Session Beer

I remember in one of my first beer columns for my old school newspaper, my editor flagged the term "session beer" as a possible typographical error. Now clearly, I don't make errors. But aside from that, I'm not sure "session beer" is a terribly familiar term in the US. A session beer is a beer that's light enough to make a leisurely afternoon drinking without becoming too intoxicated, but that's got enough flavor to support sustained interest as well. Usually this means under 5.0% ABV, though the UK definition is actually under 4.0%. There are plenty of American macrolagers that will satisfy the first requirement (Bud, Coors, Miller, and their light equivalents), but would you really spend an afternoon drinking Budweiser? Me neither.

The challenge is getting a clean hop crispness that stimulates the palate without overwhelming it. Old Speckled Hen is a favorite of mine, but only on tap, where it registers only 4.5%. The bottles and cans, it's 5.2%, which is fine, I suppose. It's bright and flavorful, but a little too malty to be fully refreshing. I do appreciate that it reminds me so much of my time studying at Oxford, and its increasing availability in the US is wonderful news.

My first real session of session beers occurred at the seaside town of Levanto, in Italy. I was there on a singing tour, but we had a free day, so my friends and I found a nice cafe on the boardwalk.

Peroni on the boardwalk: Levanto, Italy.

Ultimately, we drank through their supply of Peroni over the course of four hours. Peroni's not a great beer, but it's crisp enough to sustain interest. We were drinking the regular Peroni - the Peroni Rossa is darker, more malty, and a little too flavorful for a session (though in a one-off setting, I'd take the Rossa, as the classic feels a little watery at times).

Full Sail Session Lager

Now, Full Sail, out of Oregon, has two great session-style beers. I say "session-style" because neither is technically under that 5.0% ABV threshold. Nonetheless, they're really tasty, and because their bottles are smaller, there is less alcohol in each glass. Session Lager is a wonderful little beer with good hopping and clean grassy hops. It's got a light bitterness that's super drinkable, and it's both tasty and reasonably light. Also, the short stubby 11 oz. bottle makes drinking a lot more relaxing.

Full Sail Session Black: A full bottle pour.

And Session Black makes for a wonderfully drinkable dark beer that isn't too heavy. To be sure, I have had some lousy luck with black lagers - usually they're syrupy, sweet, and kind of unpleasant. But this one was great. Despite its much darker color, I found the flavor differential quite mild - yes, there's dark roasted malt and grain, but the flavors aren't so saturated that they overwhelm. Instead, there's a very refreshing finish to this beer that made me want to continue drinking.

I should mention, incidentally, that the undersides of the caps have Rock-Paper-Scissors logos on them, providing a convenient way to decide who buys the next round. And as for Rock-Paper-Scissors, it also shows a fun playfulness and whimsy. Nice job.