ales imo are sorely neglected in the common brewery/brewpub beer lineup. Love a solid single hop pale ale and wish more brewers would play with these, also a great way for people to get familiar w the different hop profiles.

I’ve settled for sessions a number of times just because I don’t want the high abv. Lately been going for something like a golden ale as a good option.
But if you just want hoppy, often way over the top hoppy, without the high alcohol content then the sessions fill that niche I guess.

After a week in Utah and way too many 4.0s though, it will be a while before I bash a session perhaps?

I'm headed to Utah monday for two weeks. I've not been there since the 90's when iirc it was state law that you could not go over 4.2 or something like that. I thought those laws changed? I remember going to a brew pub I believe in Moab and being very disappointing. I could tell they were trying to do their best but the law kept them from achieving it. By trying to stay under 4.2 it seems to me kept the brewer from achieving his goals.