Serve in a nonic pint at 4-8 °C
What it tastes like
A session beer is defined by strength, not flavour. The usual line is 5 percent alcohol or below, and the idea is old: English drinkers spent long evenings on bitter and mild at 3.5 to 4 percent long before anyone in America called it sessionable. Today you find session IPAs, session sours, session stouts and plenty of pale ales that fit the label.
The hard part is making a light beer that does not taste thin. Brewers mash a little warmer to leave more body, use crystal or oats for texture, and pack in late hops so the aroma does the work that alcohol cannot. A session IPA at 4.5 percent can smell every bit as loud as a 7 percent one, then finish dry and quick.
What you should notice is balance. Nothing dominates, nothing is hot, and you do not feel tired after two. That is the whole brief.
Style profile
- Look
- Wide range: straw gold for session IPAs and pale ales, amber for bitters, near black for session stouts. Usually clear, with a lively head.
- Aroma and flavour
- Depends on the base style. Hop led versions show citrus, tropical fruit or floral notes over light biscuit malt. Stouts give coffee and cocoa without the weight.
- Mouthfeel
- Light to medium body, kept from going watery by careful mashing or oats. Brisk carbonation and a clean, dry finish that invites another sip.
- Ingredients
- Pale malt with a little crystal, wheat or oats for body. Plenty of late and dry hops in hoppy versions. Clean ale yeast that finishes dry without stripping flavour.
In India
India is made for session beer. Most of us drink in heat, often over a long meal or a cricket match, and the strong lagers that dominate the market push 8 percent. A 4.5 percent beer with real flavour is the better companion for a Sunday afternoon. Brewpubs are the place to find them, and many house IPAs and pale ales already sit in session territory. Hoppy session beers fade fast in a warm cold chain, so drink them fresh.
At the Indian table
Food pairings contributed by Anuradha Rao
- Masala peanuts and banana chipsSalt and spice keep you sipping, and a light hoppy beer refreshes without tiring the palate.
- Mysore masala dosaThe red chutney's chilli is cooled by a crisp, light pint that does not fill you up.
- Chicken 65Curry leaf and chilli meet citrus hops, and the low alcohol keeps the heat in check.
- Mango kulfiA light session stout or fruity pale ale brings out the mango without drowning a delicate dessert.
Brewed in India
- Toit India Pale Ale, Toit Brewpub source
Want the long read? Session IPA