Style difference: Pale Ale vs Session IPA
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1977Brewer
Free Dan Hess.
Hop flavor and aroma. Totally subjective.
I think a lot of pale ales are over hopped these days. They are good beer, just too hoppy for the style. A session ipa should still be a ipa. Mine are as unbalanced as can be towards the hoppy because that's what I like. There may be overlap, but not in my brewery 
scott1147
Member
My initial thought for a difference in the two is yeast. For any type of Pale Ale I would tend to use a british yeast strain which will produce more esters. A session IPA I would use a cleaner American yeast strain like y1056 or White Labs 001.
I would want my Session IPA to have a bit cleaner finish so the hop profile, while more subdued than an "non session IPA", is the predominant aftertaste.
Scott
I would want my Session IPA to have a bit cleaner finish so the hop profile, while more subdued than an "non session IPA", is the predominant aftertaste.
Scott
The main difference (IMHO) is that a session IPA should be hop forward and have a very light malt presence. ABV should be less than 5% and usually closer to 4%.
Pale ales should be a balanced beer with a light to moderate malt presence. ABV should be less than 6% and usually closer to 5%.
Pale ales should be a balanced beer with a light to moderate malt presence. ABV should be less than 6% and usually closer to 5%.
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My take on the difference:
A session IPA should still be all about the hop -- very hop forward, modest to strong hop aroma, slightly balancing malt character, dominant hop finish. BU/GU ratio at least 1.0, preferably higher.
An American Pale Ale is a balanced ale featuring a modest malt flavor up front and finishing with a moderate to strong hop finish. BU/GU ratio somewhere in the 0.7 to 0.9 range.
A session IPA should still be all about the hop -- very hop forward, modest to strong hop aroma, slightly balancing malt character, dominant hop finish. BU/GU ratio at least 1.0, preferably higher.
An American Pale Ale is a balanced ale featuring a modest malt flavor up front and finishing with a moderate to strong hop finish. BU/GU ratio somewhere in the 0.7 to 0.9 range.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
But what if you are making an American pale ale??
The draft floating around of the new BJCP guidelines defines session strength under specialty IPA as 3-5%. Then you can mix or match types, like session American IPA, or session black IPA - so some might have more malt prescence. APA and AIPA specs already overlap a bit. I agree it seems to be about balance to me, with APA being more balanced and IPA (session or otherwise) slanted toward bitter and really big hop aroma and flavor.
As they've already said, it's about the balance. Comparing BU:GU ratios is a good place to start. My personal line for "session" anything is <4%, and I don't really consider anything in the 4-5% to be a Session IPA. But that's my personal opinion, and I'm well aware that the common line for "session" beer is <5%.
My Session IPA in the fermenter right now is 3.6%, 45 IBUs, but the BU:GU is 1.23, and it comes across as quite bitter. It's also late hopped to crap.
My Session IPA in the fermenter right now is 3.6%, 45 IBUs, but the BU:GU is 1.23, and it comes across as quite bitter. It's also late hopped to crap.
I haven't seen many (any?) commercial examples under 4%
I don't think I have either. Hah. Not unless you count Greene King IPA, which is a Bitter, not an IPA.
Bigfish Bitter is local for me and is 4.5% nice English Bitter (pale ale)
all the best
S_M
here is a pretty good chart for BU/GU ratios
http://www.madalchemist.com/chart_bitterness_ratio.html
all the best
S_M
I'm drinking a Right-O-Way IPA from Southern Tier, which is their 4.5% Session IPA. I think it's pretty good. If you're interested here's a pretty good older article about session beers.
njviking
Well-Known Member
Agreed.
Brewer 1: "What are two trends that seem to be hot right now? Session ales and IPAs. Well, let's brew a pale ale and call it a session IPA!"
Brewer 2: "Brilliant! It'll go great with my session barrel-aged imperial stout!"
philosofool
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Wow. I can't believe people are saying these are basically the same style. They are not. As with any two similar styles, they can be similar at the boundaries, but that doesn't make them the same. Historically, at least the former was the dominant style of American craftbeer before about 2005, when IPA began to take over. session IPA is a relatively recent reaction to the massive growth of e IPA market, in which consumer demand for a lower alcohol but highly hopped beer resulted I this new product. Founder's All-Day is a different beer from anything I was getting in bottle shops in 2005.
To me the difference is in the strength and the relative balance of malt and hops, which has pretty much already been said.
To me the difference is in the strength and the relative balance of malt and hops, which has pretty much already been said.
noblesquirrel
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Session IPA is totally a marketing term. For instance, Oskar Blues Pinner is 35ibus & 4.9%abv. It's a straight up pale ale. APA has shifted that way. The old school types of APA are closer to what are considered Amber Ales now. Even beers like SNPA & Alpha King are pushing back towards Amber vs. where APA has gone the last few years. I want my APAs clean and freshly hopped, not sweet and caramelly with too much malt character.
philosofool
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Just because every dog you breed is a mix doesn't mean there are no pure breeds. You don't have to brew to style, but if it tastes like an IPA and you call it a tripel, you're misusing the word 'tripel'. Nobody can stop you, but it's a little silly to insist on using words in a way that no one else does. Similarly, the linguistic convention around 'session beer' is that it's a below 5% beer (usually below 4.5%), and no one can tell you that's the right strength for your sessions, but you're sort of confusing people (and potentially getting them very drunk) if you tell them you have a nice session IPA on tap and it's 6.5%.
It did not make too much sense to me either, but I like them.
I hear what you're saying, but to me "session IPA" is a contradiction of terms. same as a "session barleywine" or a "dunkel pilsner". I think they (brewers) wanted to make a beer that was still highly hopped but that they could cut down on the grain bill. Which is fine. But to sell me an IPA that isn't an IPA? That's just marketing.
Grannyknot
Well-Known Member
Price.
Session IPA's are overpriced.
There's your difference.
Session IPA's are overpriced.
There's your difference.
chickypad
lupulin shift victim
There's a lot of contradictions floating around there when it comes to the "specialty IPA" beers - I mean session IPA is less of an oyxmoron than Black IPA or Red IPA in my book, though many folks continue to use those terms. I think don't think it's so much that they are trying to pass it off as something it's not, it's just easier to say "session IPA" than an "a pale ale that's really too bitter and overly hopped to be considered a regular pale". They could come up with a new style name but it might take a while for consumers catch on. After all, most that are wanting to drink these beers are those who enjoy IPA's but don't want the strength associated with them, so calling it a session IPA in my book identifies that beer to me even if the term itself is a bit contradictory.
Session IPA is less a contradiction in terms than Black IPA. Historically Pale Ale and India Pale Ale were all but indistinguishable and could span a wide array of strengths, and for a point in time many IPAs had OG's in the 1.030s, ie session beers.
So, no, it's not a contradiction. Just migration of the style over time and opening up for interpretation.
Yeah, don't get me started about "Black IPA"!
While "Black IPA" is inherently oxymoronic, it goes get across what to expect. I never took to Cascadian Dark Ale, but that's probably best for the style. American Black Ale as used in the GABF guidelines is too vague, as an American styled stout would fit just as much. My favorite one is BHP aka "Bullsh** Hoppy Porter".
But point is, Black IPA is a contradiction. Session IPA is not.
njviking
Well-Known Member
Oh don't get me wrong; Founders all day is my main beer. But really its an apa.
I'd have to seriously consider classes if I were able to drink 10 full vol IPA's.
McGarnigle
Well-Known Member
Ugh, Cascadian Dark Ale sounds so pretentious. I bet it's the "beer is the new wine" people who are pushing it.
I'm OK with Black IPA myself. I sure as hell don't want BJCP or GABF trying to dictate the term.
On this point I'll have to respectfully disagree, but I do agree that describing something as a session IPA does easily describe to me what it is. I know "session", I know "IPA". "Session IPA" is a low-alcohol, hoppy beer.
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