What's your tipple this evening then?

[mjmooney]

Cooking ale then . The type of beer wasn't really that important to the point I was making . It's the cooking bit used to imply it's everyday mediocre quality .

Again, I disagree. You confuse alcohol strength with quality. No direct correlation.

[Brumerican]

Cooking ale then . The type of beer wasn't really that important to the point I was making . It's the cooking bit used to imply it's everyday mediocre quality .

Again, I disagree. You confuse alcohol strength with quality. No direct correlation.

I never said strength = quality . Just because it's run of the mill in both price and strength it doesn't mean you can't adore it as that is subjective . The price and strength isn't though and that it was I am talking about in regards to calling "cooking beer" mediocre. 

Any beer that is both relatively weak and cheap I would describe as a session beer even if you think it tastes like Raquel Welch's muff.

[Jon]

Some session ales are feckin gorgeous. And expensive.

 

You can get some real quality craft beers in the 3.5 - 4% range that are delicious, and both cheap and expensive. 

[Brumerican]

If they are expensive then personally I couldn't spend all day drinking them so they wouldn't qualify as session beer for me . I am talking about Carling , Bank's etc. I like the taste of both but they wont kill my wallet or put me in a coma . I'm not sure how much more I can explain it tbh and even if I could I am boring myself silly let alone other readers.

[leviramsey]

I have found a new favorite session beer, I think: Sam Adams Double Agent IPL.

Straight pour from a 12oz pry-off bottle to my Tired Hands stempiece; freshness date of July, 2013 notched on the left hand side of the label (“FOR BREWERY-FRESH TASTE, ENJOY BEFORE MONTH NOTCHED—JUL 2013”).

Appearance (4.25): Probably two good fingers of milk-colored foam makes up the head, mostly very fine, tight bubbles but as it diminishes a few fatties come through. Good retention, actually, with decent lacing—a few scattered suds on the near side of the glass, and almost a solid coating on the far side of the glass where closely-spaced collars form something more like a turtleneck. The body is reaaally pretty, a nice honey-orange color and crystal-clear.

Smell (4.0): Nice hop character, though surprisingly moderated—fresh lemonade, crushed pineapple, and honeydew, which is a nice touch. The malt body is nice and grainy-bready, a nice, rich, multigrain kind of character and a bit rustic. Very nice combination of scents, if a bit restrained.

Taste (4.0): The flavor component of the hops is rather tame on the palate, which leaves a very nicely balanced pale lager to shine through from underneath: citrus bitterness (lemon juice, white grapefruit flesh) and a very pale, dry, flaky biscuit kind of starchy malt character come together for a very crisp, snappy lager. That distinctively lager-esque yeast character comes through, too—crisp, almost skunky, with a very subtle medicinal note—but it complements the malt body well. There’s a light, fruity sweetness that comes through very nicely and understated, almost like Juicy Fruit. But in the end, that crisp, citrusy bitterness makes a very nice counterpart to the distinctly pale lager-ish malt and yeast combo.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Very smooth, light, and dry, definitely on the light side of medium-weight but not a throwaway beer, either. Finishes dry as much because of the crisp malt / yeast character as for the hops profile. Super drinkable, definitely a session beer.

Overall (4.0): This is a very, very solid beer. Doesn’t blow you out of the water in any respect, but they got what they were going for and made a very pleasing, quenching lager with a respectable hops character. What’s especially cool about this beer is that I could easily see it pleasing folks who are accustomed to light, swishy lagers as much as people who like old-school craft beer like SNPA and Boston Lager. So, good for Sam Adams—if any beer bridges the divide, as it were, this might be it.

5% ABV, which is pretty much right in the session beer wheelhouse.

[Meath_Villan]

Sam adams is pure stink

[BOF]

Had a bottle of this yesterday. Must say I didn't like it. It needed to be sweeter than it was. Not sweet, just sweeter. It was quite hard to drink, but somehow I managed. The trooper that I am.

[Eames]

Might be the light, but that looks dark for a Pale Ale.

[BOF]

It was dark for a pale ale actually. Without looking it up, I assume 'Indian pale' relates to whatever method of brewing is employed rather than necessarily reflecting the colour of the end product. Anyhoo, it was a present and I won't be a repeat customer

[mjmooney]

India Pale Ale on Wikipedia

 

Incidentally, I disagree with their assertion "The term IPA is common in the United Kingdom for low-gravity beers".

 

Many IPAs are on the strong side.

[Meath_Villan]

Had a bottle of this yesterday. Must say I didn't like it. It needed to be sweeter than it was. Not sweet, just sweeter. It was quite hard to drink, but somehow I managed. The trooper that I am.

 

I thought it was ok

[Jon]

India Pale Ale on Wikipedia

 

Incidentally, I disagree with their assertion "The term IPA is common in the United Kingdom for low-gravity beers".

 

Many IPAs are on the strong side.

Yeah. You look at the range of Craft IPA's out there at the moment and loads of them are pushing beyond 5%

[BOF]

The one pictured is 5.3%

[leviramsey]

5.x% is low-alcohol for an IPA by US (especially West Coast) standards.

(that said, US West Coast IPA basically means a ton of alcohol and a ton of hops... I'm not a huge fan of the style)

"Pale" also has little to do with the color of the final product, just to the type of malt and the degree to which it's been roasted etc.

[leviramsey]

(even though it's from about five/ten miles down the road from me, it's identified as an example of an English India Pale Ale, largely because the hop level is merely "prominent" as opposed to "insane" and the abv is 5.5%)

[leviramsey]

Yeah. You look at the range of Craft IPA's out there at the moment and loads of them are pushing beyond 5%

That's just a symptom of the UK's craft beer scene being ten or fifteen years behind the US's in terms of inventiveness (I blame the fundamentally reactionary force that is CAMRA, myself).

[BOF]

In America I assume craft beer is the way to go then because my experience of your mainstream lager does invoke saucy images involving a boat.

EDIT: No, not a canoe

[blandy]

My tipple this evening - sorrow drowner, I imagine.

[turnbull]

A very large JD & C at around 10pm.

[leviramsey]

The People's Pint this afternoon - Honey Cream Ale (pictured) followed by a Snakebite (I could not detect which of the local ciders was used), accompanied by clam chowder and a burger.