Mikkeller? A Session Beer? Alright!

As a spelling geek, I hate the construction "alright." It's "all right," dammit. But I'm willing to let the Danes at Mikkeller use it, since they've put it on the label of a brett-fired session beer, It's Alright, which is a spunky, funky 4.5%. Read Minnesota beer blogger ("Legal Beer") Beckel's review of it here.

With darlings of the extreme beer set like Mikkeller (Beer Geek Brunch (Weasel), Black As Hell, Mikkel's Monster) making session-strength beers, maybe we'll start getting through to people who think life begins at 8%.

Conn-o-Session tickets selling briskly

Folks, the Kennett Square Brewfest organizers took a bold step this year. Their Connoisseur Session has been one of the real showcases for adventurous brewing, an anticipated and greatly enjoyed event. This year, they decided to have a "Conn-o-Session," a Connnoisseur Session of all Session Beers.

To tell the truth, we -- the brewfest organizers and I -- loved the idea, but didn't know how it would go over with you, the beer festival-loving public. It was a gamble. We'd received some very negative feedback from folks who, honestly, sounded like they were only interested in high-alcohol beers. Hmmmm... We worried a bit.

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I just heard from the festival organizers: tickets went on sale this morning at 7, and at 10:30, they had already sold 104 of the 300 tickets. You like session beer, you really like it!

Get your tickets: I'll see you there!

Bars, Brewpubs: Show Your Support for The Session Beer Project!

The sticker I talked about just below? I did get a sample, and today I went down to Memphis Taproom and watched Brendan and Leigh proudly place it on the side door to the bar (the front one has that nice decorative ironwork). "We have session beers," the sticker says, "come on in!" We toasted it with Cantillon Vigneronne (delicious), and then talked about a big session event for this fall; more about that later.

In the meantime...bar owners, brewpubs, brewers! Show your support for sub-4.5% beer with flavor and balance, and let your customers know you have session beer available, by displaying your own sticker. (The link takes you straight to CafePress, where you can buy the sticker direct; realized that was easier for everyone than having me buy them and have to charge twice for postage.) If you get one and display it, let me know and I'll put up a list here and on our Facebook page.

The rest of you, I decided to scrap the idea of putting something on the back of the t-shirt. I couldn't come up with something I really liked, and it was an additional $4. The logo's good enough. So you can get a Session Beer Project t-shirt here. I wore mine to Mahar's in Albany over the weekend, while I was drinking Fuller's Chiswick Bitter.

Drink up!

More evidence

Boak and Bailey go on a session beer bender...and wake up "fresh as a daisy." Please, more good low-alcohol beers!

Some projects advance

I know some of you have asked, 'Now that you have a logo, when can we get t-shirts?' Well, I'm experimenting. I got a larger version of the logo, loaded it up on CafePress, and had myself a t-shirt made, in black. It looks good, and that's how we'll go...but I'm thinking about what to put on the back, because the logo deserves (and maybe needs) an explanation. I'm thinking about the definition we have over to the right, tweaked a bit:

Session Beer!

► 4.5% ABV or less

► flavorful and balanced

► conducive to conversation

► reasonably priced

"Thanks, I'll have another!"™

How's that look?

I also had a sample window-sticker run up for bars and breweries to put in their front window, indicating that they endeavor to have at least one session beer (not a mainstream light, and in addition to Guinness!) available at all times. That's the graphic above: what do you think? I think the wording and line graphics enhance the 'interwar" look of the logo itself.

Finally, here's a nice bit about session beer from Stonch's Beer Blog, explaining how Jeff made the progression from big head-bangers to appreciating session beers (and it's not just in there because he says nice things about my blog).

Harpoon Brown Session Ale

I was in the midst of posting this over at STAG when I realized it would be better to put it here. So here we are.

The good folks at Harpoon recently asked me if there was anything in their line-up that I hadn't tasted, anything I'd like to get a sample of (believe me, folks: this does not happen every day! I have a long relationship with this particular brewery). Yeah! Send me some of that Brown Session Ale, if you could. Harpoon's head brewer Al Marzi had told me that he was going to add a session beer when I interviewed him back in 2007, and this was it, but I hadn't had a chance to taste it. So they very nicely sent me some (along with some UFO White, which was real nice, but at 4.8%, it's a STAG review).

I chilled some, and broke one out yesterday afternoon. It does pour brown, and it's aromatic, too: a chocolate touch wrapped around a malt sweetness in the nose. Don't expect cloying, though. It's nicely attenuated (that means it's fermented long enough to eat up most of the sugars), and has enough hop to tidy things up. My only reservation is that it may be a little too dry; I'd almost like to see more malt left in there to bulk up the body just a touch. Good beer, though, and I opened another bottle when this one was done; it held up fine on the 'volume test'!

Sorry, I'm under the weather

Haven't been doing much drinking or blogging lately. Allergy season is starting up, and that always makes me stupid and lethargic. (Please, spare me the cheap shots!) Hope to have some good session beer news for you in May, and we should have some SBP-logo merchandise for you as well. Have to figure out what to do with any profits; my taxes are screwed up enough as it is. Wonder if there's a charity for retired beer styles...

ReSession™ Ale at Elk Creek

From my friends at Elk Creek Cafe and Aleworks, a new beer that seems to embody the idea of session beer:

Still waitin’ for your bailout?

Well, we got a bucket for you. Of beer.

Introducing our own little community stimulus...

ReSession™ Ale.

A British-style Best Bitter

Nitrogen-dispensed, dry hopped w/East Kent Goldings

ReSession™ Ale, our first session beer

brewed to give something back:

High quaffability, moderate alcohol, economical price

(Imperial Pints only $3.00)

“pleasing on the palate, easy on the wallet”

Starts pouring tomorrow.

And "tomorrow" is today. So if you just happen to be up near Millheim...embrace the ReSession. Elk Creek is really a great place for a session, and one of these days...I'm doing it. (They've still got a little of the excellent -- and also session strength -- Big Trout Stout left, too!)

Logo Announcement

Well...it wasn't easy.

I'm not sure what I expected when I asked for logos, but the response was great. After evaluating all of them, and your comments, and my own tastes and preferences, I've finally decided to go with Steve Herberger's design, which you see posted here (in a version that incorporates a few post-choice tweaks: the color of the glass outlines and the lettering, a slightly deeper red). Steve gets the $50 honorarium and a firm handshake, and we get a common image: three beers, three different beers, and our tagline: "Thanks, I'll have another!"

Thanks to everyone who designed a potential logo for The Session Beer Project!

Errr... Anyone know how I go about copyrighting this image? Trademarking it? Whatever?

Logo selection: we need your comments!

I need some help.

I asked for submissions for a SBP logo (offering an admittedly scrawny fee) and got seven. They were all good, but I've been unable to pare them down past these four, which I present in random order. (And yes, some of the logos are being tweaked by their designers in response to comments, so keep looking!)

So I'm asking for comment. Not votes, mind you, because as the guy who's doing most of the work for now, I have to live with the winner, so I'll make the final decision, which I will announce next Monday, April 6.

In the meantime, I have decided on the slogan, a last-minute tweak to an earlier suggestion. We're going with Thanks, I'll Have Another! It's friendly, personal, and encompasses the message: good beer, lower alcohol, flavorful, social.

So comment -- and keep it friendly, this is session beer, not e*treme mud-wrestling -- and I'll make my decision in a week, and announce the winner then. Thanks!

My own comments. First shown: I like the font, like the glass graphic a lot; not sure about the red. And I do like using the full name "The Session Beer Project."

Second shown: Like the three different beers. Didn't like the arms at first, but they're growing on me...so to speak. Drew the most positive comments from you.

Third shown: Dramatic, and real beer. Nora's favorite.

Fourth shown: very suitable for a coaster, a project I'd like to try to fund. Maybe too much like a Guinness ad? The shamrock should probably go. Like the compact arrangement.

Chris Leonard on Brewing Session Beer, Part II

General Lafayette owner/brewer Chris Leonard has posted another part of his 'treatise' on brewing session beer at his blog. This one's about how to make session beer that's more than light beer. Interesting stuff, and I'm looking forward to this continuing. The first part is posted here.

The Tiedhouse: details on the Session Beer Project event

The Tiedhouse, the Philly outpost of the General Lafayette Inn brewpub (20th and Hamilton), has invited me to host a session beer event Monday night, March 9th (tomorrow...). I first mentioned that here, and now I have more details from Chris Leonard.

It all starts at 6 PM. There's a $5 cover, and the session beers will then be available by the flight or full pint. I'll be there with Chris's brewer, Russ Czajka for an exploration of these full-flavored, low alcohol beers. We will discuss history, styles, brewing techniques and nuances that make these beers so appealing.

Beers we have on-line so far include:

• General Lafayette’s The Economizer (a new, very hoppy 3.5%er from the General)
• Earth Bread + Brewery Stout (part of 'Philly Weak Beer' at EB+B)
• Philadelphia Brewing Company Kenzinger (crisp, refreshing)
• Yards Brawler (the surprise hit from the new Yards)
• Sly Fox Seamus Irish Red (rolling with fruity esters)
• Conniston Bluebird Bitter (a classic)

With more to be added! Possibly the largest selection of session beers Philly has ever seen, all at The Tiedhouse tomorrow. Hope to see you there.

(Double-posted from my regular blog, Seen Through A Glass.)

It comes down to a personal decision

The tagline run-off poll was too even to be effective, so I'm just going to make a decision. The number of logos submitted is at six, with one still being tweaked, so I think we'll have a decision there soon. And when that happens, we'll have a logo and a tagline, something we can think about making into coasters for events, and window stickers for participating bars and brewers, and shirts, and tattoos...temporary tattoos, of course: we're not extreme types.

Got two more logos since I posted this, so it ain't over yet!

"Part of a growing trend in craft brewing..."

Session beer continues to get more press: whether it's because of any push from the SBP or not, it's a good thing. Today's Inquirer had another of food critic Craig LaBan's short beer reviews in the "Drink" featurette: Yards Brawler.

One might expect a "pugilist style ale" to pack a knock-out punch, but the Brawler, the latest hit brew from Yards, scores points like a crafty lightweight with distinctive style and malty finesse.

The Brawler is a "session" ale, a relatively low-alcohol approach (about 4 percent) that's part of a growing trend in craft brewing to counter the high-octane extreme beer movement. It doesn't sacrifice flavor, though, with a malt-forward amber richness that won't cloy or weigh you down after a few rounds (thus the name.)

You bet, brother. A growing trend indeed. More and more session beers are hitting the taps, and they are no longer afraid to flaunt their low alcohol status. The hard-core geekerie may still be calling for big beers -- and I don't mind 'em at all! -- but finally, session beers are getting some attention. That's what I said I wanted over two years ago...and it's happening.