It seems like I've either made or drunk nothing but big beers lately, so I am looking for a lighter change of pace. What would be better than a light, hoppy, and flavorful beer that you can kick back and have a bunch of while watching the game? How about getting the name right!!! There is no such thing as a "Session IPA"! You know what all these breweries are making: an American Pale Ale. Just on the lower side of the ABV scale. That's it! There's nothing secret or revolutionary here. Does that mean that this is an easy beer to pull off? Nope. Go try some "Session IPAs", you'll see. It seems like the majority of American breweries have lost the ability to craft a tasty, yet low octane beer. However, the landscape for this style of beer is evolving and getting better all the time...man I just think that:
Session IPAs are Bull$#!t : brewed Sept (3.5 gallons post boil)
- 2 Row: 4.5 lbs - Light Munich: 1/2 lb - White Wheat: 1/2 lb - C-40: 4 oz - Columbus: 1/8 oz @ 60 - Amarillo: 1/2 oz @ 15 - Saphir: 1/2 oz @ 15 - Amarillo: 1/4 @ 4 day dry hop -Wyeast 1968 slurry
This beer turned out absolutely fantastic! I couldn't be more pleased with everything about it. The body is light without being thin. The color and clarity are lovely. When fresh the hops were bright and bordering on "in your face", but they were not overwhelming at all. The predominant aroma and flavor is citrus fruit (grapefruity-orange), followed with just a touch of that malt sweetness in support. As the beer aged, the hops (of course) are becoming more muted, but they are still very present through drinking a pint. I also kept the carbonation level lower (in the neighborhood of 2 volumes) so the palate wasn't blasted with CO2 bubbles and the beer itself was the star. It will be fun to play around with the hops moving forward, but the base beer and overall IBU level will be kept true to this batch.