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.

Session Beer Evolution

Chris Leonard has written Part I of an exposition on session-strength beers, and how he's tried -- and tried, and tried -- to sell them at the General Lafayette Inn, and is finally succeeding. Well worth reading for anyone who is learning to love these beers, and there's more -- more technical -- to come.

Session beers at Devil's Backbone

Just heard from Jason Oliver, who's opened a cool new brewpub in the mountains of Virginia, Devil's Backbone. Jason's been brewing at Gordon Biersch DC for years (and other DC-area breweries before that; he's a pro on both sides of the top/bottom-fermenting divide), and has now gone out on his capable own. And he's a big fan of drinkable session beers:

Right now I have two seasonals that fit the bill, the Ale of Fergus English Brown Ale on at 4.5% and the Ramsey's Draft Stout at 4.1%. My year round Helles, called Gold Leaf Lager is around 4.5% as well.

Sounds like a hill trip for a Session is in order.

Recessionale at Flossmoor, Golden at Fifty Fifty

Just heard from the outgoing Matt van Wyk at Flossmoor Station (he's moving on to Oakshire Brewery in Oregon, and good luck to him!):

Hi Lew-
I currently have a beer called RecessionAle. It's a 3% small beer that leans towards American Pale Ale. American mild, if you will? We serve it as the lowest priced beer, to go along with the name. It certainly is not getting the love of our 7.5% IPA (which is $1.75 more per pint) but I love drinking a whole growler at home. Delish! Oh, and our two lightest beers (Golden Ale and American Wheat) hover around 4.5%. Cheers!

And then this from Todd Ashman at Fifty Fifty in Truckee, CA:

We are currently making 'Blonde #1' which is a Golden Ale that clocks in at 4.2%. Selling well and gaining new friends all the time...

Sessionate it!

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.

More press for Session Beer

I just got interviewed for a piece on High-ABV vs. Session Beer for the Philadelphia Weekly, part of their Philly Beer Week coverage. Like I keep saying, this is the Year of Session Beer. No way this story would have even been thought of two years ago. We need to keep talking it up. Thanks to the Philly-area brewers who are backing SBP up with great beers!

Philly Beer Week gets Sessional

We have a (soon-to-be) official Philly Beer Week/Session Beer Project event! Chris Leonard is still working out the details, but we'll be doing an all-session beer event at The Tiedhouse (Chris's new place in Philly: 2031 Hamilton St., 215-561-1002) on

Monday March 9th, at 6 pm.

Still to come: price, menu, beer list, and all that jazz, but we'll have that soon, and I'll just post it here as it comes in. I'll be talking about what session beer is and why it's getting popular, and I hope to get Chris to talk about how brewing session beers is different from brewing big beers. (Chris won't actually be there; he's got an event at the General the same night, but his brewer, the beloved Russ Czajka, will be there, and can get down and geeky with you. I'm trying to talk Chris into writing us a treatise on session beer, to be posted here.)

If you can't wait that long, Chris also told me that he's got a new session beer coming on next week: "Our new low-alcohol offering -- a dry-hopped, hop infuser-poured APA (Columbus and Cascade hops) at 3.5%, called The Economizer -- will be ready to go next week." Looking forward to that.