Some of us don’t put a lot of thought into purposely limiting our alcohol intake until “the morning after the night before.” At times the government and some elements of society have encouraged us to restrain ourselves, and law enforcement outright demands it.
But perhaps it is the brewers themselves who have presented the most accepted form of encouraging us to reign in our alcohol ingestion by brewing what is known as the “session beer.”
A session beer (you’re familiar with the term, as it has been mentioned in past publications) is brewed purposely with less alcohol. This lower alcohol level is our license to enjoy drinking several beers over an extended period of time, without worry of being “overserved.”
A session beer can be any style of beer and doesn’t indicate any particular method of brewing. It’s all about the lessened alcohol content. It’s not a non-alcoholic brew, just a lower alcohol beverage. Any beer with less than 5 percent alcohol by volume (4 percent in the United Kingdom) falls into the category of the Session Beer. What are some beer styles ordinarily having the least alcohol? Reach for Golden, Mild, American Pale, and American Wheal Ales; Kolsch, Hefeweizen, fruit beers or Witbiers.
Please keep in mind, lower alcohol does NOT mean less flavor. Good, low alcohol brews are made with high quality, flavorful malts, and strive to maintain all the hoppy aromas, tastes and bitterness levels beer drinkers thirst for. Need proof? Check out this month’s selections!
