If you want there to be session IPAs that aren’t just pale ales by another name, here’s how you could make one.īeer enthusiasts differ on what they describe as session beers. Ditto all the British pale ale substyles. American amber ales and American pale ales overlap somewhat. This definition might overlap slightly with pale ale, but that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Using these criteria, we could perhaps slice out a little piece of “style space” that could reasonably be called session IPA. And finally, IPAs are usually more dry than pale ales - and frequently this means a smaller contribution of crystal malts. IPAs are more hoppy than a pale ale that we can manage. IPAs are stronger than pale ales, but of course that difference will either disappear - or be inverted - in a session IPA. How would we do that? Pale ales and IPAs are similar beers, of course, but they have some key differences. Whatever you think about the name, let’s consider for the moment if we can brew a beer called session IPA and make it distinct from pale ale. (They’re shrimp, but they’re bigger than regular shrimp.) On the other hand, others might claim that the word “session” modifies “IPA,” and is thus a perfectly valid descriptor, in much the same way “jumbo shrimp” is. If a beer is not strong, it’s not an IPA. An IPA is a relatively strong, hoppy beer. Some brewers might see the term “session IPA” as oxymoronic. Otherwise, why make up a new name for something that already has a perfectly recognizable name? (Money would be one answer, of course.) If you label a beer “session IPA,” that ought to have a meaning - and there should be some way of distinguishing it from other things, in this case pale ale. On the other hand, as a writer, I have this crazy idea that words mean something. However, you can also formulate beers without regards to style and have them be wonderful. Historically, some combinations of ingredients of techniques have yielded great beers, and many of these have been enshrined as beer styles. I don’t really care much about beer styles. Beer drinkers either said, “Awesome, now I can get more hoppy goodness, and not have to stop after a couple,” or, “Hey great idea, but I liked it better when it was called pale ale.” When session IPAs first arrived, they tended to get one of two reactions. Founders Brewing’s All Day IPA was one of the first entries in this category, and continues to be one of the best-known. A session IPA supposedly combines the hoppiness of an IPA with the lower alcohol content of a session beer. One style (or substyle) of beer that has emerged recently is session IPA. Not quite an IPA, but is it just a pale ale? (Also, it’s a tasty beer, so does the name matter?)īeers with “IPA” in their name tend to sell well and commercial brewers are keen to have those three letters on their labels.
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