Break from the Extreme. It's Session Time

After Black Friday at Capone's and before the Anniversary madness this Saturday at TJ's, it's the perfect time to explore the lighter side.  No, I didn't bump my head and suddenly have a craving for a few macro lights. With a momentary break from the extreme why not settle down and go in the session direction.

If anyone were to follow my beer footprint they would think the idea of session beers were completely lost on me. Tongue numbing IPAs, sours, barrel aged beers and high abv seasonals remain my favorite.  However to stay somewhat well rounded and improve my overall beer experience I'm slowly exploring lower abv options. Having a few beers that don't end up hitting like a mammoth fist to the skull makes sense. Besides, retaining the ability to form fully comprehensible sentences only adds to the social experience.

But what is a session beer?  Some will scream nothing over 4% abv. Other opinions take it over 5%.  Who is right? I'm placing my personal ceiling at 5.5%. Having a few drafts ranging between 5.0-5.5% and declaring them in the session range won't sit well with some session purists.  However, if you thrive in the land of big abv, enjoying a few that are slightly beyond 5% seems comfortable and very session worthy.

While talking to friends whose tastes, like mine, tend to lean toward big beer I found that most have the misconception that lower abv means little flavor. I admit it, it use to be the first thing that popped into my head after hearing, session beer.  I want big flavor. Nothing thin and watery in my glass.  The three beers I used in my session experiment had no problem bringing the flavor and one even took it to an unexpected level.

If you're going to try a session beer doesn't it make sense to try one that literally screams session on the label?  That's why

Full Sail Brewing's Session Lager (5.1%) and Session Black Lager (5.4%) seemed like no brainers.  Not so fast.  After some quick research it turns out these beers aren't called session for there lower abv.  Full Sail's Executive Brewmaster Jamie Emmerson explains in an article in The Metro West Daily News.

Emmerson said people should not be confused about the name "session." In beer geek language, session usually refers to a low-alcohol beer, usually less than 4 percent alcohol by volume. Both of these session beers are over 5 percent. The Session actually refers to windsurfing sessions on the Columbia River, although Emmerson said, compared to other West Coast beers, the Session and Session Black are low alcohol.  "In the Northwest, that is a session beer," he said.

Ok, good enough for me. So lets declare them Northwest session beers.  I started with the Session Lager.  Straw like in color, grainy aroma and a thin white head all scream macro. Thankfully it's better than what the big boys are putting out. Clean and crisp upfront with some sweetness. Biscuit/cereal flavors lead to subtle hop bitterness in the finish.  Nothing earth shattering but better than expected.  If it were 90 degrees and I was mowing the backyard this beer iced in a cooler would be a slice of heaven.

The Session Black works better with the current chilly Northeast conditions.  Dark in color with mild bitter roastiness. A touch of sweetness sneaks in with some dark chocolate and smoke. Again nothing off the chart but it's more complex than it's sibling. It definitely serves it's purpose as a flavorful easy drinking beer.  

The real surprise came from Stone's collaboration beer, San Diego County Session Ale (4.2%). Go figure it takes Stone to make a session beer I can truly love.  From the makers of the extreme comes a session beer with some smack.  Ya want bitter and big hops?  This delivers.  The pine hop effect is there with a sharp bitterness and herbal quality that makes you take notice. Where a well balanced IPA or DIPA may have some malt sweetness to balance the bitter bite San Diego Session is a hop show from start to finish. Not a bad thing. Slide a dozen extra spicy Buffalo wings next to a pint of this on football Sunday and you're livin'!

Ok, so whether or not the Session Lager, Session Black and San Diego Session are true session beers is debatable.  The abv on all should have most feeling fine even after a few. If your doing the session thing and need a flavorful smack to the tongue San Diego Session and Session Black make it happen.