What is session beer

So, a session is a lower-alcohol beer without quite being a low-alcohol beer. The difference is in the numbers - low-alcohol beers are those under 1. The enjoyment of beer should primarily be through taste, not how much it gets you drunk. Intoxication is, of course, an enjoyable side effect — up to a point. The history of session beer is quite murky. In more modern times, it experienced a resurgence as a sort of backlash to high-alcohol beers.

Craft ale brewing nerds were caught in a bit of an arms race back in the mids, with independent breweries sometimes coasting on the shock value of really strong beers. The customer appetite was clearly there for something more relaxing and less extreme, and sessions gradually became more popular again.

Now we have more health-conscious customers seeking refreshment, and a wider social acceptance for when we just want a lighter night and less of a hangover.

So, the session beer has some memorable characteristics. Our very own Seven Brothers Session Ale is a best-seller, both in the brewhouse and in the cans. During these two sessions, artillery shell production workers were allowed to drink low- ABV offerings.

The thinking being this was that they could still focus on work and not get too disorderly, while being a whole lot happier on the factory line. The purpose of a Session Beer is to allow the beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period, or session , without reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. In the U. Lew Bryson, a noted beer and spirits writer who founded The Session Beer Project in , believes the absolute maximum for a session beer should be 4.

Bryson takes his definition a step further, though. Most beer enthusiasts know that an India Pale Ale is a beer style that is known for being extremely hoppy. The color of a beer is created by the color of its malts — nothing more, nothing less. Like most classic beer styles, the modern American craft beer movement of the past two decades has completely revitalized, modernized, and even bastardized what a session beer can be.

Think session lagers and pilsners have to be fizzy, yellow, and watery? Try a session IPA, the paradoxical style that has arisen with abundance in the last few years. Think session ales have to be balanced? But some people may not prefer the average six percent ABV of these beers, and some occasions may call for something with a lower ABV.

Steele is the former Brewmaster for Stone Brewing Co. It was shipped to India, where it was received by English and Scottish troops. What separates an I. According to Steele, the hardest thing about brewing a session I. Fewer malts and grains are used per barrel in the process of making a lower-alcohol beer, so when brewing a session I.