July 23--For a beer style some people say doesn't exist, session India pale ales are having quite a moment.
Largely nonexistent just three years ago, session IPAs -- defined simply as IPAs that are less than 5 percent alcohol by volume -- are suddenly ubiquitous. Dozens of breweries have introduced session IPAs in recent years (or months) to satisfy a demand wrapped up in two of craft beer's most current trends: lower alcohol (or "sessionable") beers that can be consumed repeatedly; and plenty of hops (the pungent, piney flower that is the ingredient fueling much of the industry's recent growth). With breweries adding the beers to their year-round portfolios from coast to coast, session IPAs are indisputably the sexy beer style of the moment.
But then there are those who say that session IPAs don't truly exist. Low alcohol, amply hopped ales, they say, are simply pale ales. I see the point, but after spending the last month drinking (far too many) session IPAs to compile the rankings below, I have concluded that when done well, it is most certainly a style unto itself.
The most discernible difference between session IPAs and pale ales is malt. Session IPAs mostly dispense with any presence of bready, caramel maltiness and aim simply for a bright and effervescent hoppiness. There's almost no complexity in most session IPAs, or attempt to balance the hops with other ingredients. The best pale ales, I'd argue, feature more nuance than the best session IPAs.
But the best session IPAs have a basic and rewarding feature of their own: They scratch that delicious hop itch. They're a refreshing, satisfying afterthought, something to consume without much consideration. They're the chewing gum of craft beer. And for that reason, they have merit.
With so many new session IPAs on shelves, I took it upon myself to drink most of the major offerings available in Chicago. I drank them alone, and I drank them with friends. I drank them at home, and I drank them at work. I drank them mostly from bottles and cans (poured into glasses, of course), but also occasionally on draft. I tried each beer at least three times, sometimes on its own and sometimes against other session IPAs.
What I didn't do: I opted not to do the tastings blind because I took the amount of alcohol into account when judging; I'm not simply evaluating taste (though that's largely what's happening below), but taste in the context of alcohol content. I also chose only to rank beers that breweries explicitly call "session IPAs." No "hoppy pale ales" or "session pale ales" or "hoppy session golden ales," even if those are all code for similar beers. If the brewery didn't claim to be making a session IPA, it was not included.
Would my rankings be yours? Would my rankings be the same if I did them next month? Or next year? No, no and no. But that said, lists are fun, and so is drinking a session IPA. And there are suddenly so very many of them. So ... here's the list, ranked best to worst.
Top tier
1. Stone Go-To IPA (Stone Brewing Co., 4.5 percent alcohol) I already knew I liked this beer, and figured it would finish in the top five. But the truth is that it was a runaway winner. With Go-To, Stone does something elemental, but rare, among the beers on this list: It nails the medley of flavors -- juicy citrus, robust pine, soft grassiness -- found in the best high-octane IPAs. Stone has disappointed me more than once for over-hopping its beers into bitter oblivion, but that tendency is likely what makes Go-To such a citrus-and-grapefruit gem that features the exact right touch of bitterness and an impossibly long finish worthy of a much boozier beer. Go-To is everything a session IPA should be and, as much as any beer on this list, proves that session IPA isn't an IPA and it isn't a pale ale -- it's a style unto itself. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
2. Citra Sunshine Slacker (Evil Twin Brewing, 4.5 percent) One of the most singular beers on this list, and the brightest on the palate: a little lemony, a little citrusy and a little fruity. Light, bright and one of the very best examples of a session beer, regardless of style. (Available: year-round in 16-ounce cans.)
3. Rudie (Ska Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) This Durango, Colo., brewery seemed much more important back in, say, 2008, before virtually every corner of the universe began experiencing a local beer boom. These days, I barely drink Ska. But that might need to change because Rudie is some good stuff, and quickly stood out for hitting all the right notes: a wonderful grapefruit rind-citrus hop bite that's tempered by a touch of maltiness, which adds a bit more complexity than many of the beers on this list. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce cans.)
4. Even Keel (Ballast Point Brewing, 3.8 percent) This beer has the least amount of alcohol on this list -- the only one that's sub-4 percent -- which makes it all the more impressive. Even Keel is wonderfully clean and refreshing with a big, dank hop nose that's followed by an initial hop bite on the back of tongue that clears out quickly. There isn't much lingering hoppiness or gratification, but what do you expect at 3.8 percent? Going so light on the alcohol, but without sacrificing flavor, makes for a bold and winning move by the San Diego brewery. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles and cans.)
Slightly less than top tier
5. Easy Jack (Firestone Walker Brewing; 4.5 percent) Easy Jack has led to a new concept in my beer dictionary: beer juice. Though quite delicious with its notes of mango and apricot -- Firestone Walker is arguably using hops as well as any brewery of its size -- this beer would be well served to feature just a bit more backbone. Think about most juices; they convey exactly one flavor. And so does Easy Jack. Beer juice! (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles and cans.)
6. Campside (Upland Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) Upland is generally most appreciated for its sour program, so expectations were modest for something as mundane as its session IPA -- yet here we are. No. 6. Well done, Upland. Balanced by a decent malt thread, Campside is one of the cleanest, most well-rounded beers on the list, but with a lingering pine bitterness that most certainly qualifies it as a low-octane IPA. (Available: summer in 12-ounce bottles and 16-ounce cans.)
7. Backyard IPA (Saugatuck Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) An impressive showing from little Saugatuck Brewing with this refreshing and piney-bitter snap of a beer. An easy drinking and pleasurable surprise. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
8. DayTime (Lagunitas Brewing Co., 4.65 percent) Satisfyingly bitter and bright, with a nice trace of fruity tropicality at the finish. But a touch too light and inching toward beer juice territory. While "too light" is a funny thing to say about a session beer, everything above DayTime on this list has a bit more going on. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
Yeah, solid
9. Jibe (Green Flash Brewing Co., 4 percent) It's hard to pin down this beer because it's limited and draft-only at the moment; I sampled promotional bottles sent to media and industry folk. My first taste of this beer was astounding, and I had considered it for the top spot. It was that good. But when I returned to the beer, that lovely hop balance had diminished, and when I tried it a third time, I was drinking full-on mediocrity. Jibe bottles should be out by next spring, and I can't wait to try it again. In the meantime, it winds up right in the middle of the list with an asterisk. If that first taste was accurate, this would easily be a top-three beer. (Available: draft only, but 12-ounce bottles in 2016.)
10. Introvert Session IPA (Left Hand Brewing Co., 4.8 percent) We're getting to the point on the list where the beers have a notable flaw -- usually a lack of citrus, and that is certainly the case for Introvert. A competent beer that skews more toward satisfyingly bitter than anything approximating nuance. (Available year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
11. Slow Ride (New Belgium Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) Slow Ride does everything well but nothing extraordinarily. Clean, easy drinking and with not quite enough hop burst, but just enough dry pine character to be refreshing and enjoyable. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
12. All Day IPA (Founders Brewing Co., 4.7 percent) Founders deserves points for getting the session IPA movement started; All Day was one of the first. A solid beer with much more prominent malt character than many of the beers on this list, and drinks almost like an English IPA. All Day is immensely solid and competent, which I suppose sort of damns it with faint praise. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce cans.)
13. Pinner (Oskar Blues Brewery, 4.9 percent) Many people love this beer, but I don't see it as anything special. Pinner has a softness and sweetness that make for perfectly enjoyable sipping, but it lacks the hop bite I want, and I certainly don't want more than one. It mostly drinks like a pale ale rather than a session IPA. In which case I'll just have a Dale's Pale Ale and its extra 1.6 percent of alcohol, thank you very much. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce cans.)
A step down
14. Extended Play (Lakefront Brewery, 4.2 percent) A nice effort, but I get more bitterness than fruit or citrus from the bottles I tried. The epitome of middle of the road. This beer, and everything below it, I'd be curious to taste in the brewery's taproom to experience the freshest possible versions and see if there was just something missing from the bottles and cans that I tried. (Available: year-round, in 12-ounce bottles.)
15. Lasso IPA (Great Divide Brewing Co., 5 percent) I'm cheating a little since session IPAs are supposedly under 5 percent alcohol, but this is almost there, so why not. Lasso has a bit more of a malt body than most others on this list, which is fine, but not when it lacks the bright citrus that you want from an IPA. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottled.)
16. Hop Rise Session Ale (Central Waters Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) Again, bitter and with little hop distinction. Just not much going on here. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
17. Down to Earth (21st Amendment Brewery, 4.4 percent) I'm getting redundant, but so are the beers: the hops offer bitterness, and that's about it. Not a bad beer, but nothing special. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce cans.)
If I'm in your backyard on a hot day, and you hand me one, OK. Otherwise ...
18. Right-O-Way (Southern Tier Brewing Co., 4.5 percent) A maltier nose than average for a session IPA, and perfectly competent, but not much worth remembering -- and certainly nothing that qualifies it as an IPA. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
19. Sharpshooter Session Wheat IPA (Great Lakes Brewing Co., 4.8 percent) What the hell is going on here? I'm not really sure. This beer doesn't smell or taste like an IPA. I was quite optimistic about Sharpshooter -- the idea of a wheat component could have led to some dynamic results, and Great Lakes makes some wonderful beers -- but this is mostly a bitter, boring letdown. I wonder if they slapped the words "session IPA" on the label for purely marketing reasons. Actually, I wonder that about many of the beers on the second half of this list. (Available: through summer in 12-ounce bottles.)
20. Pop Up Session IPA (Boulevard Brewing Co., 4.3 percent) More beer juice! Just not as good as Firestone Walker's. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
21. Bouncy House (Smuttynose Brewing Co., 4.3 percent) Boring, bitter and boring. And did I mention boring? Better than a Lime-A-Rita, but at this point, I'd rather just drink a Pabst. Bonus negative points for the worst label on the list. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
22. Rebel Rider IPA (Boston Beer Co., 4.5 percent) Someone must be last -- sorry Sam Adams. Boston Beer Co. is a huge brewery that's pushing out massive amounts of beer and desperately trying to keep up with trends like session IPA. And while it makes plenty of good stuff, some of the beer seems rushed and like little more than an effort to take up shelf space. Like this. (Available: year-round in 12-ounce bottles.)
My work here is done. Time for a barrel-aged stout.
jbnoel@tribune.com
