Session Beer

What is Session Beer?

Session beer is not a beer style in itself, rather "session" means that it is a lower-alcohol version of a particular beer style.

Session beers are typically light, refreshing, and easy to drink, with less maltiness and less hoppiness than the base beer. Essentially, a session version can be made from any beer style, but the most common is certainly the session IPA.

Brewers aim to create a lower-alcohol beer while retaining as much of the beer style’s character as possible.

Origin Story

According to legend, the history of session beers dates to World War I. During the war, a law was passed in England that significantly reduced the operating hours of local pubs. English workers could now visit the pub only during two limited periods: a few hours at midday and a few hours in the evening.

Workers who wanted to drink beer during their work breaks preferred lower-alcohol beer so they could drink more during the limited hours and return to work relatively sober. It is also likely that lower-alcohol beer was more prevalent at that time because the production of stronger and more expensive beers was restricted during the war.

After the war ended, low-alcohol beers had become a part of British working-class pub culture. The term "session" referred to one period of sitting in the pub, during which several lower-alcohol beers were consumed.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the concept of session beer spread to America and intertwined with the US craft beer scene. American brewers began experimenting with beer styles and creating their session versions. The session IPA became especially popular, offering the traditional hoppiness of an IPA with less alcohol.

Today, session beers are a growing trend as many consumers prefer lower-alcohol beers but still want to try beers with different flavours and characters.