Drink small on a weekday!
Yes, Session Beer Day 2016 is on. Session Beer Day 2016 is on April 7, a Thursday. Sure, most of us have to work that day, I sure do...but it's session beer, that's what this is about. So get on it, and drink! Let's go get a session beer at lunch, I dare you: just one, that's not going to cause problems (if you have a no-drinking policy at work, don't feel obligated; we don't want anyone to get fired!).
Remember: April 7 2016 is Session Beer Day, a day to celebrate great-tasting lower ABV beers! Go 4.5% and under, go 4.0% and under, but show some love.
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| May be used -- without modification. |
Session Beer Day grew directly out of grassroots love for session beer. On Monday March 19, 2012 I suggested to the members of the Session Beer Project page on Facebook that we should make April 5th (4.5) or April 7th (Little Repeal Day, when 4.0% ABV beer became legal before repeal of the 18th Amendment) our day, Session Beer Day. We thought we could ask for session beers at our favorite bars, and brewpubs, and suchlike, invite people to try them, gin up plenty of social media whoopee, and all dat.
We decided on April 7: there are a lot of photographs of a LOT of Americans happily drinking 4.0% beer we can use, it's a day the beer industry is already aware of, and...it was a Saturday that year (the day before Easter), which doesn't hurt when you're planning a beer event!
And then...well, it got bigger, quickly, thanks to Twitter (#sessionday) and Facebook and some fast coverage in newspaper blogs and beer blogs. Brewpubs and bars participated, tapping session beers that day and selling session beers on discount to let people know how good these low alcohol beers can taste. And Untappd added a badge for Session Beer Day!SESSION BEER -- WHAT IS IT?
There are a lot of different definitions out there, though most people agree that session beer is lower in alcohol, and more characterful than mass-produced light lagers. Here in America, the disagreements all seem to settle on the alcohol. There are hardcore British session beer fans who insist that anything over 4% ABV isn't session beer; the BeerAdvocate website says 5.0% is the top limit.
We don't want to fight about it -- we'd rather drink! But since we have to draw the line somewhere, Session Beer Day is going with 4.5% as a top limit (see the Session Beer Project definition to the right), and if you're going to do a Session Beer Day event, we ask you to please go along with that...though of course, it's only a courtesy, we have no way of enforcing this: we just want good lower alcohol beer. If you want to go lower, more power to you!
SESSION BEER DAY -- WHAT CAN I DO?
If you work at a bar (or manage one, or own one), please consider throwing some under-4.5% beers on for April 7th (three or more would be awesome), and make a special price or promotion for them. Tell folks it's Session Beer Day, and encourage them to see how good lower alcohol beers can be. (Good day to get a "We Support" window sticker, too!) If you decide to have an event, please post it as a comment here!
If you're a brewer, please consider making a special sub-4.5% beer for Session Beer Day! We're encouraging brewers to celebrate the variety of session options this year by brewing something other than the same old "session IPA" everyone brews; use your imagination, use your skills! If you do, post a comment here about what you're brewing and where folks can find it — your taproom, your pub, or an account you know will have it available. Thanks!
If you're an importer or wholesaler, encourage your accounts to pick up your under-4.5% beers for that day; it's a great chance to promote those beers!
If you're a beer blogger/tweeter/writer, please consider spreading the word about Session Beer Day: use the hashtag #sessionday and feel free to use the logo image for that promotion.
And if you're a session beer drinker...get out there and ask for it!
SESSION BEER DAY -- WHAT DOES IT COST ME?
If you're a bar or brewery? Nothing! (Sorry; no free beer on Session Beer Day. Maybe next year.) There is no cost to host a Session Beer Day event, there is no cost to use the Session Beer Project logo (or the "We Support -- Proudly Served" logo), though we do ask that you not modify it in any way. The window stickers cost about $4, but they're completely optional (though they're a great way to let people know you try to keep session beer available every day!). We make just enough on the stickers and the shirts to pay for the site registration every year, and that's fine with us.
All we ask:
- POST IT HERE as a comment to the original posting
- keep the beers you're promoting at 4.5% or less
- run a sensible event -- no chugging contests or beer pong, please! Encourage conversation!
- spread the word.
