Back to work: the Grey Lodge adds a dedicated Session Beer Tap

One of my favorite bars here in Philly (and anywhere), the Grey Lodge Pub, has dedicated one of their taplines to SBP-approved session beer! Here's what's going to be out in their e-log newsletter later this week:

SESSION BEER LINE AS PART OF LEW BRYSON’S SESSION BEER PROJECT
As part of Lew Bryson's Session Beer Project, Line 3 is going to be our session beer line. Session beers have an alcohol by volume of 4.5% or less. They are the beer to have if you are having more than one. As a side benefit, they are also lower in calories. When Cricket Hill Noctern kicks, which at 4.75% ABV just misses officially being a session beer, line 3 will be for session beers. In the meantime, Roy Pitz Best Blonde, which clocks in at 4.5%, on is line 7, so we have a session beer already. 

Just one more reason to head down to the G-Lodge!

Session Beer is Without Honor at Devil's Den

Oh, depressing. Cathy and I went out to test-drive TDI Jettas today, then popped down to Devil's Den to sample Flying Fish's Belgian Mild, a second-runnings beer (off their Imperial Porter). It was good, full of flavor, herbal and fresh (and Cathy's Weed Brewing Shastafarian Porter was good too), but the bartender dissed it! Compared it unfavorably to Brooklyn Blunderbuss Old Ale. "A lot better than that stuff," he said. Now, he was good enough to offer a taster of the Blunderbuss, and it was good, but...come on. It's like comparing a dirt bike and a tank for cross-country performance.

Then I asked about the Eel River Organic Pale Ale, and the dude disses pale ale! Said he just didn't think pale ale had much to say. Then he dissed the flagship lineup of Philly Brewing and Brooklyn -- now wait a minute, I said, Brooklyn Lager is delish, I could drink it all day. And the waiter, walking by, does a spit-take laugh and blows a raspberry! "Grow up!" I bellowed. "No one appreciates subtlety any more." So I got a 16 oz. glass of Eel River, at 4.5%, and enjoyed the hell out of it: crisp, hoppy, grassy, light and nimble on the palate, delightful. Ah, me.

Truthfully, the guy did a great job tending bar, talked smart, right on top of things. We had a great time, too, and the apps we got were very nice. But damn me, this strong beer madness gets irritating sometimes.

Bar Owners: make more money with session beers

Maybe you're a bar owner, and you're wondering, will these low-alcohol session beers really sell? Here's a note from Drew Topping, who runs Piper's Pub on Pittsburgh's South Side (great place, highly recommended). He's got three hand-pumps pouring cask ale, and...well, here's what he said.

Most of the beer we get for cask consumption is session ale. We also get a knock about the great number of European Sessions we have on tap but with the bulk of consumption during our Live English Soccer matches being between 7am and noon, that is what our clientele likes to drink. And as you say, the volume of sales makes up for the Hophead's disappointment.

"Volume of sales." That's session beer in a nutshell for the bar owner. Once you start serving a tasty, drinkable beer that doesn't get your customers all banged up, you'll see them drinking more and more of it. Everyone's happy...but not too happy. Which is the whole point.

It's Official

After a couple years on this thing -- on and off, actually -- I'm doing what I should have done then, and giving The Session Beer Project a home. I'm sensing a shift in the beer currents -- that's what my February "Steaming Pile" column in Ale Street News is about, I'll link as soon as it's up -- and I think that this is going to be a big year for the comeback of session beer in America.

What's going to happen? Don't know yet. But I'm going to do what I can to get the word out on session beers -- see the definition at the top right of the page -- and see what we can do to get brewers to make them, bars to carry them, and you, my friends, I'm going ask you to drink them.

Brewers and importers: if you've got year-round beers that are under 4.5% ABV, that are flavorful -- sorry, no mainstream light lagers need apply, that's just how it is -- and available, let me know. If you can, send samples (along with notes on distribution): I'll be happy to post tasting notes here. If we're right -- and by 'we' I mean myself, some influential bar owners I know, and some industry people -- there is a market waiting for tasty, lower-alcohol beers, and the good one that makes it to market first is going to have a substantial edge. Start thinking.

Bar and restaurant owners/managers (and that means you brewpub folks, too): if you get the right session beer on -- meaning one that tastes good -- you can substantially increase your sales. Think about it: would you rather sell thirty glasses of El Mondo Grosso Imperial Stout at $6 a glass, or seventy-five glasses of Lulu's Luscious Ale at $4 a glass? Session beer is good at the register, and it's safer for your customers (and your liability). It also makes your bar a more attractive spot for folks who want to hang out for more than an hour, and not get all drunked up (and isn't that the kind of customer you want?).

Drinkers! It's a common taunt: "People who drink light beer don't really like beer; they just like to pee a lot." Well...if you're going out to drink beer, why get hammered on two or three huge beers? If you really like to drink beer, why not find a good, flavorful session beer and have five? I mean...if you like drinking beer, and the conviviality and social fun that goes with it, why not have a beer that lets you keep doing that longer?

Session Beer in '09. Working to make it happen.