"Session" IPA's - let's hear it!

So, in a different thread, YooperBrew brought up the fact that low ABV IPA's can be challenging to brew.

I myself never considered low ABV IPA's until tasting Red Rock Brewing Company's (Salt Lake City, UT) Junior IPA that check in at about 3.2%. It was a really good brew.

My usual IPA's are ~6.5% and I tend to drink them like session beers

So, HBT collective, what can be told about session IPAs?

* disclaimer * - yes, I know that a session IPA violates the BJCP - cut me some slack

Wouldn't that be a Pale Ale???

JonK331 said:

Wouldn't that be a Pale Ale???

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I think they mean even less ABV than a Pale, yet with plenty of hops and enough body and malt to balance them.

I make a "unleaded version" of one of my IPA's that rings in at 3.5-4% ABV. I was always afraid to call it an IPA. It is 2-row, munich, C-60 and a touch of Melanodin. Hopped to Mid 50's IBU. All 30min on. Nice change of pace to the big alcohol monsters that I drink and brew. Sometimes I want a beer without the buzz. It seems I don't notice 4% anymore...LOL.

I think the key for it is the addition of big malt flavors (munich and melanodin) and the higher than usual mash temp.

New Glarus' new Moon Man Ale taste like an IPA but clocks in at just 5% abv that is more like an APA, but it doesn't taste like an APA, it tastes like an IPA. I think aiming for a "session" IPA is a great goal.

i second the moon man comment... i really like that beer.

i made an IPA that finished around session-ranges: 1.005 or so.

i cooler-mash and for whatever reason hit 146 at initial dough-in. scrambled for a bit, topped the cooler off with boiling water and it was still only 148. with no more room in the tun i pulled a few cups out, brought it to boiling, and added it back in....finally around 151....

anyway the beer turned out awesome! light, hoppy, crisp. unfortunately i didn't start in session-ranges so it's pretty strong, lol.

AZ_IPA said:

I myself never considered low ABV IPA's until tasting Red Rock Brewing Company's (Salt Lake City, UT) Junior IPA that check in at about 3.2%. It was a really good brew.

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keep in mind that's 3.2% ABW, which is 4.0% ABV.

Beernik said:

keep in mind that's 3.2% ABW, which is 4.0% ABV.

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Ah yes, good point. Thanks. I had seen references to both 3.2 and 4 -

glad to have a local Utahite weigh in

motobrewer said:

i made an IPA that finished around session-ranges: 1.005 or so.


anyway the beer turned out awesome! light, hoppy, crisp. unfortunately i didn't start in session-ranges so it's pretty strong, lol.

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what does finishing gravity have to do with a session beer?

Yeah, Utah is getting better, but it's still fairly stupid when it comes
to alcohol laws.

I can't remember if i've had the Jr IPA. I like to have a beer brunch at Red Rock on Sundays. Maybe I can talk my wife into another brunch this week and try it.

BTW, next time you're in town, stop by Epic's Brewery. They opened up in May and are probably putting out the best beers in town right now.

chefmike said:

what does finishing gravity have to do with a session beer?

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The lower the finishing gravity, the drier a beer is, the easier it is to drink more, generally speaking. It goes down the chute a lot easier than a thick, full-bodied barleywine or imperial stout.

14thstreet said:

The lower the finishing gravity, the drier a beer is, the easier it is to drink more, generally speaking. It goes down the chute a lot easier than a thick, full-bodied barleywine or imperial stout.

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A 7.2% IPA (OG 1.060 -> FG 1.005) while finishing dry wouldn't be my first choice in a "session" beer.

This is my goal right now in brewing- to make a great IPA with lower ABV.

I'm not sure where to go with it- the point of an IPA is that it should be quaffable so I'm wondering about the malt bill. Too much malty flavor will make it un-IPA-like. Yet, to balance all of those hops and keep the hops flavor and aroma, you need a malt backbone.

I might do two-row and some aromatic malt for the malt flavor, to get to 1.045ish and mash at 152 to get full attenuation without too much drying out.

Here's what I'm thinking:
8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 94.12 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 %

0.50 oz Magnum [13.40 %] (60 min) Hops 23.3 IBU

0.25 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (35 min) Hops 6.9 IBU
0.25 oz Simcoe [12.00 %] (30 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.18 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
0.18 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] (10 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
0.18 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] (5 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
0.18 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.2 IBU

1.00 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Simcoe [12.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -

I know the amounts look weird- but it's because I plan on doing the "continuous hopping" that I'm doing in the original. I just mix up all of the flavor/aroma hops and add every minute or two. I start at 30 minutes, and finish at 0 minutes, so the IBUs aren't really accurate but it'll give me an idea. At 70% efficiency, this recipe should give me an OG of 1.043. FG should be 1.010ish. The IBU/SG ratio is higher than I'd like- 1.100. I'd like it at .960ish but I don't want to lower the bittering hops.

It may not be exactly what you're looking for, but BM's Nierra Sevada is a low alcohol session pale ale. Not precisely an IPA, but a tasty brew for sure.

YooperBrew said:

The IBU/SG ratio is higher than I'd like- 1.100. I'd like it at .960ish but I don't want to lower the bittering hops.

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would FWH'ing help? I know it's supposed to increase IBU, but theoretically a smoother bitterness?

The head brewer from Red Rock is out of town, but the manager fowarded my request to him, so we'll see if I can get the Junior IPA recipe.

YooperBrew said:

This is my goal right now in brewing- to make a great IPA with lower ABV.

I'm not sure where to go with it- the point of an IPA is that it should be quaffable so I'm wondering about the malt bill. Too much malty flavor will make it un-IPA-like. Yet, to balance all of those hops and keep the hops flavor and aroma, you need a malt backbone.

I might do two-row and some aromatic malt for the malt flavor, to get to 1.045ish and mash at 152 to get full attenuation without too much drying out.

Here's what I'm thinking:
8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 94.12 %
8.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 %

0.50 oz Magnum [13.40 %] (60 min) Hops 23.3 IBU

0.25 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (35 min) Hops 6.9 IBU
0.25 oz Simcoe [12.00 %] (30 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.18 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (15 min) Hops 2.9 IBU
0.18 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] (10 min) Hops 3.0 IBU
0.18 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] (5 min) Hops 1.6 IBU
0.18 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (5 min) Hops 1.2 IBU

1.00 oz Amarillo [9.50 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.50 oz Simcoe [12.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -

I know the amounts look weird- but it's because I plan on doing the "continuous hopping" that I'm doing in the original. I just mix up all of the flavor/aroma hops and add every minute or two. I start at 30 minutes, and finish at 0 minutes, so the IBUs aren't really accurate but it'll give me an idea. At 70% efficiency, this recipe should give me an OG of 1.043. FG should be 1.010ish. The IBU/SG ratio is higher than I'd like- 1.100. I'd like it at .960ish but I don't want to lower the bittering hops.

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Yooper- this is similar to mine- I will be interested to see what you think without adding any crystal. I've found it leaves the beer unbalanced at such low gravity- but what do I know! My original attempts were roughly 85% (6.7lbs) 2-row, 12% (1.00lbs) light munich and 3% (3oz) melanodin/aromatic, IIRC. It was malty but not overly so, I found I was missing some sweetness so I added a touch of c-60 the next time. Turned out pretty good. Let us know how it turns out for you.

AZ_IPA said:

would FWH'ing help? I know it's supposed to increase IBU, but theoretically a smoother bitterness?

The head brewer from Red Rock is out of town, but the manager fowarded my request to him, so we'll see if I can get the Junior IPA recipe.

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Subscribed, I would like a shot at this as well!

I think what 14thStreet is trying to say is a drier beer is more thirst quenching than a thicker maltier beer.

When I do low ABV beers of any style, I keep JZ's recomendation for the Scottish series of beers in mind. For those, he keeps the specialty malts the same, and just adds more base malt as the alcohol content goes up.

For some of mine, I will actually add more specialty malts than the bigger versions. Otherwise it is very easy to get a lackluster watery beer.

I would second Jlpred5's comments on Yooper's recipe. The malt bill needs a little more character. I like the idea of some munich or vienna to contribute character without too much sweetness.

That being said, my wife and I discuss the ABV of IPA's and we always wonder about the roll of the ethanol in the flavor. We tend to think that it does play an important roll and one can only go so low before it looses that something extra that makes it only a good "IPA", but not a great one.

Plus the extra ethanol may play a role in extracting flavor components from the hops. Maybe someone should try soaking the dry hops in a minimal amount of some 170 proof alcohol for a few days before "dry" hopping with them.

pjj2ba said:

When I do low ABV beers of any style, I keep JZ's recomendation for the Scottish series of beers in mind. For those, he keeps the specialty malts the same, and just adds more base malt as the alcohol content goes up.

For some of mine, I will actually add more specialty malts than the bigger versions. Otherwise it is very easy to get a lackluster watery beer.

I would second Jlpred5's comments on Yooper's recipe. The malt bill needs a little more character. I like the idea of some munich or vienna to contribute character without too much sweetness.

That being said, my wife and I discuss the ABV of IPA's and we always wonder about the roll of the ethanol in the flavor. We tend to think that it does play an important roll and one can only go so low before it looses that something extra that makes it only a good "IPA", but not a great one.

Plus the extra ethanol may play a role in extracting flavor components from the hops. Maybe someone should try soaking the dry hops in a minimal amount of some 170 proof alcohol for a few days before "dry" hopping with them.

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Very good points! I think the IPA I have right now is pretty good. Not great. Probably because some of the ethanol is missing.

I think adding some US Vienna (Briess) is a great idea and I think I'll do that to the above recipe.

i had 15% vienna in my dried-out IPA.

that's all i really had to say.

I've been thinking a lot about this. In my 'regular' IPA, 1.060 and ~65 IBUs I have decided I'm not a big fan of a really malty beer. In other words, I'm not as much into Marris Otter at 80% of the grain bill as I thought.
But I'm thinking that for a light IPA, it would be good to increase the relative maltiness. And I have realized that I definitely like what Crystal 60 brings to an IPA.
Sooo, I think that for Sunday's 2nd batch (I plan on doing 2 10 gal batches) i'm going to target around 1.045 with 50% MO and some C60, with about 50-55 IBUs of cascade/amarillo/columbus and maybe some willamette, with a good dose of FWH and nearly all of the rest of it at 15 minutes or later.

I've been doing BM's centennial blond,but throwing alot more hops at it. it is verrrrry nice. I do 1oz. @ 60,then nothing till 15,1o,5 and 0. then go overboard on the dry hops. I use cascades, cent,Amarillo. I love IPA's, but big beers on tap = bad. anything big gets bottled.

Here's another tidbit I got at a recent seminar from the head brewer at Harpoon and a top guy at Lagunitas. They both said to load up on the Flavor additions, not just those in the last 10 min. I've been adding 2 oz at 10, 5 and in the hopback for my IPA (plus fwh, 60 and 30). Now I'm thinking I may push those back a little and see what happens. I'm thinking 20, 10 and keep the hopback. I'll probably reduce my bittering addition a smidge to keep the IBU's constant.

Slightly off topic, one thing I wonder about is the stability of aroma. I think what you get from a say 5' addition vs 0' min is different, but I have this hypothesis that also as a result of the short boil, what aroma you do get is more stable. So if the commercial guys are loading up on flavor additions, while they might get less aroma from these, perhaps what they do get is more stable. If you are a slow drinker like me, then this might favor earlier additions. If the beer is going to be drunk quickly, maybe that favors later additions.

I just brewed BierMunchers Aberdeen Brewery - Session Haus Ale. Fantastic. I think it's like a junior SNPA.

Just to nitpick (and incite), the BJCP guidelines are nonsense. IPA as originally intended, and indeed for the majority of its history as a style, was pretty much a session ale. The well-known 'fact' that IPA was brewed to higher gravities to help it survive the journey is also nonsense. The versions brewed in Burton-on-Trent, for export to India, were strong by today's standards but the typical Victorian imbiber would have found them quite sessionable, as they were among the weakest beers of the day. Milds, Pale Ales, Burtons, and Stouts were all on average considerably stronger than IPAs. Only Porter was weaker.
As years passed and Britons who had never been to India acquired the taste for IPA, the London brewers responded to the demand by creating a version intended for local consumption. These were even weaker, around 4-6%, which at the time made them very much session ales. Gravities of course dropped a bit during the wars, but this was true of all UK styles. The London version of IPA survives to the present day, and has been consistently derided by US craft- and homebrewers -- and the BJCP guidelines -- as being an 'incorrect' IPA as it isn't strong.
Sorry, I've begun rambling, but for reasons I don't entirely understand this has become something of a pet issue for me. I'm not a huge hop-head but I do from time to time greatly enjoy the US interpretation of IPA and it's become a wonderful style on its own, but it really grinds my gears to hear (and see on the BJCP page for English IPA) that British brewers 'incorrectly' label certain beers IPA. In an historical context, this is tantamount to claiming that someone's beer is 'incorrectly' labeled a Mild because it's not brewed to 1080 and entirely from pale malt (which was what a Mild was when IPA was initially developed).
OK, in order to actually contribute something useful to the conversation, here's a 'session' IPA recipe from 1941 that I've brewed several times and thoroughly enjoyed, courtesy of Ron Pattinson and Kristen England (ironically enough of the BJCP):

90% Pale malt (the brewer used three varieties)
6% Invert Sugar #1 (Turbinado or Golden Syrup will work nicely)
4% Crystal

OG 1035, Whitbread yeast (S-04 or 1098), and 41 IBUs of Kent Goldings, plus about a quarter ounce for dry-hopping.

I realize that this isn't really in the spirit of the OP, I've gotten off the rails a bit and I apologize. But it is a delicious beer.

I think the most famous one was from the guy who brought back the style, Mr Bert Grant himself. It is talked about in Designing great beers by Ray Daniels but basically it is a IPA that has a starting gravity of about 1045 and 53 IBUs and a darn good one too but he is no longer around.

santosvega said:

I realize that this isn't really in the spirit of the OP, I've gotten off the rails a bit and I apologize. But it is a delicious beer.

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This is EXACTLY the spirit of the OP! Based on some posts in other threads, I wanted to get a discussion going about "session" IPAs!

I think this is the result of what I call the craft brew "arms race". More hops, more alcohol, stronger yeast flavors. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else.

A problem with this is that people new to craft beers think these over the top brews are what is supposed to be normal for the style. Now, I enjoy beers like this every once in a while, but the problem is, with the arms race, it is getting harder and harder to find good sessionable beers. I see some hints that the pendulum is swinging back. Hopefully this is true.

AZ_IPA said:

This is EXACTLY the spirit of the OP! Based on some posts in other threads, I wanted to get a discussion going about "session" IPAs!

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Well, Cheers then!
History aside, I think that just by virtue of the style it lends itself so very well to lower ABV interpretations, which is why it's a shame you don't see them more often. With US IPAs, I find personally that the high ABV levels seem to be there, well, because we've been told repeatedly that IPA is a strong beer. I mean, obviously a barleywine has to be strong because the flavors you're looking for come from a high OG and subtleties introduced via aging. With an IPA, you're looking for complex hop flavors and aromas, which can be introduced just as easily in a 3.5% ABV beer as in an 8% beer.

pjj2ba said:

I think this is the result of what I call the craft brew "arms race". More hops, more alcohol, stronger yeast flavors. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else.

A problem with this is that people new to craft beers think these over the top brews are what is supposed to be normal for the style. Now, I enjoy beers like this every once in a while, but the problem is, with the arms race, it is getting harder and harder to find good sessionable beers. I see some hints that the pendulum is swinging back. Hopefully this is true.

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I think the pendulum is just beginning to swing back. I think (some) brewers are getting a bit bored brewing monster beers, and I think (some) drinkers are getting tired of not having enough variety in session beers.
I think it's gonna be an uphill battle though, judging by a lot of beer fans' attitudes. Obviously Beer Advocate is a particularly vocal hotbed of equating high alcohol to high quality, but the attitude is pervasive in general.
I homebrew mainly because I like English beer, and the English attitude towards drinking. As extensive and expansive as the US Craft brewing scene is, even at most beer bars and specialty beer stores my options are limited to a few token offerings of English or English-style beers. Most days I'd much prefer to sit at a pub for hours knocking back subtle and flavorful session beers in Imperial pint glasses than daintily sipping RIS or DIPA or barleywine out of a snifter. It's a hard sell for many people though. My friends have grown to appreciate my beers (I brew strong ales occasionally but probably 90% of what I brew is sub-4.5% ABV) but initially I had to lie to them about the ABV to get them to try anything.
And like I said above, IPAs make great session beers; brew a good 4% IPA and give it to your friends and I very much doubt you'll get any comments about the strength.

pjj2ba said:

I think this is the result of what I call the craft brew "arms race". More hops, more alcohol, stronger yeast flavors. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else.

A problem with this is that people new to craft beers think these over the top brews are what is supposed to be normal for the style. Now, I enjoy beers like this every once in a while, but the problem is, with the arms race, it is getting harder and harder to find good sessionable beers. I see some hints that the pendulum is swinging back. Hopefully this is true.

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kinda like the soda wars in the 80's - see who can pack as much sugar and caffeine into a can! JOLT! FTW! :rockin:

Here's what I'm brewing next, hopefully tomorrow.
It started out as BierMuncher's Nierra Sevada, but then I just had to play with the recipe. New hops, and I threw in some Biscuit because I felt like it.


OG: 1.044
FG: 1.011
ABV: 4.33
IBU: 32.1
Color: 7.4 SRM

6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 66.67 %
1 lbs 8.0 oz Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM) Grain 16.67 %
8.0 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.56 %

0.75 oz Amarillo [9.10 %] (First Wort Hop) Hops 19.7 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] (20 min) Hops 12.3 IBU
0.50 oz Simcoe [11.90 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.50 oz Amarillo [9.10 %] (0 min) Hops -
0.29 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
3.00 tbsp Yeast Nutrient - boil (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
Banked California Ale (WLP001) Yeast-Ale (1.5 liter starter)

Mash – 60 min at 154

Ferment 21-28 days at 65

Subscribed...

I have plenty of hops on hand, but no kegs open, so maybe I'll give a 2 gallon batch a try. I need something hoppy besides my 10% imperial IPA. I have some maris otter, various crystal malts, honey malt, and honey which I'm thinking would be tasty.

Based on my limited experience with mild ales the advice to think in terms of specialty grain quantities for a 1.060 beer and keeping them the same at 1.040-ish is good advice. Otherwise the beer will end up watery and thin. Some flaked barley in the grist may also help with mouthfeel.

At least one source I have read says that most likely the first historical IPAs brewed at Burton on Trent would have been 1.050 OG, and would have been 100+ IBUs since they were hopped at a level equivalent to 1-2 pounds per 5 gallons! Such a beer would have needed to age for quite awhile to even be drinkable, especially considering they didn't do any middle boil additions back then (half was added at the start of the boil, and the other half would have been added as dry hops.. talk about bitter!).

Saccharomyces said:

At least one source I have read says that most likely the first historical IPAs brewed at Burton on Trent would have been 1.050 OG, and would have been 100+ IBUs since they were hopped at a level equivalent to 1-2 pounds per 5 gallons! Such a beer would have needed to age for quite awhile to even be drinkable, especially considering they didn't do any middle boil additions back then (half was added at the start of the boil, and the other half would have been added as dry hops.. talk about bitter!).

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Well what created the IPA as a style was that the beer seemed to mature much more rapidly than normal on the sea voyage to India, with the bitterness rounding out and mellowing in a fraction of the time it would have taken in a cellar; see Zythophile's most recent post.

I live in Utah and have seen very few IPA in the normal stores. None that I've bought were good enough to bother to brew.

I wish a 4% IPA was possible. It's not. It's always a over dry hopped blonde.

Something that is good is Cutthroat APA. That beer works.

santosvega said:

Well what created the IPA as a style was that the beer seemed to mature much more rapidly than normal on the sea voyage to India, with the bitterness rounding out and mellowing in a fraction of the time it would have taken in a cellar; see Zythophile's most recent post.

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That's a nice link and definitely some information to ponder. I can't remember who it was, but one IPA mythbuster says that the IPA was NOT intentionally brewed to shipped to India - at least not initially. The beer was simply brewed as a new style to be drunk right there at home. Then they tried shipping some to India, and lo and behold, it survived the trip. After this, THEN it began to intenionally be made to ship to India.

I brewed this a week ago. I'm really anxious to see if it is close to as satisfying as my 6-7% IPAs are. I hope so.

Size: 11.81 gal
Efficiency: 93.0%
Attenuation: 82.0%
Calories: 151.13 kcal per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.046 (1.056 - 1.075)
Terminal Gravity: 1.008 (1.010 - 1.018)
Color: 11.2 (6.0 - 15.0)
Alcohol: 4.94% (5.5% - 7.5%)
Bitterness: 46.5 (40.0 - 70.0)

Ingredients:
8 lb Canadian Craft Brewers Pale Malt
7 lb Maris Otter
1.25 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 60L
.25 lb 2-Row Caramel Malt 80L

.5 oz Amarillo (8.0%) - added first wort, boiled 20 min
0.5 oz Columbus (15.2%) - added during boil, boiled 20 min
.5 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added first wort, boiled 20 min
0 oz ADD BELOW AT 40-----------------
.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) - added during boil, boiled 40 min
0 oz ADD BELOW AT 15 ---------------
.5 oz Columbus (15.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
.5 oz Amarillo (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
.75 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
.5 oz Willamette (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 15 min
0 oz INSERT CHILLER & PURGE VALVE
0.0 tsp Irish Moss - added during boil, boiled 15 min
0 oz ADD BELOW AT 10 ---------------
.5 oz Amarillo (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
1 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 10 min
0 oz ADD BELOW AT 5 ----------------
.5 oz Amarillo (8.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.75 oz Cascade (5.7%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
.5 oz Citra (11.0%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min
0 oz ADD BELOW AT FLAMEOUT -------------
.5 oz Amarillo (8.0%) - steeped after boil
.75 oz Cascade (5.7%) - steeped after boil
.1 oz Citra (11.0%) - steeped after boil

2 ea Fermentis US-05 Safale US-05 (actually pitched onto 1/2 of cake for each 6 gall fermenter)

I'll dryhop each keg with some combo of cascade, amarillo, and/or a bit (a small bit) of citra.

what do you hope to get from the willamette at 15?