Drake's Alpha Session: Seasonal? WTF?!

Hey, I screwed up. Drake's sent me samples of their delicious Alpha Session, and I didn't realize that it was a May seasonal! First, my apologies to Drake's for not getting the review up while the beer was actually available (and a plea: what would it take to get this on the year-round rota?). And second, my apologies to you, the readers, for not getting the review up while the beer was actually available!

Here's what they have to say about it:

Drake’s Alpha Session – 3.8% ABV, 50 IBUs — Our hoppy session ale. Light and refreshing with 2-row barley, Maris Otter, and a touch of C-45 malts, but hopped up with classic West Coast hops and an ample dry-hop of Simcoe, Citra, and CTZ for intense flavors and aromas of pine, citrus, and grapefruit. We call it a NorCal Bitter. — Available in May on draft and in 4-packs of 12 oz bottles.

And here's what I have to say about it: yeah, all that. This is what I think some folks expected from Stone Levitation: light, crisp body; intensely pine/citrus PNW hop aroma; serious but not tongue-crushing bitterness. It is a "bitter," but it really delivers on the bitter. Still...I found it very easy to drink two of these, boom-boom, right in a row, without tongue fatigue: nicely done.

Now...about that year-round thing. If we commit to drinking it, will you commit to brewing it?!

 

Session Beer Month in California!

Hats off to Drake's Brewing, Magnolia Pub, Mavericks, and the California Brewers Guild -- and Jay Brooks -- for ramming through Session Beer Month: this month, in California. It's loose, it's not overly organized, and it's mostly just brewers and drinkers saying that it is, without a big organized push behind it...perfect for session beer.

They've even come up with an interesting compromise on the ABV limit: 4.5% please...but up to 5% is being tagged as "extreme/imperial session beer." Well, look...that's okay, but I reserve the right to make fun of any brewer who isn't good enough to make a great-tasting beer that's 4.5% and under. Try harder next year!

I'm happy to repost the Manifesto for The Month, as writ by Kelsey Williams at Drake's (you know me, I'm manifesto-mad):

A Manifesto:

Beer lovers, we are in the midst of a revolution. We have thrown off the fetters of the fizzy yellows and clamored for change. To supplant the sameness, we sought and found the EXTREME. We now have Triple IPAs and World Wide Stouts, Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperials, Belgian Quads, and all manner of High Gravity beers stuffed with fruits, spices, malts, hops. We’ve reached for the outermost precipices of beer, and succeeded.

Yet, in our noble quest for more innovation and more experimentation we have flown past many classic, well-loved, craft beer styles that may have seemed, due to their modest alcohol contents, a little too close to the weak, yellow, fizz water we’d escaped.

We have left behind these beers of import, beers perfectly suited to a long conversation at the pub, a picnic at the park, a post-hike refreshment, or a mid-summer beach trip, and beers that one can happily imbibe over the course of a few hours and leave satisfied and still standing.

We call to you beer lovers. Do not disregard a well-made, flavorful Bitter, Mild, Scottish Ale, Dry Stout, or any other Session beer because you perceive a lower alcohol content as a sign of the weak and bland. Allow us to prove that these beers are worthy of consideration. They, just like the extreme beers, have their place in our fridges and on our local taps.

We declare the month of May for Session beers. Beers that need not be analyzed, dissected, sipped, or sniffed in abundance. Delicious beers that not only enhance a good conversation but can extend it through multiple rounds.

Raise a Pint. Raise a Few. Spread the word in May; Less is most certainly more.

Yes indeed. There's a Facebook page, and Kelsey is Tweeting at @SessionBeerMay (and you can always use the #sessionbeer hashtag).

Now get out there and have some fun!

Interview with Jeremy Raub of Eagle Rock Brewery in LA

Picked up this interview from my Google Alert on session beer. Jeremy Raub is making some session beers at the new Eagle Rock Brewery (other stuff, too, but Solidarity is a year-round at 3.8%). The interview is on the occasion of a session beer festival they're doing. It's 5.0% and under, which is too high for my definition, but I'll give them points for it...in southern California, it ain't that easy. Next year, maybe, they can ratchet that down some. Meantime, good interview, good ideas, and good press for session beer!

More friends of the SBP

I got an email from Aaron Porter, a reader in the Bay Area, suggesting I take a look at Oakland's Dying Vines Brewing. I did, and they're definitely friends of the Session Beer Project! Dying Vines is brewing at the Linden Street Brewery, but their beers are all their own; check them out:

Dee'z English Mild, our flag ship ale, is a malty brown ale with subtle coffee & chocolate roast flavors. With a dry finish balanced by a rich hop character & weighing in at 4.0% a.b.v. , this is a beer for every day enjoyment.

Old Brick Bitter, our Special Bitter, is a malty, full bodied English style Pale Ale with a dry and hoppy finish. We use all English pale and specialty malts finishing with a generous amount of East Kent Golding hops making this session beer perfect for cask, beer engine and traditional draught service, A real  ale - 4.5% a.b.v.

Hop Candi, a West Coast interpretation of an English IPA. It is hoppy in the sense that it provides a wonderful bouquet, however the malt and underlying bitterness balance into a clean finish leaving only subtle hints of citrus and  rye. This beer finishes dry and comes in at 4.5% a.b.v.

Queen Bess IPA, an English Style India Pale Ale. Firmly bittered and balanced with a soft malt profile. Dry, spicy, and floral, this beer is perfect with a meal or just enjoying a pint at 4.8% a.b.v.

Yeah, I know, the Queen Bess is 4.8%...don't miss the forest for one tree! The other three are 4.5% or less, so this is a solidly session-oriented brewery. Hope to try their beers sometime soon (going to SF in the fall)!

Meantime, Aaron also recommended beers from Drake's Brewing (their May seasonal Alpha Session is 3.8% and crazily hoppy; year-round hefe is 4.5%) and Ale Industries (it's all about the Orange Kush at 4.4%). Thanks, Aaron!

MORE session-friendly brewers: two NEW ones

Nimble Hill Brewing Co. (at Nimble Hill Winery) is in Mehoopaney, Penn. (really, look it up), and is so brand-spanking new that according to brewer Michael Simmons, "Our first brew as a new brewery will be an English Mild, called Fuggle, at 3.5% ABV. It will be ready by April 7th! It will be available in draft only, at restaurants near Tunkhannock, Penn." That's west of Scranton, and proves again that even rural Pennsylvania is rapidly getting hip to craft and session beer.

Next up is a brewery far from the Wyoming Valley: Strike Brewing is based in San Jose, Calif. They recently told me that "We are a three month old brewing company in the Bay Area and launched with a series of session beers. Our Blonde is 4.6% [very close...], Wit 4.3% and Brown is right at 4%." 

Pretty cool stuff, and thanks to both Nimble Hill and Strike for giving session a shot!