Why no Session Beers?

[Horst]

ok, so i just got back from a trip to california, and we did the OBF along the way...

fisrt of all, it's crazy what kind of beers you guys can find out there. every time i was in a Whole Foods, i had to spend a half an hour deciding which 2 bottles i could take with. some of those bad boys bring a pretty penny too. all you who have more than 5 styles of beer at your local, count your blessings. I live in a place where i can get a good lager, but nothing belgian, nothing hoppy. gotta brew those myself.

but please someone explain to me why it's impossible to find anything under 6%!! i know it's been going that direction for some time now, but what about us "Volume drinkers" who want to enjoy 3 or more pints? I guess my eyes were a little too big, so i picked up a bomber of the double-Alt from Widmer. you need to have a 10 member homebrew-club to finish that thing! I guess i missed that 2 year period where you start drinking IPAs, and finish with the 10% russian stout. and maybe the "intensity" everyone is looking for can not be portrayed in your standard 4.8%er, otherwise the balance is off. and i guess you need that punch in the gut or else no one remembers your beer. well here's to forgettable beers!!

maybe the few beers i got to try were just not the most balanced, and had i more time, i would find a few more enjoyable examples.

now if i have to say something positive, i have to give Pliny respect. unfortunately i have only had 3 bottles of it in my life, but i remember each one. This is certainly a beer to savour, and remember.

i think i just wanted to yell at someone about all the strong beers, back there in Cali, but now i cant muster up the aggro like i was feelin at the time. probably a good thing.

[Mylo]

Had the same thought at NHC club night. I found a bunch of imperial this and that - good for a pint every once in a while - but nothing I can get my whole Sunday afternoon grove on. The motto is apparently go big or go home. It seems like a lot of beer events are going this way.

I immediately went back home and brewed a Scottish 70/-...


Mylo

[BeerPal]

I suspect that the lack of American "session" beers is due to the fact that the craft beer movement in this country was a reaction to the very light, low alcohol, low-taste, mass-produced swill that has dominated the American beer scene for decades. Further, the "pub" as it is known in the U.K. and Europe did not really exist here until the advent of the brewpub and the craft beer industry 20 years ago. So Americans as a society did not spend a lot of time in a drinking establishment with the wife drinking an afternoon away, socializing with the neighbors. A bar was a place to go and get drunk on hard alcohol or to drink whatever beer was available while watching a ball game with a buddy.

So, in a way, America really has had nothing but session beers since Prohibition ended until the craft beer movement came about. That being said, I have seen some honest-to-God session beers being craftbrewed locally. I think as we evolve as a beer drinking society, that will become more and more prevalent.

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

I suspect that the lack of American "session" beers is due to the fact that the craft beer movement in this country was a reaction to the very light, low alcohol, low-taste, mass-produced swill that has dominated the American beer scene for decades. Further, the "pub" as it is known in the U.K. and Europe did not really exist here until the advent of the brewpub and the craft beer industry 20 years ago. So Americans as a society did not spend a lot of time in a drinking establishment with the wife drinking an afternoon away, socializing with the neighbors. A bar was a place to go and get drunk on hard alcohol or to drink whatever beer was available while watching a ball game with a buddy.

So, in a way, America really has had nothing but session beers since Prohibition ended until the craft beer movement came about. That being said, I have seen some honest-to-God session beers being craftbrewed locally. I think as we evolve as a beer drinking society, that will become more and more prevalent.

I agree with you, and add that our idea of a session beer was pushed by the macros to sell more "less filling" beer. As Mylo pointed out, a lot of the things at NHC were Imperials or doubles. What few session beers there were hard to find. Look at the scores on BeerAdvocate. High alcohol, limited release beers get the highest score, and are always on the top ten list they produce, with nary a session beer in sight. Even most homebrewers want to brew as big as they can. BYO even published a recipe for a 25% alcohol beer! Browse these forums and see how many posts say "I want to boost the alcohol on this normally low alcohol style."

[Guido]

Actually, I attended a beer fest in Central PA this summer, and there were three different session beers on tap. I had never seen one before. They are out there, but you might have to look. Zymurgy's upcoming issue will be on session beers, by the way.

[crupp]

You know…I think that this is a great question…I’ve often found myself thinking the same thing. I had the great opportunity to live in the UK for a few months, and I really enjoyed drinking six to eight well crafted pints, walking home, and waking up for work without a hangover.
I agree with a lot of what has been said here in that brewers (professional and home) brew the big ones because they can. BeerPal is spot on with his comment that

in a way, America really has had nothing but session beers since Prohibition ended until the craft beer movement came about.

I also think that, when you get to the big festivals, it turns into a “mine is bigger than yours” competition.

All that being said, I think that there are two reasons that the session beers are not as prevalent here in the US:

1) A lot (not all)of people that go to a brew pub or a bottle shop prefer the bigger beers. The brewer makes them for the same reason that most every brewpub has a light ale or lager on tap…they need to sell beer.
2) The second reason is (and I think that I may take some shit for this) is that it’s much easier to brew something big. I guess it’s equivalent to brewing a great pilsner…not much to hide behind.

Like Mylo, I’m trying my best to make a great Mild or 60/-. I don’t often sit down with the intention of killing twelve beers, but hey…sometime you get the urge.

I don’t know…just my two cents.

[Horst]

Tru dat about the age of light lagers.

but i for one dont go along with the vibe "everything AB does is evil" but we don't need to get into that here. and it makes sense that the movement goes in the other direction for a while.

right.. nothing to hide behind, good point.

so who knows of someone producing "excellent" session beers? iit's hard, cause it's rarely like "wow, you gotta try this!", so i understand the way the biggies get their air-time. and i can get into that myself. but because i was only on vacation, and had limited time to experience the wonderful flora that is west coast beer, it was unfortunate.

[summy]

Not sure if this was mentioned above or not (just scanned the posts). Read on the AHA that a mild was voted best beer at the Great British Beer Festival this year.