What's Up Gang,
Today I'm going to write a little bit about session beers. Inspired by beer guru Jay R. Brooks who is occasionally featured in the San Jose, I decided to explore the basis behind "session beers." You may have heard this term used for a particular brew, but with the direction of craft beer, you probably have no explored the world of session beers too frequently unless you're at Oktoberfest. So this is an appropriate time to bring up session beers!
Session beers are primarily defined by their alcoholic content, which is anywhere at or under 5.0abv. As you may have assumed, it's a beer that you could consume during a "session" with your buddies or family. Session beers are crafted to be enjoyed bottle after bottle but without the intention of getting schnokered. Call up some friends during the World Series or put together a barbecue with some quality brews that will not overwhelm anyone at any point of the evening.
That said, depending on the person, a session beer can be nearly any type of beer. Many German styles of lager and hefeweizen are low in alcoholic content, and many ales from blondes, to ambers, and even dark brews (Guinness is only 4.0abv!) will work for your session as long as they are "flavorful, balanced, and reasonably priced" (Brooks "Subtle delights in session beers").
With everyone vacated from my home town of Monterey, I decided to have my own little session with a couple beers I picked up from BevMo. I turned on some baseball, watched some "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and poured myself some hefeweizen from the Blue Frog Grog and Grill in Fairfield and Alpine Gold blond ale from the Tied House in San Jose.
Blue Frog's hefeweizen was a bit darker in color than typical German hefeweizens, resembling ecanasia juice in a glass. I got a mild citrus, sort of watery aroma that had no notes of banana/clove. Please note that I poured this into the inappropriate glass. Still, I was unable to taste any of the qualities you find in the German staple. This beer was a little on the sour side, drinking like a watered down version of citrus Airborne (the stuff you take if your immune system isn't up to speed). The bottle has its text upside down and reads that one should store the bottle upside down to let the yeast settle correctly...are they messing with me? When was the last time you drank a hefeweizen from a bottle that was stored upside down? If for some reason one of my buddies has this in his fridge, I'll say one of two things:
1. "Dude, turn it upside down!"
2. "Dude, don't waste your time with this. Drink a Franziskaner instead."
The glass is full. I'm not a fan of this beer. Perhaps Blue Frog excels at some of their other brews.
The Tied House's Alpine Gold blond ale might suit your palate a little better, especially if you plan to head up to the mountains in a couple months. I found this light ale to work as a session beer as there is a fair balance and enough flavor to keep the casual beer drinker satisfied.
Give Alpine Gold a sniff and you'll pick up a light citrus, caramel/nutty, and grainy aroma. You'll taste that same nuttiness that won't overwhelm you and possibly encourage you to get another one. I was hoping for a hoppier jolt that gave the beer a more crisp finish, but then again I'm not too much of an expert on light ales. It's not my brew of choice, but I can recommend it for a larger gathering if people have other beverage options as well.
The glass is half full. This brew has the fundamental aroma but doesn't fully deliver in flavor to make me want another one.
Next up for Calibrew:
I plan to hit up an Oktoberfest pretty soon and may be doing so when I visit Chicago next week. There are a few events like this in the Bay Area right now, so hopefully I find an opportunity there as well. As always, feel free to keep up with CaliBrew by subscribing (like...now) or following my Twitter right here .
Oh, and check out Jay R. Brooks' sites for lots of fascinating info and insight regarding the best beverage known to man and woman.
You can check out Brooks' material at http://www.ibabuzz.com/bottomsup/.
Prost!
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