Look at any tap list today and you’re bound to see a beer calling itself a “session” beer—ostensibly a 3–5 percent (the upper limit varies depending who you ask), drink-more-than-one style, or a lower-octane version of a bigger style. As a beer drinker, I’ve long been a proponent of lower-ABV beers, in part because I like to take my time and drink a full pint of something, but also because I like to try a few things from the list! If all I’m looking at are full-strength IPAs, Trappist ales, and imperial whatevers, sampling more beer is simply not an option if I hope to be functional for the rest of the day (and maybe the next day)! When I see a nice 3.2 percent bitter on the tap list, I’m done looking.
But as with many other aspects of beer brewing, drinking a session beer and brewing a session beer are two different beasts (and the brewing is usually harder). This week we’ll take a quick look at some tips for brewing session beers, and while each of these probably deserves a post of its own, this should be more than enough to get you started down the right track!
Not (Exactly) a Question of Scale
The first thing you want to do is realize that you’re not doing a linear scaling. If your 6 percent beers usually get a certain amount of a specialty grain, then don’t assume that your session recipes need half that amount. In fact, given that you’re not getting body from quite as much residual sugar and not tasting the flavor of a larger dose of alcohol, you need to be rather more conscious of what’s in that recipe. This is the brewing equivalent of Pascal’s assertion that he would have written a shorter letter but lacked the time!
I actually prefer to start my session recipes with a consideration of specialty grains. A good rule of thumb is to use as a starting point the weight of each grain that you would use for a beer with an OG of 1.060, and reduce it by a quarter. So, if your American amber calls for 4 ounces (113 g) of Crystal 120, then a session amber should start with 3 ounces (85 g) instead. This is going to mean a larger percentage of your grist is going to specialty grains relative to base grains, but don’t worry about that just yet. Your priority is to ensure full flavor, and if you’re using grains with unfermentable sugars, then you’re also getting started on addressing your body problems (or, I should say, the beer’s body problems).
Another consideration is the complexity of your recipe. You’re much better off using a limited selection of specialty grains. One or two will shine—more than that, and you may end up with a smattering of subtle flavors that wisp in and out of the flavor.
Once you’ve settled on your flavor-focused grain choices, top up your grist with base malt. With this recipe more than any other, I lean toward the more flavorful base grains such as Maris Otter, Munich, and Vienna. I avoid Pilsner only because it imparts a subtle honey-like sweetness that, in a small beer, is off-putting to me (I put Crystal 10 and 20 in this camp, too). Don’t fight the relative dryness that will come from a low final gravity and a low ABV—lean into it. You won’t be mimicking the subtle ethanol sweetness of a larger beer; you’ll just be mocking it. It’s like using sugar-free syrup because you don’t have any real maple syrup (and who makes waffles without checking the syrup situation first, MOM?).
Session beers’ greatest challenge is in the grist. It’s the one area where you need to significantly pervert the usual measures. The rest are much more pliable.
Mash Your Way to Success
A less skewed (but important) adjustment comes along in the mash. To reduce the fermentability of your wort and increase its body, mash hotter than your usual by 2–3°F (1–2°C), and for 15 minutes less. Both steps will reduce the overall fermentability of the wort, and the hotter mash will result in more long-chain sugars that will also increase the perception of body. You may also notice that your efficiency falls off (mine does), and an adjustment in your brewing software of 5–7 percent lower efficiency will help you hit your specific gravity more consistently.
Late Hops Rule
Aim to yield at least half of your IBUs from late hopping and choose the most flavorful (and freshest) hops you can get your hands on! I say only half because very high hops flavor (especially in fruitier varieties) can increase your perception of sweetness, which again is something we’d like to avoid. So some good, old-fashioned, early-addition IBUs are worth having. Higher-than-usual hops flavor (even in styles where it isn’t typical) is a great way to fill out your flavor profile, especially if you choose hops that will pull double-duty by filling in flavors that might be missing from your fermentation. Speaking of which…
Don’t Trust Your Yeast
This might be a yeast you’ve used for years. You may think the yeast is your friend. But it will betray you. With a limited amount of fermentable sugars on hand, fermentation is going to be fast and quick and clean. Some advocate for under-pitching or stressing the yeast (temperature, lack of oxygen, etc.) to get them to give up their usual esters/phenols, but I think that’s the brewing equivalent of cutting a bagel toward your hand with a hack saw: not a good idea and likely to do more harm than good.
Take note of the flavors you’re looking for from the fermentation and backstop them with other ingredients and ferment as you normally would. Those fermentation characters will almost certainly come in lighter than usual, but they’ll be buttressed by, for example, citrus-heavy hops. The overall flavor will be there. The risks inherent in stressing or underpitching your yeast are simply too high—and the off-flavors that could result will be even more obvious in a session beer.
Carbonation: Don’t Fall at the Finish!
Finally, session beers are good beers with which to lighten the CO2 load. Reduce your usual carbonation levels by about half a volume of CO2, and you’ll do two great things: first, you’ll improve the perception of body; and second, you’ll reduce the flavor that the carbonic acid will be putting out (and isn’t all that desirable anyway).
Session beers come in a huge array of styles, shapes, and sizes. Check back here regularly for session-style advice, and when I run out of those you can bet I’ll double back and talk through session versions of bigger styles!
Prost.
Craft Beer & Brewing’s Favorite Session Beer Recipes
Easy Irish Stout
Beer Engine ESB
Sessionable Saison
And for good measure, a session mead recipe: