Session Beers Two

I love a great Session Beer and luckily it appears that I am not alone. These days there are a greater number of Beers being created in the Craft Beer world that are designed to reach us outliers who seek proportion over heft and subtlety over sheer power. To the obliging brewers I say, thanks!

Sure, the extreme Beers will gather the headlines and that is understandable. Pushing the limits of alcohol strength, hop bitterness, and the use of unusual ingredients makes for a far sexier sound bite than mellow. The problem is that these Beers are too often far more exciting on paper than they are on the palate. Worse yet the accompanying hype compels many Beer adventurists to nod in approval.

So what is a Session Beer? A Session Beer is a Beer that is relatively low in alcohol (5% or lower), balanced in character, and ideally suited for enjoying one after another. A “session” is an extended stay at the pub or perhaps at home with friends or dare I say, alone? You have committed to relaxation and to enjoying a number of adult beverages in the process. The sensible person seeks a mellow drink of moderate strength.

In this Session Beer reprise I have enlisted the thoughts and words of a few like-minded Beer pros. I wanted to create a little virtual roundtable, a session Beer summit of sorts. In the summit are: James Murphy, proprietor of the famous Murphy’s Bleachers in Chicago, Aaron Zacharias, proprietor of The Bar on Buena and the Fountainhead in Chicago, and Lew Bryson, a great Beer & Whiskey writer, when Lew has something to say about Beer – you listen.

First up is Lew. “Session Beers -- and while I'm not a fan of the term either, it's like "beer geek" or "gastropub;" find me something better, and I'll use it! -- are simply another choice for the beer drinker. They're flavorful but low in alcohol, so that when you want to have some pints and relax, you can do that with a certain amount of freedom from the worries of ‘how much did I have?’

I've seen people say 6% beers are Session Beers, maybe. I like to drink beer; sometimes drinking beer is about drinking a lot of it. That's why Germans drink from liter mugs. The thing to remember is that big beers are not crazy, and session beers are not for wimps: they're choices. And choice is what the whole craft Beer movement has always been about, much more than quality or size.”

Some of Lew’s favorites include: Dry stouts, like Sly Fox O'Reilly's and Victory Donnybrook; bitters like 21st Amendment's Bitter American, Coniston Bluebird Bitter, and Wells Bombardier Bitter; lower alcohol porters like Geary's London Porter and the RCH Old Slug Porter; the deliciously drinkable Belgian table Beer Avril, or a sharply spiced wit like Philadelphia Brewing's Walt Wit.

James says, “I tend to get stumped on my favorite Session Beers. Inevitably I ask myself the question, ‘What have I had a few of lately?’ These end up being the everyday beers that reflect the season or my location (or sometimes just my mood). With that in mind, lately I'm trying to squeeze every last bit out of the end of the summer, so I've really been enjoying wheat beers.

This summer in particular, I've been obsessed with Berliner Weiss. I understand that it is not for everyone. Too many people find the sourness abrasive or even, as one of my bartenders put it, tasting of ‘dirty feet’. For me the puckering crispness is a perfect counterpoint for the hot summer we've had in Chicago and leaves me dying for the next sip. It always leaves my mouth a little dry, ready to be rewetted and the low alcohol content makes it a bar owner's best friend.

Moving to something a little less summery, I recently really enjoyed the Plain Porter and Oyster Stout at the Porterhouse on tap in Dublin. Dry Irish Stout may be my favorite type of session beer and the Porterhouse stouts may be the best I've had. Irish stouts are light enough to down one after another over the course of an evening as a footnote to conversation in the pub.”

A few of James’s favorites include: Dr. Briem 1809 Berliner and Wittekerke Belgian White Ale.

Aaron is most often drawn to the classics such as Dry Stouts, Bitters, and Pilsner.
“I usually stand by the classics like Fuller's London Pride on the Ale side and for Pils I utilize the thirst quenching virtues of Jever.” Of the three panelists I have hoisted pints with Aaron most often and can report that he leans toward the cool, crisp Pils.

A few of Aaron’s favorites include: Fly Wheel Lager by Metropolitan Brewing (Chicago), Left Hand Sawtooth Ale, Stone Levitation Ale, “distinctly American yet not over the top.”, and the Porterhouse Wrasslers XXXX Stout, Prima Pils, St. Bernardus Wit.

No go forth and savor a pint or four of your favorite Session Beer.